For 2011 Toyota has simplified the Tundra line-up featuring a new V6 engine & standard electronic trailer sway control that  aligns more evenly with competitive products.

Here are Key changes for 2011 Tundra

• New 4.0-liter V6 base engine, replacing previous 4.0-liter V6
• Exterior color choices down from 11 to 9; more paint sharing with Tacoma
• 10 models deleted, including 9 with 4.6-liter V8 engine
• Trailer sway control now standard on all models

4.0-liter V6 now has advanced technology similar to Tundra 5.7L and 4.6L V8 engines

• Improvements designed to improve fuel efficiency, increase and broaden torque range
• Dual Independent Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (Dual VVT-i) added
• Allows independent adjustment of intake and exhaust cam timing to achieve maximum power at different RPM
  o        270 HP@ 5600 RPM
  o        278 lb-ft @ 4400 RPM  

Tundra now shares five colors with Tacoma

• Tacoma production moving to Tundra plant in San Antonio, Texas
• Paint sharing streamlines manufacturing, gives truck line consistent family identification
• Dropped Colors: Tundra dropping Slate Metallic (1F9), Salsa Red Pearl (3Q3), Blue Streak (8T7) and Sandy Beach (4T8)
• Added Colors: adding Tacoma colors Grey Metallic (1G3) and Tacoma Red Pearl (3R3)

Tundra eliminates following Tundra Grade models:

• Regular Cab/Standard Bed 4×2 w/ 5.7L
• Regular Cab/Long Bed 4×2 and 4×4 w/ 4.6L
• Regular Cab/Standard Bed 4×4 w/ 4.6L
• Double Cab/Long Bed 4×2 and 4×4 w/ 4.6L

Tundra eliminates following Limited models:

• Double Cab/Standard Bed 4×2 and 4×4 w/ 4.6L
• CrewMax/Short Bed 4×2 and 4×4 w/ 4.6L

Tundra adds Trailer Sway Control

• Additional programming built upon the already standard Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system
• If system detects trailer yaw or fishtailing, it takes counter measures such as activating the truck’s individual brakes and possibly reducing engine power
• Trailer Sway Control is standard on all models, even those without factory tow package
• Tundra’s standard Trailer Sway Control regains standard tow feature parity to Ford F150

It’s roomy, comfortable and quite responsive on the freeway. We’re talking about the 2011 Toyota Sienna Van and its ratings are fantastic.

This loaded people-hauler has been very useful during a recent home swap and vacation trip.

In a recent home move, almost every stitch of clothing and ounce of food was loaded into the Sienna and hauled with no problem. In fact, while unloading, someone remarked on how big the Sienna is–and how much stuff was in there still to bring in.

On Trips Sienna handles well for a big vehicle. You don’t feel like you’re about to tip over, and it’s solid on the expressway. I didn’t really push it (who pushes minivans?) but never experienced much roll. The chassis is very cushy and wasn’t fazed when navigating broken roads.

The steering is nice, and the interior parts look clean. It seemed a bit hard to reach over and adjust the radio channel, but otherwise a great cabin. The overall exterior seems a bit barge-like–but most minivans do. I did really like the taillights, though.

Sienna accelerates with force on the expressway, and the van  is impressive as it builds speed and the revs increas. Gas mileage in the mid to upper twenties per gallon is achievable.

2011 Toyota Sienna XLE

Base Price: $35,315

As-Tested : $42,211

Drivetrain: 3.5-liter V6; six-speed automatic

Output: 265 hp @ 6,200 rpm, 245 lb-ft @ 4,700 rpm

Curb Weight: 4,735 lb

Fuel Economy: (EPA) 18 mpg

Options: XLE premium package including dual view entertainment center, two wireless headphones, voice-activated touch screen DVD, navigation system with panorama camera, backup camera, premium sound, XM Radio with NavTraffic, auxiliary audio jack, USB port with iPod capability, hands free phone capability, music streaming via Bluetooth wireless technology, smart key, push button start, remote illuminated entry, chrome accented door handles, rear parking sonar, safety connect ($6,225); carpet floor mats ($324); roof rack cross bar ($185); wireless headphones ($82); cargo net ($51); first aid kit ($29)

**UPDATE**An initial review by federal investigators has turned up no evidence of electronic failures in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in suspected runaway acceleration cases.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told members of Congress in a briefing today that human error was to blame in approximately 60% of the 58 cases it reviewed — since drivers failed to apply the brakes.

