Toyota And Nissan In 6.5 Million Airbag Recall

Toyota And Nissan In 6.5 Million Airbag Recall

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1482967/toyota-and-nissan-in-6-5-million-airbag-recall

 

No info on the Nissan web site as yet.

Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable. They've had some of the biggest recalls in the past few years.

Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable. They've had some of the biggest recalls in the past few years.

 

Almost always for safety and not reliability reasons though, so the claim is correct.

Almost always for safety and not reliability reasons though, so the claim is correct.

 

I'd hardly say they are safe OR reliable based on recent recalls.

Edited May 13, 2015 by chloe-choco

Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable.

Took the dust sheets off the MX5 at the weekend, not touched it in the last 6 or 7 months (garage-hibernated mid-Oct'14 IIRC). 17 springs young, and everything original throughout (except tyres and filters/plugs, of course).

 

Checked the levels and visually the belts, all good. Reconnected the battery and cranked it. First turn of the key, first catch of the starter motor. Tappets were unsurprisingly a bit noisy for the first 5 mins (due a service and oil change), and brakes a bit scratchy/crunchy to begin with, but all silent/absolutely fine after engine started to warm up and a few 'clearing' applications of brakes.

 

I'd not been out with 15 minutes this morning (1st time, insured and taxed it last night) that some guy was already asking me at the lights if it's for sale. Eeeeh - no.

Edited May 13, 2015 by L00b

To be fair you could say exactly the same about any modern car that was properly garaged.

 

I tried to start the 850 a couple of weeks back after it had been laid up for three years. New battery as the old one was marginal three years back so I recycled it. That was it - ten seconds of cranking and it fired, couple of cylinders missed for a few seconds and she was away. Runs rough because the fuel is off but a new tank will sort that out.

 

Mates MX5 always was tappy on startup but that goes within a few seconds and it's fine - I never had one but I always fancied one for summer runs in Provence.

To be fair you could say exactly the same about any modern car that was properly garaged.

Oh, I don't know, e.g. seen plenty of -64 and -15 plated VWs on AA/RAC flatbeds recently, could be a coincidence

 

By 'modern' standards (electric- and assisted-everything with a PC to run it all on the fewest sips), the MX is anything but 'modern', and I daresay that's why it endures so effortlessly.

 

Alright it's a late 80s-design, we're not talking Minors and Marinas...but even for the age (ours is a late '98 Mk1) in mechanical terms, it's as basic as they come. There's an ECU under the bonnet and a car radio and, errr...that's it. No ABS, EBS, XYZABC <etc.> or, for that matter, aircon, leccy windows or roof. This is the philosophy which made the reputation of Japanese automotive engineering in the 80s/90s: design under KISS, overspec the build/tolerances for the stuff that matters (engine, running train etc. - e.g. the MX5 n/a bloc was designed for forced induction as standard), don't bother much with the toys/interior.

 

Same with e.g. Subaru when they got their 'indestructible' reputation: there was nothing that mechanically complex about them, the reason they were (still are?) so reliable is precisely because they were made of elegantly simple technical solutions/implementations.

Mates MX5 always was tappy on startup but that goes within a few seconds and it's fine - I never had one but I always fancied one for summer runs in Provence.

I regret keeping ours completely off the road and not driving shortly before deciding on the Cooper S convertible earlier this year. I think I wouldn't have bought the Mini. Gear change, driving positions and torque steer are just so clunky/wrong/bleh compared to the MX5. Edited May 13, 2015 by L00b

Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable. They've had some of the biggest recalls in the past few years.

 

Is that related to the level of mechanical problems they typically experience?

 

---------- Post added 13-05-2015 at 13:49 ----------

 

I'd hardly say they are safe OR reliable based on recent recalls.

 

Does a recall somehow make the cars less reliable?

I'm not sure about "less reliable" but to me it speaks of rushed builds with not enough testing.

 

But we know that the owners are really the long term testing guinea pigs, and their feedback to dealerships go into a revised or facelifted model a few years on.

Is that related to the level of mechanical problems they typically experience?

 

---------- Post added 13-05-2015 at 13:49 ----------

 

 

Does a recall somehow make the cars less reliable?

 

Well this latest recall seems to suggest the airbags are not that reliable, is it a question that really needs answering?

Well this latest recall seems to suggest the airbags are not that reliable, is it a question that really needs answering?

The recall is about Tanaka airbags only (not other airbag manufacturers, and Toyota just buys and fits them in their cars, they don't make them), is based on safety in view of 5 deaths and dozens of injuries potentially caused by too-fast airbag inflation:

The airbags - which can inflate with too much force, shooting out metal shards - have been linked to at least five deaths and dozens of injuries.

(potentially, because 'linked to' does not mean the same as 'caused by').

 

For context, 'more than' 2 millions Tanaka airbags have deployed since 1987:

The letter added: "Our airbags have deployed safely in more than two million auto accidents around the world since we began producing them in 1987, saving many thousands of lives."

So, the recall is about a probability of (let's say 5 deaths and 3 dozens injuries) 0.00205%, assuming that

 

(i) an accident occurs

 

(ii) with sufficient force to cause airbag deployment (from 1st hand experience, I can tell you that's some force to begin with, very likely car-writing off force)

 

(iii) and the car is being used in a high humidity area (identified as being a primary cause of the company's airbag propellant becoming volatile).

 

Everybody calm down. Please.

Edited May 13, 2015 by L00b

Makes me laugh when people say that Japanese cars are the best and most reliable. They've had some of the biggest recalls in the past few years.

 

Just a couple of points here. Nissan and Toyota make around 1 million cars a year in the UK. Airbags tend to be a bought in item. There was a time in the USA where Ford discovered a major safety issue on one of its cars. They carried on regardless as the compensation to those killed was less than the cost of putting the faults right.

Edited May 13, 2015 by evil woman