Car recalls: Oh, stop your whining

I t’s been a bad few weeks for some of the world’s largest carmakers, with recalls now edging close to 10,000,000 cars, SUVs and trucks worldwide, especially the latest version of the Toyota Prius Hybrid. But let’s get a grip on reality here. Brian Ross on ABC is making headlines to sell cornflakes. The rest of the news media is doing the same. That is their business model: make advertising dollars out of truthful sensationalism.

  However, as Dr. Colin Brown, Dir. Of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK has pointed out, on average worldwide, there are about 3 recalls a week anyway. In a normal year there are about 150 recalls and about 120,000,000 vehicles a year have modifications to make them safer or slightly more reliable. Are all these recalls normal? “It’s like saying a cold day is not normal for February… This pattern of recalls is absolutely normal, within the normal behavior of cars.â€� In short, cars are mechanical machines that develop unseen problems once in widespread use.

  Dr. Brown reports, “Averaged over the year, these [latest] 10,000,000 recalls will become normal statistics for any given year… Cars are getting more complicated. We want them to become more complicated because they become more efficient, they pollute the planet less.â€� If you look at the statistics, the number of recalls has increased over the last 16 years but it is affecting fewer and fewer cars, so overall the number of cars affected every year remains pretty much constant.

  New cars are a luxury, are more affordable and have much better performance than our parents ever dreamed of. A modern Toyota family car rides better, drives better, has more gizmos, is plusher than any Cadillac of the ‘50s, ‘60s or ‘70s. The hottest street car of the ‘60s is now out accelerated, corners worse, and is much slower overall than the modern average family 4-door. 1970 Camaro vs. 2010 Camry? No contest, the Camry does everything much, much better, faster, and more reliably.

   We want our cars to be perfect; we want them to work every time we get in them. Those of us old enough remember the worry of “will it start or even work this morning?â€� Those of you who are too young or who have forgotten, borrow someone’s prized and restored 20+ year old car and see how reliable, safe and comfortable it is. Mostly, they are pigs (although fun in a challenging way) to drive.

  The Prius is a bit of a special case because it has two braking systems (BMW and Audi are busy evaluating this for their upcoming hybrids). As you switch between these systems (soft pedal vs. sudden hard peddle) there is a lag, like gliding on ice for a second. That’s very disconcerting. And if you happen to make a mistake and brake and accelerate at the same time with both feet or accidentally hit both pedals with one large foot (snow boots?), then the main brakes are not engaged because the Prius computer overrides the regenerative brakes by the accelerator command. Toyota is recalling this. Fix coming soon to a garage near you: touch the brakes and you cannot accelerate. To cope with bad drivers using both feet at the same time, I’m sure they’ll space the pedals another few inches apart in the future.

  In cars, there is only one function that is not mechanically connected and that is the accelerator; since the advent of fuel injection, that system is fly-by-wire. To activate the fly-by-wire (a potentiometer) you mechanically push the pedal. The Toyota plastic pedal mechanism (made in USA) was sticking, hence the recall. The computer controlling this function may also have code glitches (Microsoft anyone?). But until the advent of drivers so coddled by modern function, mechanical perfection, car reliability and, basically, lack of worry, this would not really have been a problem. Yes, there is a moment of panic when your reliable car suddenly does something unexpected. Car running away? Answer: take it out of gear (mechanical disconnect). Engine still revving? Let it blow as you steer to the side and apply the brakes. If you turn the engine off before you stop (do not remove the key!), the brakes will still work, the steering will still work, but the engine will no longer assist you, you actually will have to apply the brakes with force, you will actually have to steer the stiff wheel as non-power assisted steering once always was, and yes, you will have to know how to really drive.

  In fact, all these recalls may be the long-awaited wake-up alarm for all car owners… go out, practice emergency measures, learn to drive. You’ll better appreciate the mechanical marvel you already have and, perhaps, you’ll stop whining when any little thing goes wrong. You are the driver, in command. Like the plane pilot, it is not someone else’s fault when you are at the wheel. Blaming them just removes your responsibility in dealing with what can happen: In an emergency your skill will be the only thing to save you and your passengers.

Peter Riva, formerly of Amenia Union, lives in New Mexico.