Trapped or sticky gas pedals were to blame in the remainder of accidents for which a cause was identified.

The Japanese automaker has repeatedly insisted that electronics aren’t to blame, and that mechanical problems or driver error are responsible for thousands of reports of unintended acceleration. The findings may bolster the company’s argument.

“Reviewing event data recorders is one small part of (NHTSA’s) effort to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles,” Transportation spokeswoman Olivia Alair said. “At this early period in the investigation, engineers have not identified any new safety defects in Toyotas other than sticking gas pedals or pedal entrapment.”

NHTSA has reviewed data from 58 vehicle black boxes, known formally as event data recorders.

The research “so far has not led to the identification of safety defects other than sticking gas pedals or pedal entrapment,” according to NHTSA’s report to Congress, obtained by The Detroit News.

But NHTSA emphasized that the probe is ongoing — along with help from NASA — and investigators “are continuing to study whether there are potential electronic or software defects in these vehicles.”

Of the 58 cases studied, 35 event recorders, 60%,  showed no brake was applied — a sign the driver hit the wrong pedal…

Partial braking was noted in 14 cases: Brakes were applied late in the crash sequence in nine cases; early in three; and mid-crash in two.

Pedal entrapment was involved in one incident; and in one case, the brakes and gas pedal both were depressed.

Data was inconclusive in one case; there was no data in five; and data from a separate incident was presented in one case.

Toyota said in a statement that NHTSA’s results backed its findings.

Toyota’s “own vehicle evaluations have confirmed that the remedies it developed for sticking accelerator pedal and potential accelerator pedal entrapment by an unsecured or incompatible floor mat are effective,” the company said.

Toyota emphasized that after “more than 4,000 on-site vehicle inspections, in no case have we found electronic throttle controls to be a cause of unintended acceleration.”

Here’s a sneek view of the 2011 Highlander coming soon. The new model will come with a series of modifications including a re-designed front fascia, with new headlights, a newly styled front grille and a new front bumper. The fog lights also have a new look.

Toyota has not released the official specifications of the SUV, but sources claim that the vehicle will come with a 3.5 liter V6 engine delivering 273 hp. The unit will be mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.

2011 Toyota Avalon…It’s Roomy and Comfortable, Effortless to drive and Luxurious with a number of significant updates.

The Avalon succeeds at transporting people in complete comfort and surrounding them with a host of luxury trappings. In short, it’s the modern reincarnation of the classic American sedan.

The 2011 Avalon is offered in base and Limited trim levels. Here is a test on  a Limited model with an as-tested price of $37,884.

The Styling is long and low, and the Avalon stretches to 197.6 inches overall, making it about 8 inches longer than a Toyota Camry. For 2011, the Avalon receives some subtle styling changes to its front and rear. The headlights, grille and front bumper are new, but because the overall look closely resembles the prior version, the changes could easily go unnoticed. The same goes for the rear, which has new but familiar-looking LED taillights and a license plate holder that’s been moved from the bumper to the restyled trunklid. A significant Lexus-like side chrome detail along each side below the doors adds a needed touch of class.

Comfort reigns supreme in the Avalon, and this has some pretty positive aspects. On the plus side, the sedan’s soft suspension tuning provides excellent ride quality. The Avalon floats smoothly down the road, the cabin undisturbed by rougher stretches of pavement. It’s one of those things that give the Avalon a sense of luxury beyond its price. A quick dip in the road makes the nose bob up and down briefly, but the motion is quickly controlled. Larger bumps, however, depending on how they are hit, can be felt.

The steering is another area where the Avalon upholds its comfort mantra. The wheel turns easily with a light touch; it feels like it’s attached to a giant ball bearing that’s been lathered in WD-40. Despite the light effort at lower speeds, which makes maneuvering a parking garage a cinch, there isn’t any unwanted twitchiness on the highway, just confident and predictable transitions when changing lanes.

