Floor Mat Inspection???

[Evolved]

I recently purchased a used Tacoma from a dealership (not going to name the dealership at this time). On the test drive everything felt fine and normal. The sales guy said they perform a 1 million point inspection and they already put 3 grand into the truck fixing the rack and pinion and a few other items that needed replaced. The morning after the purchase I noticed a vibration coming from the front end, it was a consistent slow vibration. My first thought was they just rotated the tires and I am getting a vibration from that. That afternoon the dealership called to ask how my experience was, I explained my new found concern and they said "bring it down, we will take a look and fix it if we find anything." I took it down, spent half a day away from work (losing money) for them to say they could find nothing. Whatever... They obviously didn't drive it. So, I left and figured if it got worse I would go back and bring the concern up again (now that it has been documented in their system).

Today I look at the paperwork I had left on my desk, read line 1 and then read line 2. I really hope that is some special code they use to say they test drove the vehicle and everything looked fine? I haven't called the service writer yet, when I get a break in a few I am going to call.

 

[mesha]

HUH?

 

[Evolved]

HUH?

Wait... I think I read that wrong. I was pissed at them initially and then I read the floor mat part and it sent me through the roof. I thought they had disregarded what I was talking about and did a floor mat inspection and that is all. No clue where the floor mat part came in. I definitely did not complain about my floor mats being weird. Hahaha, that calmed me down some.

 

[mesha]

I am with you. Why is floor mat inspection even a thing?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I am with you. Why is floor mat inspection even a thing?

Because Toyota spent billons of dollars defending themselves against floor mat issues, "unintended acceleration", recalls, appeared before congress, etc.



I'm not seeing what has you triggered on the paperwork but I'm assuming they automatically insert #2 for every job that comes into the shop per Toyota corporate.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Wait... I think I read that wrong. I was pissed at them initially and then I read the floor mat part and it sent me through the roof. I thought they had disregarded what I was talking about and did a floor mat inspection and that is all. No clue where the floor mat part came in. I definitely did not complain about my floor mats being weird. Hahaha, that calmed me down some.

Yes, you're looking at two different "complaints", the 2nd of which is the floor mat which they likely put on every single repair order that comes through the door.

 

[mesha]

Because Toyota spent billons of dollars defending themselves against floor mat issues, "unintended acceleration", recalls, appeared before congress, etc.

I'm not seeing what has you triggered on the paperwork but I'm assuming they automatically insert #2 for every job that comes into the shop per Toyota corporate.

I guess Toyota can make awesome and reliable cars, but not floor mats. I still think it is sad that floor mat inspection has to exist. That is a crazy thing to cost a company billions of dollars.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I guess Toyota can make awesome and reliable cars, but not floor mats. I still think it is sad that floor mat inspection has to exist. That is a crazy thing to cost a company billions of dollars.

Welcome to America. Customer puts all-weather mats on top of their carpet mats. Pedal jams against balled up floor mats and Toyota spends billions to resolve. They did massive recalls to have a tech put a new clip on the mat, shorten pedals and verify there was a single floor mat per side. Now they are total knee-jerk about floor mats and every dealer has a mandate to ensure a floor mat doesn't get balled up against the pedals.

 

[Evolved]

Wow... thanks for the insight on floor mat inspections.

I'm not seeing what has you triggered on the paperwork but I'm assuming they automatically insert #2 for every job that comes into the shop per Toyota corporate.

What initially triggered me was when I took the truck in they said they were unable to replicate the vibration. I feel it every time I drive the truck and even had two other people drive it to make sure I wasn't nuts and it was there (they agreed). Then I quickly glanced at the paper and saw line 1 where it states I could feel the vibration and saw the second line. I didn't read much more because I felt they were discarding my complaint and the tech or writer thought they were being funny with a "floor mat inspection". I am glad I waited to call them because I would have looked like a jackass. I usually wait a few hours if possible to send an email or call to complain.

 

[RockChucker]

Welcome to America. Customer puts all-weather mats on top of their carpet mats. Pedal jams against balled up floor mats and Toyota spends billions to resolve. They did massive recalls to have a tech put a new clip on the mat, shorten pedals and verify there was a single floor mat per side. Now they are total knee-jerk about floor mats and every dealer has a mandate to ensure a floor mat doesn't get balled up against the pedals.

I heard a different story, and that the floor mat was what it was blamed on as a "cover up." I heard it was actually faulty software in the drive by wire system. Then that was seemingly further confirmed when my wife had a case study in here software engineering classes detailing what I had heard.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I heard a different story, and that the floor mat was what it was blamed on as a "cover up." I heard it was actually faulty software in the drive by wire system. Then that was seemingly further confirmed when my wife had a case study in here software engineering classes detailing what I had heard.

NASA couldn't find a fault. Toyota didn't flash any computers, they didn't recall any ECU's... yet the complaints and problems went away as they fixed floor mats Sounds like a great narrative for a software engineering professor. False yet a fun paroble.

"Earlier this year, the Department of  Transportation released the results of its study into the blizzard of reports that various Toyota and Lexus models were accelerating out of control. The DOT concluded that, other than a number of incidents caused by accelerators hanging up on incorrectly fitted floor mats, the accidents were caused by drivers depressing their accelerators when they intended to apply their brakes. “Pedal misapplication” was the DOT’s delicate terminology  for this phenomenon...."

"...A field examination of 58 vehicles said to be involved in unintended-acceleration crashes revealed no evidence of  brake failure or throttle malfunction. Moreover, these Toyotas were equipped with simple event data recorders (EDRs, or “black boxes”), as about 85 percent of new cars are. Of the 39 vehicles that fit the unintended-acceleration pattern and had usable EDR data, none showed sustained, pre-crash braking taking place and 35 revealed high or increasing accelerator position.

The reported high-speed incidents were far more rare. After examining the various cases, most of them turned out to be related to alcohol use or drivers’ medical problems: The EDRs showed no pre-impact braking or substantial acceleration, suggesting drivers who were unaware of impending crashes..."

It's All Your Fault: The DOT Renders Its Verdict on Toyota's Unintended-Acceleration Scare

The final word on the Toyota unintended-acceleration mess.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[jeeper]

My brother had a truck in High school with those cool 90's metal pedal covers we had to throw on it. They screwed on, and the screws poked out the back. It was quite frequent that the mat would get caught by the screws on the pedals and let the truck keep accelerating. It was always a trip to experience while driving. We got pretty good at shuffling our feet the right way to correct it quickly.


The adult in me is now wondering why we just didn't take the pedal covers off??

 

[Homefryy]

The adult in me is now wondering why we just didn't take the pedal covers off??

Because then you would have lost at least 10HP. Pedals get medals...or something like that.