electrical defects cause priuses to stall; toyota may be bracing for a legal fight as safety worries grow
by：Zhenyu
2020-02-19
Toyota is closely monitoring the power system failures of some Prius models, and although 2014 of the safety recalls should solve the problem, failures across the country continue, according to the Toyota documents reviewed by The Times.
Toyota documents show that dealers returned more than 800 defective electrical parts of the Toyota Prius model to automakers and their external technical consultants
One month after the electrical system failed this year.
Overheating can cause damage to key electrical components and the resulting power outage can put drivers in trouble, a problem that has plagued Toyota for about seven years.
But the scope of security issues is growing.
Last year, a woman driving Prius in Florida was seriously injured when she lost her motivation on a busy four-wheel drive.
Lane Highway and rear
End at 55 miles per hour.
According to federal records, on 2016, another Prius accident on the Orange County Highway injured and reported to the federal security regulator.
S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is reviewing a petition filed by Toyota dealer Roger Hogan in Southern California on December for a formal defect investigation.
The federal agency said it had sought more information from Hogan, who owns both Clermont Toyota and Capistrano Toyota, and met with Toyota delegates during the review.
Prior to NHTSA\'s review, Hogan filed a lawsuit last year and filed a separate lawsuit seeking first-class
Los Angeles lawyer Skip Miller filed the status of the lawsuit with the federal court.
The issue has also attracted the attention of congressional security advocates. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan. )
According to his staff, the chairman of the Senate Business Committee subcommittee on consumer protection, product safety, insurance and data security has begun investigating the Prius issue.
The overheating problem occurs in a device called an inverter that controls the flow of electricity between the car\'s battery and the two motors.
The device is affected by excessive internal temperature, which may damage the transistor that converts the lower temperature
DC current from battery to higher voltage-
Voltage AC of motor.
When the brake is applied and the current is returned to charge the battery, the power flow reverses.
Toyota said in a statement, \"We will continue to monitor claims and developments in the field and will take any appropriate action.
The automaker said the Prius \"has a long history as a safe and reliable car and is one of Toyota\'s most popular models\", which \"is committed to our safety and security customers.
Officials at Toyota\'s U. S. branchS.
The headquarters in Texas seems to be preparing for a war.
Toyota began asking dealers in January to return all failed inverters or its main components, known as smart power modules, to the company\'s North American headquarters in Texas, an unusual move. According to Hogan
Before that, he said, Toyota would just ask for samples of faulty parts. Then on Feb.
8. Toyota instructed dealers to send faulty inverters or modules to Exponent, an engineering and consulting firm at Menlo Park, which often helps the company survive the product liability crisis.
On 2010, Toyota used Exponent to defend allegations of sudden acceleration of its Camry and other models, which caused a large number of deaths nationwide and triggered a series of lawsuits.
Toyota was eventually fined. record $1.
2 billion the federal regulator failed to notify NHTSA of the defect in a timely manner.
The company was released only last year from an extended criminal prosecution.
Toyota released a safety recall in 2014, covering up to 800,000 Prius models manufactured between 2010 and 2014.
Recall documents show that Toyota has been tracking the inverter problem since 2011, when its engineers found that the solder joint broke due to \"excessive thermal stress.
\"The 2014 recall modified the software that controls the inverter and the computer of the entire transmission system of the car.
The lawsuit held that the software fix failed to resolve the issue, citing many cases where the Prius electrical system was shut down even after the software was modified.
Hogan said that 100 Priuses of his dealers have installed inverters that failed after the recall software.
In his petition for a recall, Hogan claimed that the purpose of the software repair was to avoid the replacement of the inverter and its main components, the smart power module, for $2,000 or more.
He said it would cost only $80 per car to be repaired by software.
When the inverter is overheated, Prius either loses power or enters what the company calls a \"limp\"
Home \"mode, which allows to drive at a very low speed.
Hogan said he refused to sell more than 70 primary products he trade in
Because he thinks they\'re not safe.
A Toyota representative rejected Hogan\'s allegations that the recall was intended to address the possibility that the inverter failure could cause the hybrid system to shut down rather than enter a lame state. home mode.