“Effortless” is the best word to describe the Avalon’s drivetrain. Like the 2010 model, the 2011 Avalon is powered by a 268 horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine that drives the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission. The car pulls strongly away from stoplights, and the V-6 still has plenty of energy on the highway for a quick pass. Floor the gas pedal around 70 mph, and the transmission quickly kicks down, engine rpm jumps and the hood noticeably rises as the Avalon squats down and surges forward. This engine’s high-speed power is truly impressive, and not all that common among mainstream full-size sedans. All disc antilock brakes are standard on the Avalon.

You might think this kind of performance would make your local gas station owner rich, but the Avalon gets surprisingly good mileage for its size. Its EPA-estimated 20/29 mpg city/highway rating beats the most efficient versions of large front-wheel-drive sedans like the 2011 Ford Taurus (18/28 mpg), 2011 Hyundai Azera (20/28) and 2011 Chevrolet Impala (19/29). The Avalon’s V-6 takes regular gas. Higher gas mileage performance is achievable and many owners report highway mileage in the low 30’s per gallon and city performance in the mid 20’s..

The new Avalon’s cabin interior is a noteworthy aesthetic improvement over the prior model’s interior and gives the Avalon a luxury-car feel.

The 2011 Avalon’s dashboard, center control panel and center console are new, and unlike the prior model all the areas feature premium materials, with the dash and many of the door panels finished in a nicely grained, low-gloss surface that looks great. Gone is the blue-screened display that used to sit to the right of the instruments, as well as the many silver-colored doors covering things like the stereo and cupholders. Instead, the car’s console has covers finished in nicer-looking simulated wood and gray-silver trim.  The seating feels thicker than recent previous models. Overall, the interior is nice enough that no one would question it if there were a Lexus L badge on the steering wheel instead of the Toyota T — certainly in the Limited.

If you haven’t experienced the backseat of an Avalon, I guarantee you’ll be impressed by the amount of room the car offers. There’s an enormous amount of space for passengers to stretch out, including loads of legroom for taller folks. Even with the front seats in their rearmost position, there’s still decent legroom in back. To top it off, the Avalon has standard reclining rear backrests — an uncommon feature in a non-luxury sedan. Their overall comfort is enough to make you toss the keys to your spouse, slide into the backseat and say “Wake me when we’re there” — as long as you aren’t worried about the repercussions of such a move.

The Avalon’s trunk measures 14.4 cubic feet,  less than some of its main competitors offer but plenty ample. (The Impala’s trunk is 18.6 cubic feet, the Azera’s 16.6 and the Taurus’ a sizable 20.1.)

The cargo area is deep but not particularly tall, and there’s a full-size spare tire on an alloy wheel underneath the cargo floor.  A locking pass-through between the outboard rear seats is standard.

The 2011 Avalon received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick designation, which is given to models that offer a stability system and achieve Good overall ratings in the agency’s frontal-offset and side-impact crash tests, its roof-strength test and its whiplash-injury test.

Standard safety features include a stability system, side-impact airbags for the front seats, side curtain airbags for both rows, active front head restaints and a knee airbag for the driver.

You can look at the Avalon in one of two ways: Either it’s a non-luxury car with a luxury-car price tag, or a luxury car without the luxury badge. Regardless of where you come down on that debate, one thing is clear: There are few cars in the Avalon’s price range that provide more passenger room and comfort.

If you do decide to hold the Avalon up against a similarly priced luxury car, like the Lexus ES 350, it fares pretty well. The Avalon gives you more room, better gas mileage and just as much luxury. We believe the Avalon is a luxury car for those who don’t care about luxury badges.

In short, You can spend $25,000 more on some cars and throw your money away. Anything in addition to the Avalon’s capabilities are diminishing returns…

The Scion xD is a quick, thrifty, nimble, small hatchback made by Toyota. It has more horsepower than its major competitors, and for 2010, it’s a Consumer Reports recommended car with a very strong reliability record.

The five-door, five-passenger xD is ready and looking for some action… and its’ share of attention in the world of small hatchbacks. Sales are down 25.5 percent through the first seven months of 2010, and the xD is the slowest-selling of all non-luxury Toyota cars.

