Post by johnLast November, NHTSA opened an investigation into the 2006 Toyota
Corolla and Matrix with the 1ZZ-FE engine after receiving 26
complaints alleging engine stall. Some of the stalls took place on
highways or intersections -- a situation that could pose a safety
hazard. NHTSA has since received another 30 complaints on the issue
Only 26? So is NHTSA invstigating any trivial complaint against
Toyota? Has NHTSA gone from ignoring the significant to minutely
examining the insignificant?
Compared to UA complinats, or braking issues, 26 alledged cases of
stalling is a non-issue. I'll bet more people stall Corollas becasue
they ran out of gas than becasue of this problem.
Here is what the NHTSA investigation summary says:
NHTSA Action Number : PE09054 NHTSA Recall Campaign Number : N/A
Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
TOYOTA / COROLLA 2006
TOYOTA / COROLLA MATRIX 2006
Manufacturer : TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION
Component :
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Date Investigation Opened : November 30, 2009
Date Investigation Closed : Open
Summary:
ODI HAS RECEIVED 26 COMPLAINTS ALLEGING INCIDENTS OF
ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING DUE TO ECM FAILURE IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2006
TOYOTA COROLLA AND MATRIX VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 1ZZ-FE ENGINE.
THE COMPLAINTS ALLEGE STALLS OCCURRING RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING,
INCLUDING SOME ON HIGHWAYS AND SOME IN INTERSECTIONS. MANY ALLEGE
DIFFICULTIES RESTARTING THE ENGINE OR PROBLEMS WITH RECURRING STALLS
FOLLOWING RESTART. ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2007, TOYOTA ISSUED TECHNICAL
SERVICE BULLETIN TC015-07, "HARSH SHIFT AND M.I.L. 'ON' DTC P2716,"
PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIAGNOSING AND REPAIRING COMPLAINTS OF
HARSH SHIFT WITH MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ILLUMINATION AND
DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P2716 STORED. THE BULLETIN CALLS FOR
REPLACEMENT OF THE ECM WITH AN IMPROVED VERSION (PART NOS.
89661-02K11, 02K21, 02K31 & 02K41). TOYOTA'S BULLETIN IS CITED IN
SEVERAL REPORTS. SOME OWNERS ALSO ALLEGE THAT THEY HAD TO WAIT FOR A
REPLACEMENT ECM BECAUSE THE PART WAS ON NATIONAL BACKORDER. ODI HAS
RECEIVED 5 COMPLAINTS OF STALL WHILE DRIVING IN MY 2005 COROLLA AND
MATRIX VEHICLES AND 7 COMPLAINTS FOR THE MY 2007 VEHICLES. A
PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN OPENED TO ASSESS THE FREQUENCY, SCOPE
AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.
Toyota is clearly aware of this problem and has actually
released a fix. A letter with Toyota's response is at
http://nhthqnwws111.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/docservlet/Artemis/Public/Pursuits/2009/PE/INRL-PE09054-39620P.pdf
Here are few key elements fromt he Toyota response:
There were 1,186,448 vehicle targted in the NHTSA request for
information. 26 vehicle in 1,186,448 is 0.0022%.
The ECM that is alleged to be the casue of the stalling is
covered by a 96 months or 80,000 mile warranty.
There was a history of no-start (and stalling) related to these
engines. Toyota issued several TSBs related to this problem. The
current TSB that relates to the problem is TC015-07.
....Toyota has identified two potential issues with the Engine
ECU that could relate to the alleged defect:
A-I: Crack in Solder
A-2: Short in Varistor
The response includes a long description of the potential
problems. Toyota projected a 10 year cumulative failure rate of less
than 1% for these two problems (and a significant number of these
would occur while the vehicle was still under warranty).
The following statement is from the response letter:
"Toyota has been investigating this issue and is now considering
how to address our customer concerns. Based upon its analysis, Toyota
does not believe that the alleged defect creates an unreasonable risk
to motor vehicle safety. We understand that some customers have been
inconvenienced by engine ECU failure, and some have reported engine
staJling. It is our philosophy that when certain types of Engine ECU
failures occur, engine stall or shutdown is preferable as opposed to
allowing the engine to become damaged or dangerous (i.e. catastrophic
failure, fire, etc.)."
This seem like an insignificant problem to me. I can't see how a
recall would be justifiable unless the failure rate turns out to be a
lot greater. At least so far this is a drop in the bucket. The only
similar "stalling" problem I can recall was the Ford TFI Module
failure problem (modules would sometimes fail if over heated). I think
the failure rate for those was over 10% (hundreds/thousands of times
greater than this). As far i can remember, NHTSA never forced Ford to
recall the cars to replace the TFI, but Ford did extend the warranty
to 100,000 miles. Since the Toyota warranty on the ECM is already
80,000 miles, probably the only outcome of the investigation would be
an extension of the warranty. I know this has been the result of
several other "performance related" investigations.
I think people have forgotten how really good cars are now. Back
in the good old days, stalling of cars was not uncommon. Heck, the
Cressida we owned would go belly up every August. I could count on the
ex calling me and telling me the car had died and all the dash lights
were on at least once each August as long as we owned the car.
Ed
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