When it comes to Korean cars it's a trust and perception issue. Those are the biggest obstacles they have to overcome in the minds of Malaysians.

You know the saying "once bitten, twice shy". Past owners who've had a bad experience with the older Korean cars still won't trust the new ones. Logic has nothing to do with it.

A short test drive won't allay the fears of these people. They are concerned about problems in the long term and other hidden issues which a test drive won't reveal. So in the end they choose a 'safer' brand, even though sometimes the specs don't look as good on paper.

But continously harping on this will not get them anywhere closer to having confidence also right? Instead of merely assuming that all Koreans are crap, a test drive will go some distance to show that things have changed in some ways. Yes im well aware that a simple test drive wont completely change anybody's perception. It took 9 test drives and months of online research plus the experience of already having and servicing a Kia in my household to finally convince me to leave Toyota after 9 years. But ppl (especially previous gen owners) need to learn more about the new gen cars before blindly assuming that nothing has changed and thus cannot be trusted. We must all think out of the box sometimes and not just blindly go with the flow. Yes the Koreans have a long way to go before public confidence is instilled again, but even if you may not neccessarily commit to buying a Korean make, at least appreciate the significant efforts made by Kia & Hyundai in the past 3-5 yrs.

I lolled at this. Have you test drive an inspira? Would u get 1 or even better still 2 for a price of a 2.5l camry. One to use and a spare for emergencies. Such a good deal but yet u didn't go for it. Why?

Ppl die hard optima fans la..most of his comment is y wud u buy a 180k car without vsc..keep.repeat n repeat

Yes mine is a 2.4.

Competition drives improvements. Perhaps Toyota feeling complacent about their market position in Malaysia. They need to feel the pressure to compete and keep up or ahead of the rest. Let's hope they take note about all the negative feedback on the lack of VSC.

No idea, fact is - it failed to function and the longer you wait, the worse the situation is for the owner and the advantage goes to those big corporation.

If the owner had taken legal action right from the beginning, I doubt Toyota can deny much compared to his situation now.

So the lesson of the day for everyone here -

If involved in an accident and your airbag fails to deploy. Get a lawyer and document the whole process. Don't try to pandai and do everything on your own. Best way to get a big fat settlement

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Added on August 2, 2012, 9:54 am

Who cares, long story short. It better work when it is supposed to, that's all. Otherwise, be prepared to get sued.

haha 

and T charge extra for figuring out that VSC causes steering jammed, hence taking it out

The video posted by 22222 has nothing to do with VSC, its more with why the safety features didn't work when its supposed to.

Don't think the steering wheel jam has anything to do with VSC.

I think the owner said first the steering wheel jammed which meant he could not steer the car and car drifted into the barrier and spun around (here he was questioning why the VSC didn't help to prevent the spin). And he also questioned why the airbag didn't deploy.

Just to add something. In the video you posted, the vios that was said to fail to deploy the airbags is a J spec (look at the wheel covers). AFAIK, early J's are not equipped with airbags.

Which trim level is your friend's vios?

Some users here have raised cases here where the VSC 'didnt function' and thus did not prevent a car from losing control. Is this a defect with the system? Or is it a case of the driver not understanding how VSC works in the first place?

1. electronics components have self-test embedded, especially for critical parts
(e.g. airbag, safety, etc.) which you can see in most cars nowadays, it will perform
self-test first when you turn-on the ignition key.

2. automotive electronics' safety/reliability requirements are FAR more stringent
compared to laptops/phones, as they're bound by automotive electronics council
(www.aecouncil.com).. so, imo comparing a car's electronics system to a laptop
is somewhat apple to orange.

3. well-known car manufacturers will get original parts.. i haven't heard of any
China clone electronics replacing original electronics parts in automotive before,
but it does happen in non-automotive ones (e.g. laptops, phones) again, due to
stringent requirements.