Part of the reason may be that with Scion, Toyota’s youth-oriented car brand, most of the attention goes to the boxy-styled Scion xB with all it’s aftermarket accessories and the sporty-looking Scion coupe, the tC. Another contributing factor could be that the Scion xD is built with the same high quality standards of luxury Toyota cars and therefore, is not the cheapest little guy on the block.

The front-wheel drive, 2010 xD has a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $15,620 with manual transmission and 128-horsepower, 1.8-liter four cylinder. With automatic transmission, the lowest-priced 2010 xD starts at $16,420, and a recent test model with stylish alloy wheels, rear spoiler, upgraded audio and other options topped out at nearly $20,000.

The 2010 Nissan Versa, another small, four-cylinder-powered hatchback, has a starting retail price of $14,140 with manual transmission and 122 horsepower. And the 2010 Toyota Yaris hatchback, whose platform is used under the xD, starts at $13,665. The Yaris, however, gets just 103 horses from its four-cylinder engine and is a bit smaller than the xD. Even the 117-horseower, 2010 Honda Fit, whose starting retail price of $15,650 is on par with the xD, is outselling the xD by 5-to-1 this calendar year.

It’s true the xD has the lowest starting retail price of all the Scions for 2010. But the difference between the base xD and the base MSRP, including destination charge, of the larger xB is less than $1,000.

Still, the xD is a capable little car with some nifty features. The back seat slides forward and aft to help accommodate the needs of passengers and cargo. This is something not always found in this segment. Rear seatbacks also recline, Quality. The xD’s seat fabric looks pricier than buyers might expect in the segment,,,Quality again. The split, folding rear seats go down for a flat cargo space that maximizes at a decent 35.7 cubic feet.

Fuel economy in the recent test base xD with manual transmission was noteworthy at a combined 30 miles per gallon in city and highway driving. The federal government rated the test car at 27 mpg in city driving and 33 mpg on the highway, so getting 300 miles on an 11.1-gallon thankful of regular gasoline is eminently doable.

At just over 2,600 pounds and shorter in overall length than the Versa hatchback and the Honda Fit, the xD feels spunky in city driving. The gearshifter is tight. Torque peaks at 125 foot-pounds at 4,400 rpm. This compares with 127 foot-pounds of torque at 4,800 rpm from the 2010 Nissan Versa’s 1.8-liter four cylinder.

The little xD gets around without a hiccup, and parking is a breeze in almost any parking spot. Yes, the xD can be an excellent, no-fuss urban car that Scion envisioned.

The upgraded Alpine stereo put out strong, clear tunes, even if the 4.3-inch color touch panel seemed small. The Alpine system includes HD Radio technology and Alpine’s MX technology that enhances the compressed audio sound of digital music.

This is the first year that electronic stability control is standard on the xD. Other standard safety items include curtain air bags, anti-whiplash front-seat head restraints and antilock brakes with Brake Assist.

The xD earned four out of five stars for driver and front-passenger protection in frontal crash testing by the federal government. Side crash test results were better _ five out of five stars for passenger protection.

Introduced in 2007 as the replacement for the often overlooked Scion xA, the xD is still searching for an identity. Perhaps a more agressive marketing campaign is called for to make buyers more aware of the outstanding little Toyota that could…

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, is raising its full-year profit forecast as sales in Asia are growing more than expected and demand in the U.S. recovers following the recall of more than 8 million vehicles.

Toyota may post net income of  $3.98 billion in the year ending in March, compared with an earlier smaller estimate, it said in a statement today. For the fiscal first quarter, the company swung close to 2 billion profit from a year-earlier loss.

The automaker raised its sales outlook for all regions except Europe amid a rebound in demand that prompted rival Honda Motor Co. to also lift its earnings forecast last week.

“Toyota is now at a point where they feel comfortable giving good news,” said Yuuki Sakurai, chief executive officer of Fukoku Capital Management in Tokyo. “The recall issue has settled down in the U.S. and China.”

