The 2010 Avalon is among the products that were pulled
from the market while Toyota developed a fix for its sticking gas
pedal. Now repaired, the Avalon and the others are back on sale.
(photo by Toyota)
After Toyota was forced to stop selling eight of its products late last month over concerns about unintended acceleration, the Corolla, Camry, RAV4, and the others are back on the market.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved Toyota's design fix that is intended to reduce friction of gas pedals that had allegedly been sticking, which Toyota dealers describe as a simple repair.
Toyota saw its sales tumble after pulling its products from the market, losing sales from people put off by the ongoing scandal and then from those who would have bought the car anyway but found themselves blocked from doing so.
There remains some question as to whether Toyota has solved its true problem, with some experts continuing to point the blame at the electronic throttle control rather than floormats or a mechanical piece within the gas pedal.
More details: AutoBlog's "Ultimate Toyota Recall Guide"
Nonetheless, it has been repeatedly documented that a runaway car can be easily stopped simply by sliding the gearshift to Neutral -- the engine gets loud but is no longer connected to the drive wheels -- and braking, or even just by slamming the brakes hard and holding them down. So consumers looking for a Toyota might do well to capitalize on the automaker's suffering image and seek a healthier discount.
See the Autos Examiner's reviews of Toyotas below to see which ones might be worth going after -- and just practicing how to stop, in the event of an acceleration emergency -- and when it might make more sense to just buy a competitor anyway:
Toyota reviews:
2010 4Runner SR5 midsize SUV -- posted 12-6-2009
2009 Camry LE midsize sedan (updated since review) -- posted 2-12-2009
2009 Corolla LE compact sedan -- posted 12-28-2008
2010 Prius II gas-electric hybrid -- posted 7-19-2009
2009 RAV4 Base compact SUV -- posted 4-20-2009
2010 Sienna LE minivan (redesign due this month) -- posted 1-16-2010
2009 Venza midsize SUV -- posted 1-11-2009
2009 Yaris subcompact hatchback -- posted 11-29-2009
Lexus reviews:
2010 HS250h compact hybrid sedan -- posted 12-21-2009
2010 RX350 midsize luxury SUV -- posted 3-22-2009
Scion review:
2009 xD subcompact hatchback -- posted 6-12-2009
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