Do you own a Toyota? Is it safe to drive? Will you continue to drive your vehicle?

These are all great questions to be asking yourself.

Toyota has just suspended production of 8 models and has requested all 2.3 million vehicles they produced to no longer be driven due to the possibility the throttle could stick and cause the engine to over rev thus leading to the vehicle speeding out of control.

So your probably thinking to yourself my vehicle has never done this so should really I be concerned? Does this apply to me? What should I do?

Lets back up a little bit and describe how this system works and how it could fail.

The throttle systems on vehicles in the past have a cable that attaches to the accelerator pedal and on the other end connects to the throttle body. When you press on the "gas" pedal the throttle plate opens and allows more air and fuel to flow into the engine and you in turn go faster.

Recent year vehicles from around 1999 and newer no longer have a cable! The car manufactures installed sensors on the gas pedal and on the throttle body. This system is a very complicated set of multiple sensors that are able to determine how far you are pushing down on the gas pedal and in turn how far the throttle plate should open to allow a very accurate amount of fuel and air to flow to the engine.

There are many reasons why they changed to this design. Most of which have nothing to do with safety. For years we (auto repair technicians) have always known that this could potentially lead to the throttle sensor or computer glitching or failing and causing the throttle to "stick" open and the vehicle to speed out of control. The vehicle engine computer has a built in fail safe that is supposed to eliminate this from ever happening but in theory it could also fail.

We have had customers complain of similar issues and in most situations we have found that lack of maintenance was the cause of the failure. Dirt and debris from the dirty air filters will pile up around the throttle body and lead to a potential drivability problem. Routine maintenance and fuel system cleaning has eliminated many of these symptoms.

Toyota at this time has announced no repair or fix for this complaint because they have no idea how to fix it at this time or how many vehicles could be effected. Professional Fleet Services Auto Repair in Lansing, Michigan recommends you to have your auto repair technician inspect the throttle system for obvious problems scan for related trouble codes in the vehicle computer and perform a fuel injection service if needed.

Should your throttle stick open the safest way to get the situation under control is to shut the vehicle off instantly. However you will lose power steering and power braking thus making the vehicle very difficult to steer and stop. Pull over off from the road gather your senses and calm your nerves and prepare to tow your vehicle to your nearest Toyota dealership and wait for their "expert" recall analysis.

If you would like to schedule an inspection or a fuel system cleaning service contact Sam @ 517-316-7999