Toyota’s first-quarter sales gained 36 percent in North America, its biggest market. While deliveries fell 3.2 percent in July, the North American market may improve from the third quarter, Toyota’s Senior Managing Director Takahiko Ijichi said today.

Toyota raised its global vehicle sales forecast to 7.38 million units for the year ending in March 2011 from an earlier estimate of 7.29 million.

The company left its forecast for the yen against the dollar unchanged at 90 yen, 5 percent weaker than the rate of 85.52 as of 9:29 am in London. A stronger yen, which traded near an eight-month high against the U.S. dollar today, may erode profit gains by reducing the repatriated value of overseas sales.

Toyota is posting profit gains after the global recession hammered earnings a year earlier and after the recalls that began late last year.

The automaker, which said in July it added 1,000 engineers to an expanded quality assessment group, is extending vehicle development time by about four weeks on average and is opening new regional offices in the U.S. and Canada to more quickly investigate customer complaints.

While Toyota’s U.S. sales dropped in July, industrywide sales increased 5.2 percent. Hyundai, which introduced a revamped Sonata sedan in February, posted a 19 percent sales gain in the nation, and U.S.-based carmakers reported a combined sales increase of 5.5 percent for the month.

Toyota’s average incentives surged 44 percent to $2,235 per vehicle in the first quarter from a year earlier, the highest amount for the period since at least 2001, according to auto industry researcher Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California.

“Recovery in North America is less than stellar,” said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager who helps oversee about $6 billion at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “I’m worried that Toyota’s sales incentives in the U.S. are ballooning.”

The company has been cutting back on incentive spending in the U.S. since July and will continue to do so through the fiscal third quarter, Toyota’s Ijichi said today.

Toyota Tacoma, the best-selling small truck in the U.S. has two new limited-edition trim packages for the 2011 model— both based on the Tacoma TX project vehicle shown at last year’s SEMA Show.

The T|X and T|X Pro packages build upon the Tacoma’s current Off-Road Package by adding new wheels, exhaust and appearance items from Toyota Racing Development’s accessory catalog. Accessory packaging is extremely popular with Tacoma owners.

T|X stands for “Tacoma | Extreme.”

The standard TRD Off-Road Package, at the foundation of both T|X editions, includes an electronic locking rear differential, progressive-rate front springs, specially tuned Bilstein shock absorbers, a 28 mm front stabilizer bar and BFGoodrich Rugged Trail tires. In addition the TRD Off-Road Package includes a 400-watt/115-volt power point in the bed, sport seats with adjustable lumbar support and unique fabric, plus an overhead console with a compass and outside temperature display.

The Base T|X trim adds beefy TRD 16-inch black alloy bead-lock wheels and 265/70R16 BFGoodrich Rugged Trail tires for extra capability off-road over the standard TRD Tacoma. It also features black tube side steps, a stainless-steel exhaust tip and unique exterior graphics. The MSRP of the T|X Package is $1,699, a savings of $754 compared with the package items ordered as separate options.

The T|X Pro Package adds performance flare with a TRD cat-back performance exhaust system that gives the Tacoma’s 4.0-liter V-6 a deeper note and slightly more power. Also priced at an MSRP of $1,699, the T|X Pro Package represents a savings of $720 compared with the package contents added as separate accessories.

Ordering for the 2011 Tacoma T|X Pro Package will begin in July, and the T|X Package will launch two months later in September.

In an unrelated announcement yet occurring at the same time, Toyota sources reveal that the 2.7 four-cylinder version of the  4Runner is being discontinued after just one model year. The main reason for the drop is the extremely low purchase rate, with the V-6 model accounting for well over 90 percent of 4Runner sales. One key reason could be that there is very little difference in gas mileage performance between the 4 and 6 cylinder engines.

According to a recent report, the Toyota FT-86 is on schedule for a November 2011 launch date. Recent rumors suggested that the car might be delayed until 2013.

Speaking recently, Toyota’s Dr. Shigeyuki Hori and Kazuo Okino reaffirmed the company’s intention to launch the car as planned in November 2011. While neither would go into a lot of detail, they revealed the production version is nearly 50% complete and the mid-level model is targeted to have a price of  approximately $28,610.

