Guys,

Look at it this way, 2 months ago most of us had been driving our cars for 2 to 3 years. Were you happy then? Did you feel safe in your car? Did your TCH do everything it was supposed to do? How many times had it been to the dealer to fix a problem?

If you were happy two weeks ago and are wondering now, welcome to the "out of control media" age. I still like mine, do not have a problem with the car and will continue to drive and enjoy it...

 

David, I concur, and thanks for your insightfull post. I am on my second TCH. Put over 60,000 miles on my 2007 TCH, and NEVER had it to the dealer for any warranty work. Now have over 10,000 miles on our 2009 TCH. My wife drives it daily. If I (or her!) had ANY concern about it's safety, she wouldn't be driving it.

 

The answers to these questions:

1. No, we are not necessarily safe. See my posts in this forum regarding my UA incidents.

2. Yes, we are under recall, program 90L. See my post at

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...60/index5.html

Stay tuned for my after the fact report, tomorrow afternoon.

 

I've considered that this report might be of interest beyond this thread.

Please see new Thread, "SSC 90L Recall work on 2009 Camry Hybrid."

 

Lest anyone read this and start fearing that the Camry is the modern day Corvair, I believe people might see this and get the wrong impression.

To summarize my understanding of the UA problem, there are three separate Camry related issues.

1. CTS Pedal getting stuck...not applicable to the TCH
2. Software upgrade to install the Brake Throttle Override...not applicable to the TCH, the car already has it
3. Floot mat problem...applicable to the TCH with two fixes
   1. Winter mats were recalled and new ones were issued that can't be put on top of summer mats. These are redesigned with less space that could possibly cover the pedal.
   2. Pedal reshaping. Under recall

Given this, I think the TCH is 'safe' as long as the driver is aware of the mat and pedal issue and avails themselves of the proper remedy (recall or to verify that the mats are properly situated).

The comment you made might lead some to get the impression that these are 'death traps'...I don't believe they are.

 

Thanks, Larry.

I certainly did not mean to give that impression.

In fact, certainly at this point (given, that is, the completion of the 90L recall), I share your opinion re. the safety of the TCH . That was the point of my raising the question in the first place. And I think that the lack of response to the question, so far, tends to confirm our opinion.

But I do think that there may possibly still be other problems that need attention. Both Prius owners and those of gas Camry's have reported UA incidents that can not be attributed to floor mats, accelerator pedal assemblies or any other problem so far being addressed. So, until we learn what the other causes have been on these similar cars, I think we need to keep our minds open to the possibility that other problems may exist.

In the interest of full disclosure re. how valuable might be my own opinion re. the safety of the TCH (or, in fact those of other TCH owner-enthusiasts as emotionally wed to their car as I) , however, I must disclose that I learned to drive in a 1960 Corvair, and to this day I still consider it a safe car as do legions of Corvair enthusiasts. Most of us Corvair fans think that the Corvair was always as safe as any econobox. Unfortunately some models looked looked sports cars, and some drivers tried driving them like such -with disastrous results. We also think that the car's handling was ultimately greatly improved as a result of the publicity, and in the end it became a great car to drive, even like a sports car, but it could not survive the bad press in spite of the fact that the problems had been resolved.

Around the corner from my office there is a body shop that specializes in restoration of Corvairs. Watching their production, I see that there are large numbers of Corvair enthusiasts, in this locale alone, still spending huge amounts of money on their favorites.

In the unfortunate event that all of the current bad press leads Toyota to stop making Camry's, I'd place a heavy bet that 40 or 50 years from now, the body shop around the corner will be doing a booming business restoring them for folks who love their TCH's as much as you and I.