The company said Hogan was \"continuing his Prius recall to remedy the charges to advance his $100 --
Millions of lawsuits against Toyota have removed the focus from his dealer\'s poor performance and accused Toyota of failing to meet his son\'s basic qualifications as general manager at one of its dealers.
The company noted that these allegations were not made by the other 1,200 dealers.
Hogan denied the claim.
Hogan and some Toyota owners said that in some inverter failures, the car still lost all its power and did not enter a lame state. home mode.
On a car that was taken to the Hogan dealer, the inverter became so hot that the holes were melted through the aluminum shell.
He says the internal parts of others are covered with soot.
Sudden power failure is often considered a serious safety defect.
GM was forced to recall 29 million cars in North America since 2014, when the defective ignition switch would suddenly shut down the engine.
GM has provided compensation for the death of 124 people associated with the defect.
Examples of crashes caused by a power outage in Prius are now emerging.
Margaret long lives in Port Charlotte, Florida.
, Drove to the hospital in last August to pick up her husband when losing power at 2010 Prius in the busy fourlane highway.
Long, a retired university teacher who was 80, was hit at 55 miles an hour from behind and drove into the center.
The accident resulted in spinal fractures, rib fractures, and lung perforation, Long said.
The head injury in the accident also affected her memory.
Dragon\'s husband Marin suspects the car is out of power due to an inverter failure.
Vehicle records show that Prius received the updated software in the recall on 2014.
The vehicle was declared total loss by the insurance company and auctioned.
Aubrie George grobus witnessed the accident and came to help the dragon.
In an interview, grobus said his car had completely stopped as it turned to the long dragon.
\"I said to myself, it doesn\'t look very good,\" he recalls . \".
A Toyota Camry came up at full speed, hitting hard for so long that it broke the seat back of Prius, and her back minister lay down when grobus stepped up to help her
\"I said, don\'t move, madam.
\"On February 2016, a driver in San Diego complained to NHTSA about the 2012 Prius he lost power on Interstate 5, after he stopped-
Finally, he was sent to the emergency room.
NHTSA edited the name of the individual on its website, but the complaint included seven detailed supporting documents in which the driver took the inverter failure as the cause.
In his complaint, the driver said that after dozens of phone calls, \"Toyota avoided any recognition of the fact that the car was turned off. \"ralph.
Vartabedian @ latimes.
Toyota documents show that dealers returned more than 800 defective electrical parts of the Toyota Prius model to automakers and their external technical consultants
One month after the electrical system failed this year.
Overheating can cause damage to key electrical components and the resulting power outage can put drivers in trouble, a problem that has plagued Toyota for about seven years.
But the scope of security issues is growing.
Last year, a woman driving Prius in Florida was seriously injured when she lost her motivation on a busy four-wheel drive.
Lane Highway and rear
End at 55 miles per hour.
According to federal records, on 2016, another Prius accident on the Orange County Highway injured and reported to the federal security regulator.
S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is reviewing a petition filed by Toyota dealer Roger Hogan in Southern California on December for a formal defect investigation.
The federal agency said it had sought more information from Hogan, who owns both Clermont Toyota and Capistrano Toyota, and met with Toyota delegates during the review.
Prior to NHTSA\'s review, Hogan filed a lawsuit last year and filed a separate lawsuit seeking first-class
Los Angeles lawyer Skip Miller filed the status of the lawsuit with the federal court.
The issue has also attracted the attention of congressional security advocates. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan. )
According to his staff, the chairman of the Senate Business Committee subcommittee on consumer protection, product safety, insurance and data security has begun investigating the Prius issue.
The overheating problem occurs in a device called an inverter that controls the flow of electricity between the car\'s battery and the two motors.
The device is affected by excessive internal temperature, which may damage the transistor that converts the lower temperature
DC current from battery to higher voltage-
Voltage AC of motor.
When the brake is applied and the current is returned to charge the battery, the power flow reverses.
Toyota said in a statement, \"We will continue to monitor claims and developments in the field and will take any appropriate action.
The automaker said the Prius \"has a long history as a safe and reliable car and is one of Toyota\'s most popular models\", which \"is committed to our safety and security customers.
Officials at Toyota\'s U. S. branchS.
The headquarters in Texas seems to be preparing for a war.