As for what the car will look like, Okino commented that the styling would closely resemble the concept. There will be minor modifications, but the overall shape will remain the same.

In case you don’t remember, the FT-86 concept debuted at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. It featured a Subaru 2.0-liter Boxer engine, a six-speed manual transmission, ADVICS brakes, and rear-wheel drive.

The 2007-10 Toyota Tundra hasn’t been quite the success that Toyota envisioned, that is over taking the Ford F-150, but that doesn’t mean the automaker is ready to give up on its half-ton hauler. There are sources reporting that Toyota is confidently planning a thorough redesign of the Tundra.

The current Tundra was designed from the ground up to compete with full-size pickups from Chrysler, Ford and GM. On paper, the story was compelling. The Tundra featured a strong 5.7-liter V-8, could tow up to 10,800 pounds and was available in regular, extended-cab and crew-cab configurations.

Toyota was so confident in the strength of its new truck and the American truck market that it invested more than $1 billion to build a dedicated assembly plant in Texas with the capacity to build 200,000 Tundras a year in addition to a second Tundra factory in Indiana that could produce 100,000 annually.

The Tundra is in fact a great truck and came close to meeting its annual sales goals of 200,000 trucks per year in the first year but  missed each year since, suffering from the effects of both a terrible economy and a media onslaught over alleged quality and safety issues. About 460,000 Tundras have been built since 2007, and less than 80,000 were sold in 2009, a bad economic year.

In light of tough new fuel-economy rules set to take effect by 2016. some have wondered will Toyota continue to invest in the Tundra?

Sources say that indeed the next Tundra will arrive by 2014, just in time to take on all-new full-size light-duty pickups expected from GM, Nissan and Ford. That time period is looking like it will be a replay of 2007-08, which also had a fast cadence of new half-ton introductions.

But while Toyota is keeping the faith in Tundra, at least for one more generation, the Japanese automaker is said to be phasing out the Toyota Sequoia full-size SUV that’s based on the Tundra platform. We hear the big people-mover will be killed at the end of this life cycle.

Toyota Motor Corp. and its Silicon Valley partner Tesla Motors Inc. will develop an electric version of Toyota’s popular RAV4 SUV.

The two companies will work on prototypes combining the RAV4 model with a Tesla electric powertrain and expect to sell it in the United States in 2012, Tesla said.

It said a first prototype already has been produced.

Motor Trend is also reporting that Toyota is hard at work on a fully electric supercar. If there’s any truth to this report, it is said that Toyota President Akio Toyoda was so impressed after a spin in Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster that he immediately green-lit a feasibility study into the electric supercar project.

“Tesla’s goal is to produce increasingly affordable electric cars for mainstream buyers — relentlessly driving down the cost of EVs,” the company said in a statement.

Tesla now sells an electric roadster priced at just over $100,000, while Toyota is a leader in gas-electric hybrid vehicles and also plans to sell electric cars.

The two companies announced in May that they would team up to develop electric cars

The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that the throttles were wide open and the brakes weren’t engaged at the time of the crash.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the early results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyotas and Lexuses surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes. The findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involve a sample of the reports in which a driver of a Toyota vehicle said the brakes were depressed but failed to stop the car from accelerating and ultimately crashing.

The findings appear to support Toyota’s position that sudden-acceleration reports involving its vehicles weren’t caused by electronic glitches in computer-controlled throttle systems, as some safety advocates and plaintiffs’ attorneys have alleged.

The data recorders analyzed by NHTSA were selected by the agency, not Toyota, based on complaints the drivers had filed with the government. Toyota hasn’t been involved in interpreting the data.

On Christmas Eve 2009, a new PriusChat community user on Yahoo pointed to the article “NHTSA Tracking Braking Loss on Prius Hybrids,” which first raised the issue of a problem with the Prius braking system. It stated there were at least “33 complaints” out of 100,000 new model, 2010 Prius cars. Owners were wondering what was going on.

