Recall is now Official

[Pecker]

2fST4U: do you mean rick woolaney?

and did they book it in for the power recall? cos thats where i went and the bloke denied there was a recall on sold sportivos.

[QUICKSILVER]

Guys. does anything seem fishy to you? why would a lack of engine power trigger action from ADR over engine noise? unless its the other way around. be weary guys. they may be playing games. Generally speaking, to make things quieter would mean a loss in power right? so does that mean they have a more restrictive airbox and detuned ECU in store? Hmmm interesting. I don't mean to stir the pot but just wanted everyone to keep their heads up and play it safe.

If for instance, they came out and stated that the engine is too loud by Australian Design regulation for a "non sportscar" and all owners now have to return their cars for de-tuning. what kind of reaction do you think they would get? (rhorical question :P ) i have some reservations about this whole "free upgrade" sounds a little fishy.

Chill, mate. In terms of Aussie standards, vehicles producing more than 140kW are considered to be sport vehicles. Therefore, the staqndard allows for a higher noise level. When the vehicle was approved for the Australian market (through homologation standards), the noise levels were tested in one gear (a requirement for 140+ kW vehicles. However, as it was discovered that the vehicles delivered less than 140kW (thanks to us ) it was realised that the car had not been properly homologated. Thats all.

[Sport1vo]

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Edited May 8, 2005 by sport1vo

[stoopid head]

just spoke to the warranty guy at my dealership. he advised the recall is official and letters are being sent out on 23rd this month with the work being done immediately following.

i asked about the nature of the recall, he said it was purely to do with emissions and induction noise of the air box. i asked is there any power gain? answer= NO, is there any power loss? answer= NO, is there any change to the cars driveablility? answer= NO, do i have to get this modification done? answer= NO.

So whats the deall???????

anyone who gets this recall done please advise on the changes if any.

cheers

[Doolybird]

Hi All

I know some of you are doubting the recall and its motives based on what the service people at a particular dealership tell you. It should be plain to see by from this thread and countless others on this board VERY FEW service managers/underlings know anything about the cars they are trying to service. Especially when it comes to cars that are slightly out of the ordinary such as the sportivo. Wether this is the result of ignorance (thru lack of communication on Toyota Australia's Part) ,just plain incompetence or apathy I dont know and to be honest I dont care. What's Important is to know the facts so that when you come up against one of these morons you can "tell him/her how it is" so to speak.

I am much more likely to trust advice given on this board by certain members in the know rather than some "service mongo"

Just my 2 cents.....and this is not meant to dis all service depts... as we know some are very good.

[qkslvr]

The reason it was hit for breach of noise regulations has previously been posted. In Australia a car with a at the flywheel figure of less than 140kw must conform to very strictnoise regulations, a engine with over 140kw has a muck higher noise regulation. (Try driving a few other 140kw+ vehicles - an older type are for example - and the engine is noisier.

The problem Toyota faces is as the car was supposed to be it met all noise requirements but as the car has fallen short on specified power it had to be retested at the much more strict regulation.

Trust me it is much easier and cheaper for Toyota to make sure the power figure meet 140kw as to get the car to come under the sub 140kw regulations. To lower the noise level they would need to drop the rev limit considerably and they cannot hide that and redo the exhaust at minimum.

Besides Toyota's legal team would not allow them to fake/lie about a recall to secretly detune cars. The lawsuits they would be open too and the volume of fines that would come from the goverment would be unthinkable. They are not that stupid!

And no they do not fly in black helicopters or have a crashed alien spacecraft at their headquarters 

Just chill out a little. If you are so concerned spend your money and have your car put on the same dyno before and after to put your mind at ease. I think I will keep my $150 to $200 and put towards the bulk of some C1 wings  

Thanks for the info man. I was unaware of any such "140kw" magical threshold. taxonomy of cars is not my forte. Well, if i didn't raise the issue then this wouldn't have been clarified. I'm sure other misinformed souls beside myself would have had doubt in the back of their minds too. I was just more verbal. Looks like Toyota was in quite a dilema then.

BTW, the other night i saw a black toyota helicopter airlifting a crash-damaged UFO. :P

[peekay]

Ha ha qkslvr ...By the way when you the recall happens take all spare keys to the dealer with you as they need to recode your keys to the new ECU.

I think I saw the helicopter as well except the ufo was dragging it behind it.

[NIKICH]

Spoke to Toyota Australia and after some digging around by the guy that spoke to me

He said that the car failed under law 83-00 under the ADR guidelines, which he continued to explain that in a certain gear the car was too loud so they needed to boost the power output to comply with the above law.

We all knew that but i also asked him about the gear selector cables, he said that there is limited parts available and that we need to speak to our dealer about this as they will order the replacement parts for us!!!

[jimmywasaracecardriver]

I spoke to my local dealer about a recall and the lady said that her dealership only had 4 cars being recalled and they were all of the held stock. But something sounded fishy. I hate how they are going about hiding this whole issue.

[2fST4U]

hey all,

i calld the other day n i was able to book my car for the recall, n now i calld again in regarding to the recall n the guy der told me to still wait till i get the letter...wat i hate tho..the lady who i spoke wid allowed me to make an appointment n wen i confirm it wid someone else they get me to wait...not happy...

[peekay]

The dealers have no parts for the recall yet be patient. They will get here soon. They are first doing the cars that have been sold but not released to owners. As stated before the leters are going out on the 23rd.

[Pecker]

Well i spoke to a service guy werribee again and he denied the ecu recall about 3 times. But he did mention that Toyota was "modding" the ECU in sportivo.

What a joke. I percisted and said. "So its a recall then" to which he replied "No, its a modification". When is the car industry going to wake up and toss these doosh bags out.

[xoom]

Hi Guys,

sorry for sitting back and not really contributing much as of late as i am currently OS on holidays. But in my time OS i have managed to speak with Toyota Aus & have managed to have my car booked in for when i get back to sort out the power issue & the selector cables issue and other niggles n quirks.

Now even though yes we havent recieved offical letters etc the problem toyota is having right now is availability of parts and them being in the country in time. I have spoken to people in Toyota in South Africa, i have made international calls left right and centre for this and many other issue ive had with the car.

To be honest this is the FIRST time i think that they are actually listening and accepting what is being said. Ive been speaking with managers left right n centre and YES this issue will be resolved for all s'tivo owners is the indication. The problem that is at present is this affects something like 1600 cars n so they need to get parts for these.

As i believe peekay already mentioned they need to get the already sold cars to their owners rather than keep on holding them in the dealerships and that sounds fair enough to me.

Now i have been promised from a national management level that when i take my car back in i will get all these fixes performed on the car. BUT it has also been indicated if a typhoon takes out the ship carrying the parts well there will be a delay if u get my drift. ;) ;)

All i can say right now is ive been chasing this and other issues for almost exactly a year which for some is longer than some of you boys have owned your cars n now that we have action and things r moving i think we need to b just a little patient.

I would recommend that you stop pushing these issues through the dealership service centres as they are not being fed the information now as we know about it for some reason or they are and they accidently deleted the email ;) :P either way. For any issues i would recommend speak with toyota cust service directly and liase with them to organise a time with a dealership of your choice to have all parts etc available for when you take your car in as i think the dealerships are still not yet in the loop.

Cheers

Bill