I'm splitting hairs here, but you actually could lose control of the steering wheel even while gripping it firmly.

Suppose you are in a situation where you need to turn left, but your steering wheel and the wheels it controls simply will not turn counterclockwise, as if you were already at the end of the turning travel? Also, suppose you were in a situation where something (a bump or pothole for example) caused the wheels to turn and it pulled the steering wheel to turn with it, despite your efforts to correct? Your hands would be on the steering wheel, but you'd have no control of it.

Mark the date...I am actually going to defend Toyota.........

Two misleading issues built into NHTSA requirements on recall of automobiles.....

1. Most recalls are for issues that suppliers to auto companies discover after they've shipped parts to automakers and automakers have installed them in vehicles. Of course, the most logical question is "Well why don't they check them before they use them?" They do. Where the recalls tend to happen is in long term durability discovery of a missed condition. HUH? Example....Supplier finds out through examination of a part returned through warranty repair root cause analysis that a part made on a certain day (may have been 2 or 3 years ago) did not receive proper heat treat processing. Now they have to notify the automaker. The supplier and automaker try to identify what the failure mode(s) could be and what the affected population could be. If there is a safety related failure mode, the product must be recalled. It may involve a situation where NO ONE has experienced the failure mode, but because there is some concern that the failure mode could happen, you must identify the population for recall.<
2. Could be that the affected population is a two or three day period in the supplier's production. But that two or three day supply could have been depleted over usage in eight vehicle product lines over a seven month period. Unless you can nail it down to a set of specific VIN codes for every suspect part, you wind up recalling the entire population. It doesn't mean they are all bad. In some cases, you may know that exactly 72 of them are bad, but because of supply and usage patterns, they could be installed in any of 300,000 vehicles. You have to recall them all. All the public hears is "XYZ Company is forced to recall 300,000 vehicles because of a defect that could cause you to lose control of your vehicle". <

Most of the time the dealer is focused on confirming that vehicles brought in for the recall do not exhibit the condition of concern. This could be as simple as confirming that the date code for the part falls outside of the candidate window or it could be that the company has simply decided to replace them all, regardless of build date.


Peace,

Martin

I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues

I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues

I am NOT the official voice of GM with respect to Hybrid issues

LOL!
you're splitting the wrong hare, there!!

if you've got a good grip on the steering wheel, no matter what happens to the other end of the mechanism (i'm talking electric-boost prius, here...) you ain't gonna lose control of the wheel.

on the other hand, if the wheel ain't connected to the suspension because something broke somewhere, having control of the wheel is irrelevant, 'cause you're doggoned well likely to lose control of the CAR!

and even if the steering wheel came off in your hands, you'd still have control over it ! all the way into the trees on the side of the road...

i had to jump through "some-antics" to do that one, but you get my "drift"?

+af
Northwest Raleigh, NC, USA
'04 Silver opt.BC/9; 24,000+ miles so far
http://www.plusaf.com/prius/prius.htm
http://www.plusaf.com/coast/coast1.htm
My Prius without the trailer:

My Prius with the trailer:

Thanks Martin,

Good explanation. I had long wondered how huge recalls came about.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
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