The reaction within the Prius community ranged from “What brake problem?” to “It’s a scary safety issue.” So taking the classic engineering approach, this engineer along with associates set out to gather more data, starting with a survey of Prius owners to find out the extent to which they had experienced the problem. The survey revealed that owners of both the 2009 and 2010 models had experienced intermittent braking problems:

PRIUS SURVEY CHART

Continuing the investigation, questions were asked about details and conditions under which Prius owners had experienced a braking problem. Soon, there were dozens of photos that clearly implicated potholes. The photo montage also revealed the truly awful state of roads across North America.

 PICTURES

Through the results, four common elements were discovered of every situation in which a braking problem occurred: a road imperfection or significant bump; (2) winter or wet conditions; (3) slow speed, and; (4) gentle or moderate braking. Most of the reports were from Northern latitudes (where winter brings a bumper crop of potholes), which also might explain why a resident of Northern Alabama, had not experienced the braking problem…

The PriusChat community proposed that the combined elements of slow speed and gentle braking pointed to a transition between regenerative and mechanical braking. The Prius uses the electric motor as a generator when stopping to charge the traction battery. As the car slows down the brake computer has to transition seamlessly to mechanical braking. Reviewing the brake section of “2010 Toyota Repair Manual, Volume 2″ (RM1291U2), references pointed to a “30 km/h (19 mph) to 0 km/h” (pp BC-85, BC-87) critical speed range. Unfortunately, feedback from the users was qualitative and lacked precise engineering units, which was the precise data we needed for our investigation.

Realizing some true field testing was needed, the engineering team ordered two Gulf Coast Data Concepts‘ accelerometers (one for an owner in Michigan who frequently experienced the problem) and the other for local testing on a Prius in Alabama.

The first morning of testing with the accelerometer in Alabama was perfect–wet and drizzly. Approaching two rows of speed bumps at a badge check gate at a work facility, it happened: The car ‘slipped’ just after the first speed bump. Knowing 19 mph was a critical speed, the Prius was slowed to just under 20 mph before hitting the first bump. As shown in the chart below, the accelerometer captured a momentary ‘slip and slide’ sensation at that instant.

Clearly the braking force, A_{x, went to zero after the speed bump. The integrated velocity curve, V, shows an 800 milliseconds flat line before the braking force resumed. We finally had the brake anomaly, a pause, documented with engineering units.  Meanwhile, about this time Toyota had a new release of the brake control software added to the Prius production line and announced a recall program, SSC-A0B. Regardless, we could use this protocol to validate the fix.}

Ten days later after the fix and under similar conditions the accelerometer showed the problem gone:

The key steps in our investigation were to:

• Solicit user reports looking for patterns – intermittent problems often seem to hover around a few and are missed by many. We needed to capture as many descriptions with as much detail as possible to find a way to reproduce the problem at will.
• Understand the systems – we found boundary conditions in the braking system. Knowing 19 mph was a threshold speed, we focused our efforts in this range.
• Convert intermittent to reproducible problem – as soon as the problem is reproducible at will, experiments can map the boundary conditions.
• Quantify the problem – add instrumentation to convert imprecise text into engineering units
• Validate the fix – using the problem protocol, test to validate the fix.

Toyota’s fix, SSC-A0B, solves the vast majority of these intermittent, slow-speed, momentary, brake pauses. But often one intermittent problem can mask a less frequent problem. After eliminating incompletely applied patches, there remain scattered reports of another braking anomaly, and investigations continue.

Is 200,000 Miles On the Odometer the New 100,000 Miles?… Catch Phrases, Don’t you just love them, “Can You Hear Me Now?”, “What’s In Your Wallet?”, ‘Get My Ducks in A Row”, “60 Is The New 40!,…And now this, “200,000 Miles Is The New 100,000 Miles On A Car”. The meaning here of course is that some of the cars we have today will go 200,000 miles before any significant maintenance issues occur.

 This certainly is a real possibility for the millions of Toyota drivers out there. In most cases with proper minimum maintenance, that 200,000 mile Toyota has another 100,000 miles in it or more before anything big might occur. Check out the 2005 600,000 mile Corolla.

Not so long ago, people counted themselves lucky if their car made it 100,000 miles before it gave out. As late as the 1980s and 1990s, many odometers didn’t even carry enough digits to handle 100k. Years before that people would say that they needed to trade when their car had 40,000 miles on it.