Toyota began asking dealers in January to return all failed inverters or its main components, known as smart power modules, to the company\'s North American headquarters in Texas, an unusual move. According to Hogan
Before that, he said, Toyota would just ask for samples of faulty parts. Then on Feb.
8. Toyota instructed dealers to send faulty inverters or modules to Exponent, an engineering and consulting firm at Menlo Park, which often helps the company survive the product liability crisis.
On 2010, Toyota used Exponent to defend allegations of sudden acceleration of its Camry and other models, which caused a large number of deaths nationwide and triggered a series of lawsuits.
Toyota was eventually fined. record $1.
2 billion the federal regulator failed to notify NHTSA of the defect in a timely manner.
The company was released only last year from an extended criminal prosecution.
Toyota released a safety recall in 2014, covering up to 800,000 Prius models manufactured between 2010 and 2014.
Recall documents show that Toyota has been tracking the inverter problem since 2011, when its engineers found that the solder joint broke due to \"excessive thermal stress.
\"The 2014 recall modified the software that controls the inverter and the computer of the entire transmission system of the car.
The lawsuit held that the software fix failed to resolve the issue, citing many cases where the Prius electrical system was shut down even after the software was modified.
Hogan said that 100 Priuses of his dealers have installed inverters that failed after the recall software.
In his petition for a recall, Hogan claimed that the purpose of the software repair was to avoid the replacement of the inverter and its main components, the smart power module, for $2,000 or more.
He said it would cost only $80 per car to be repaired by software.
When the inverter is overheated, Prius either loses power or enters what the company calls a \"limp\"
Home \"mode, which allows to drive at a very low speed.
Hogan said he refused to sell more than 70 primary products he trade in
Because he thinks they\'re not safe.
A Toyota representative rejected Hogan\'s allegations that the recall was intended to address the possibility that the inverter failure could cause the hybrid system to shut down rather than enter a lame state. home mode.
The company said Hogan was \"continuing his Prius recall to remedy the charges to advance his $100 --
Millions of lawsuits against Toyota have removed the focus from his dealer\'s poor performance and accused Toyota of failing to meet his son\'s basic qualifications as general manager at one of its dealers.
The company noted that these allegations were not made by the other 1,200 dealers.
Hogan denied the claim.
Hogan and some Toyota owners said that in some inverter failures, the car still lost all its power and did not enter a lame state. home mode.
On a car that was taken to the Hogan dealer, the inverter became so hot that the holes were melted through the aluminum shell.
He says the internal parts of others are covered with soot.
Sudden power failure is often considered a serious safety defect.
GM was forced to recall 29 million cars in North America since 2014, when the defective ignition switch would suddenly shut down the engine.
GM has provided compensation for the death of 124 people associated with the defect.
Examples of crashes caused by a power outage in Prius are now emerging.
Margaret long lives in Port Charlotte, Florida.
, Drove to the hospital in last August to pick up her husband when losing power at 2010 Prius in the busy fourlane highway.
Long, a retired university teacher who was 80, was hit at 55 miles an hour from behind and drove into the center.
The accident resulted in spinal fractures, rib fractures, and lung perforation, Long said.
The head injury in the accident also affected her memory.
Dragon\'s husband Marin suspects the car is out of power due to an inverter failure.
Vehicle records show that Prius received the updated software in the recall on 2014.
The vehicle was declared total loss by the insurance company and auctioned.
Aubrie George grobus witnessed the accident and came to help the dragon.
In an interview, grobus said his car had completely stopped as it turned to the long dragon.
\"I said to myself, it doesn\'t look very good,\" he recalls . \".
A Toyota Camry came up at full speed, hitting hard for so long that it broke the seat back of Prius, and her back minister lay down when grobus stepped up to help her
\"I said, don\'t move, madam.
\"On February 2016, a driver in San Diego complained to NHTSA about the 2012 Prius he lost power on Interstate 5, after he stopped-
Finally, he was sent to the emergency room.
NHTSA edited the name of the individual on its website, but the complaint included seven detailed supporting documents in which the driver took the inverter failure as the cause.
In his complaint, the driver said that after dozens of phone calls, \"Toyota avoided any recognition of the fact that the car was turned off. \"ralph.
Vartabedian @ latimes.
