Shares in Japanese car giant Toyota have tumbled more than 15 per cent in a week as the company struggles to contain the fallout from a safety recall affecting millions of its cars, including its top-selling Camry and Corolla models. The automaker has said it is closing in on a solution to the problem that could cause accelerator pedals to stick. But the growing recall has badly dented the company’s reputation for quality and reliability. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Awad reports. (29 Jan, 2010)

It is a 1996 Toyota Celica GT (2.2L 4Cyl.). My check engine light has been on for a year and the car has been to several different mechanics – none of whom can figure out what the problem is. I have had it tuned-up, replaced the fuel chamber, used fuel-injector cleaner and many other things, none of which have helped. Lately, the car has been stalling when it is shifted into drive and refuses to accelerate above 10 mph, for about 10 seconds. It also feels as though I am pushing and releasing the accelerator rapidly at certain rpms (this has been occuring for a year). The diagnostic reveals a rich fuel/air ratio, but does not indicate a mechanical failure. When the gas tank is full or 3/4 full, it smells like gasoline and leaks from below the rear passenger seats. Please help!

You have this guy in a Prius that calls police for help and he says to apply the brakes and the emergency brake? REALLY? Even the news says to apply firm pressure to the brakes. REALLY? Why not just shut it off you FOOLS?! Nobody ever thought of that? Or even putting it in neutral would be a better idea than fighting speed with brakes. Sure, you would blow your engine, but Toyota would have to give you a new one and you would at least not DIE trying to overcompensate the accelerator, which won’t work.
Hey Masked Akitist, next time you are on the freeway, shut your car off and give it a try. Once your car is MOVING, steering is just as easy as if was power steering. Power assisted steering is for when the car is STOPPED. I ran out of gas once on the highway in the HOV lane and changed 5 lanes over AND made a right hand turn into a gas station. Cars in the 50s didn’t even have power steering. Guess you need to visit the gym or learn your facts.
Oh and to think of it, my 2 TON WRECKER died on the highway and I was able to safely steer it to the shoulder..so ANYONE ought to be able to steer a Prius that weighs less than most bicycles.

A news report on Toyota’s latest recalls

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Toyota Motor says the massive recalls of vehicles due to gas pedal problems could end up costing it billion.

Those costs were not enough to stop it from reporting significant improvement in earnings in the quarter ending Dec. 31, and a much better forecast for the fiscal year ending in March. But it is clear the safety and recall problems will remain a major headache for the company.

The company assumes it will lose 100,000 new vehicle sales due to the gas pedal recalls, with about 80,000 in North America and the rest in Europe. ON Tuesday, the company estimated that it lost 20,000 U.S. sales due to the recall in January, which halted the sales of its most popular U.S. models for the last five days of the month.

The recall cost estimates do not include any expenses or lost sales associated with an expected recall of the Prius, the hybrid vehicle which is the best-selling model in Japan and Toyota’s No. 4 best-selling vehicle in the United States.

Toyota said Thursday that a software problem is causing problems with the brakes, although it has yet to announce a recall while it studies the problem further.

Despite the company’s admission that it is looking at the Prius’ software, Toyota Motor managing officer Takuo Sasaki repeated the company’s previous statements that it is confident the problem with the gas pedals is only a mechanical defect that will be solved by the fix announced earlier this week.

Some critics have charged that the accelerator problem is also an electrical problem, and the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration is now looking at whether the company’s electrical systems played a role in the problems with uncontrolled acceleration.

what is your opinion?