But in the spirit of  “60 is the new 40″, it could be said that 200,000 miles is the new 100,000 miles odometer… primarily due to improvements in quality.

Drivers are beginning to take ownership of this proposition. Statistical studies and a growing number of “high mileage” car clubs cropping up around the country support the idea.

Adding to this growing phenomenon is the fact that 80% of all Toyota vehicles produced over the past 20 years are on the road! What makes Toyota cars so reliable and popular ? It’s a winning combination of affordability, reliability and brand perception. These vehicles consistently deliver great trouble free value over a long period of time in a package that people want providing the best overall value in terms of total cost of ownership.

Toyota not only is a major contributor to extended odometer life, but the company is also extending customer base at the other end. Last year, the “Cash for Clunkers” program, designed to boost auto sales and get gas-guzzling vehicles off the road, showed that the typical vehicle turned in under the program was 14 years old and averaged 160,000 miles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It took a bonus of $3,500 to $4,500 to persuade owners to turn these vehicles in…

And What Did These Owners Replace Their “Clunker” With?  Toyota,… With The Highest Market Share At Nearly 20%!

To some extent, though, tough economic conditions are leading consumers to hang onto their cars longer. But the trend was underway well before the downturn. Average vehicle age has climbed steadily for a decade, going from 8.8 years in 1999 to 10.6 years late last year. Longer warranties, financing contracts, and the high reliabilities of Toyota are key factors behind the trend.

Most owners would rather not drive their vehicles into oblivion, of course. The average driver keeps a new vehicle nearly 6 years — up from about four and one-half years in 2002, according to R.L. Polk figures. Then it is sold once or twice, on average, over its lifetime.

Even if owners aren’t out to set mileage records, careful adherence to maintenance schedules pays off in a higher resale value and higher probability of the vehicle being in good condition up to 200,000 miles or higher.

Who Drives safer and more carefully behind the wheel,..A Man or A Woman? The answer: it depends on each individual, but overall findings don’t speak well for the guys…It appears you’re better off with a woman behind the wheel.

A series of articles published recently in the  NY Times support that men are more likely to ignore traffic laws and loose emotional control.

• Men are three times more likely to honk their horns.
• More likely to “rudely gesture at or verbally abuse other drivers. and
• More likely to be involved in tragic, massive accidents (on the road and off).

Wow! It sure looks like we the guys need that Toyota  with the Star Safety System and maybe more. This may turn out to be a surprise for some. The data shows that the reason why men tend to break the rules more is an ingrained sense of biology, reaching back to early concepts of male and female roles. The male brain, hard wired to hunt and kill, favored the bold and the brave. The Times piece goes on:

Research data state these behaviors are deeply ingrained. Researchers Leda Cosmides and John Tooby describe our prior existence as “a camping trip that lasted an entire lifetime, and this way of life endured for most of the last 10 million years.” In comparison, the auto arrived a blink of an eye ago, and we have not had time to evolve a new set of behaviors for coping safely behind the wheel. Gee, I didn’t realize I was so closely connected to the caveman…

Today, men are found to drive faster overall, ignore traffic laws more often, take more (and greater) risks and are involved in the majority of fatal crashes around the globe. The data in the Times articles bear this out, although some of the research cited dates as far back as 1986.  

Anecdotal evidence is readily available for both sides. There are a lot of men who will say when they are behind the wheel that their wives are typical critical back seat drivers. On the other hand and on a personal note I recently got a speeding ticket for going 30 mph in a 25 mph zone that was soon after disregarded by the police officer. But when I announced at home that I had gotten a ticket, everyone in the family replied in unison, “What For? Going Too Slow?”…  

Some data shows that there is a  preference for female drivers when taking cabs, car services and airport shuttles.

“Women cab drivers aren’t going to hit on me and they pay attention,” says one female business executive. “In cabs, male drivers are eating or are on the phone a lot of the time. I’m 100 times happier with a woman.”

The good news carries with it no inherent sexual battle, however. According to institutional data, deaths have gone down among both male and female passengers as well as pedestrians and bicyclists.