4. safety devices failures are continuously being researched, developed and
improved by automotive manufacturers and the outcomes from these are
passed over to electronics manufacturers to ensure additional self-tests,
reliability, responsivity, etc. are added in into new generation electronics/
successor electronics parts which will be fitted in future cars.

5. in terms of electronics parts' pricing, yes every year there are negotiations
to reduce prices, but at the same time quality governs first.

2. One word. Proton. 'nuff said. oh, btw - faulty power window
by proton should not only caused by electronics.. if i'm not mistaken.
the window module was built by various suppliers, starting from
silicon supplier > chip maker > pcb module manufacturer > whole window assembly..
besides, to give assurance, as per what i mentioned - quality was
being put under the spotlight nowadays, and thus the lifetime
warranty was introduced by proton. wonder how's the quality of
power windows on recent proton cars now, didn't look into it.

Hmmm, this is rather interesting.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/re...htype=DrillDown

There's are 3 complaints about the airbags not deploying when its supposed to.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 KIA OPTIMA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY AND CRASHED INTO THE MEDIAN. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WHERE THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE AND AXLE WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED FOUR TIMES. THE FOURTH TIME THE FAILURE RECURRED, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED INJURIES TO HIS RIGHT KNEE. THE FRONT PASSENGER SUSTAINED INJURIES TO THE NECK, BACK AND RIGHT ARM. THE REAR PASSENGER SUSTAINED INJURIES TO THE RIGHT LEG. THE PASSENGERS WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL VIA AMBULANCE. THE DRIVER SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION ON HIS OWN AFTER THE CRASH. THE POLICE REPORTED TO THE SCENE AND A REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP FOR THE BODY DAMAGE REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND ASSIGNED AN ENGINEER TO REVIEW THE INFORMATION RELATED TO THE CRASH. AN ENGINEER DID NOT INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THEY STATED THERE WERE NO DEFECTS WITHIN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11,000.

THE VEHICLE STEERING SEEMS TIGHT WHICH IS FINE, BUT WHEN ACCELERATING BETWEEN 30-45 MPH THE VEHICLE VEERS OFF TO THE LEFT. I AM READING THAT THIS IS NOT NORMAL FOR THIS VEHICLE. THIS IS AN ISSUE AND I BELIEVE NEEDS TO BE FIXED. *TR

How did the failure of the VSC cause the unintended acceleration? But it was Toyota that was accused of numerous 'unintended acceleration' issues before right?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Additi...+Investigations

NHTSA Report on Toyota Unintended Acceleration Investigation

In March 2010, NHTSA enlisted the support of NASA in analyzing the Toyota electronic throttle control (ETC) system to determine whether it contained any vulnerabilities that might realistically be expected to produce unintended acceleration (UA) in a consumer’s use of those vehicles. NASA did not find an electronic cause of large throttle openings that can result in UA incidents. NHTSA did not find a vehicle-based cause of those incidents in addition to those causes already addressed by Toyota recalls.[

This report presents NHTSA's studies and findings concerning UA in vehicles manufactured by Toyota. It should be read in conjunction with the report issued by NASA concerning the ETC system in Toyota vehicles.

Yes i know. But im not sure what your point is? 

I think you should be clear with the message ure trying to convey. Please continue pasting links as additional info is always welcomed but just include a few words so that ppl are clear about your intentions. Cheers!

How about this 3 incidents related to Airbag issue for year 2012.

Sorry i more concern on safety side when involved in accident.

IMO nobody can 100% sure the root cause of the accident, even Toyota specialist oso cannot.

Keep argue on this point is useless, better we discuss on which safety features was provided to save our life when involving in accident.

but.... but..... my dream was to become a famous lorry driver wor

Truth is, both the Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata feels undesirable once you read the reports. The Sonata in particular is worrisome - a lot of the cars suffers steering issues. Manufacturer is classified under KIA Motor corporation, which makes me wonder about the KIA Optima itself.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/re...htype=DrillDown

There's also a bunch of complaints against the Optima if I do a manual vehicle search.

I think better to not read too much or end up no confidence in any car, LOL!