In
a phone call this morning with Toyota spokesperson Sam Butto,
Butto tells PickupTruck.com that, "[Toyota] has looked at
the testing done by NHTSA for both the Regular Cab and Crew Max
and we've not been able to find any deviation between NHTSA
and the internal tests we did. We accept that NHTSA has given
both trucks a four star rating."
"But
we're satisfied with the current truck's safety. There's only
a minimal difference between a five star and a four star rating,
and the Tundra received the highest
rating from
IIHS recently. Some people think IIHS has a tougher test
[than NHTSA]," adds Butto.
Toyota
engineers continue to probe what factors contributed to
the less than perfect rating by closely looking
at NHTSA's crash data and the Tundra's build, but a conclusion
hasn't been reached yet.
"We
don't have final information from Japan about the discrepancy,
where it might be, or its cause," says Butto.
Asked
about what steps Toyota might take with the current Tundra platform
to improve the NHTSA score to a five before the next version
of the Tundra is released, Butto says, "There's nothing specific
we're going to do with the current truck (yet) but we're always
looking to continuously improve the safety of all our products."
Finally,
Butto helped clear up information about the 'missing' Double
Cab test.
"NHTSA
has never crash tested the Double Cab. [NHTSA's] position is
the Regular Cab is similar enough to the Double Cab, so they
don't need to test it separately."
Update
#3: 05-15-07 20:21 PT
Once
may be a fluke but twice starts a pattern.
NHTSA
has completed a second round of crash testing with the 2007 Toyota
Tundra, and has scored the Crew
Max version with the same four
star driver and passenger safety ratings the Regular
Cab received
back in March (see below).
A
score of five stars is the best a vehicle can achieve in NHTSA
testing. The 2007 Chevrolet Silverado, 2007 Dodge Ram, and 2007
Ford F-150 each earned five stars for driver and passenger safety
in their NHTSA tests. Toyota's
competitors are already using the
original crash test results to emphasize the safety of their
pickups over the Tundra.
This
disappointing news for Toyota comes only a few weeks after the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the
Tundra its highest crash test rating.
After
reviewing the results (charted below) you can see a
dramatic difference in passenger head injury scores between the
Crew Max and Regular Cab. Where lower scores are better, the
Crew Max scored a 677 while the Regular Cab received a grade
of 486 - an almost 40% variation.
It's
still unknown whether the Double Cab has completed its tests,
as scores published
by NHTSA for the D-Cab are identical to
the Regular Cab results and there are no pictures or video of
a D-Cab test. Calls to NHTSA for comment have not been returned.
Update
#2: 03-20-07 11:00 PT
In
a phone call this morning with Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong, Kwong
tells PickupTruck.com that, "We're surprised with the results
from the NHTSA tests. During our internal testing, which was all
done according to NHTSA criteria, we consistently showed (simulated)
ratings of five stars from the get go for the Tundra. Right now
our engineering team is reviewing the results but it's going to
take several weeks to sort out. When we finish (reviewing the data)
we'll determine what we might need to fix to make it right."
Interestingly,
Kwong states that the NHTSA website is incorrect in reporting frontal
crash test results for the Double Cab Tundra. According to Kwong,
only Regular Cab testing has been completed while D-Cab testing,
along with the Crew Max four door, hasn't happened yet. Toyota has
requested that NHTSA remove the four star rating for the D-Cab Tundra
from safercar.gov.
Beginning
in September 2007, all new vehicles sold in the US will be required
to display their NHTSA crash test rating.
Update
#1: 03-17-07 13:30 PT
Added
video of the Toyota Tundra regular cab frontal crash test plus comparative
graphs showing the NHTSA scores of the 2007 regular cab full size
pickups relative to each other.
Although
it's not shown in the comparative graphs, the 2007
Nissan Titan was given a five star frontal crash test rating
for driver safety and four stars for passenger safety. The same
score was achieved in both King Cab and Crew Cab versions.
In what may
turn out to be a significant marketing and sales blow to the biggest
vehicle launch in Toyota's history, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) has released
its frontal impact crash test ratings for the new 2007
Tundra full size pickup - only four out of five stars for driver and
passenger safety. NHTSA tested the Regular and Double Cab versions of
the Tundra, with the same four star results.
In the same
test, the all new 2007
Chevrolet Silverado scored five out of five stars, matching the same
five star scores previously earned by the current Ford
F-150 and Dodge Ram 1500 pickups for driver and front passenger safety
in a frontal impact.
NHTSA conducts
its frontal crash tests by crashing vehicles into a fixed barrier at 35
miles per hour, the equivalent of a head-on collision between two similar
vehicles, each moving at 35 mph. Using crash test dummies, instruments
measure the force of impact to each dummy's head, neck, chest, pelvis,
legs and feet. Frontal star ratings indicate the chance of a serious head
and chest injury to the driver and right front seat passenger. A serious
injury is one requiring immediate hospitalization and may be life threatening.
Four out of five stars represents an 11% to 20% chance of serious injury.
A five star rating indicates serious injury is reduced to 10% or less
in a frontal crash.
Toyota has
vociferously stated the new Tundra is ready to go head to head with the
half-ton pickups offered by the Detroit Three, including expectations
for receiving five
star safety ratings (page 4, first paragraph).
The NHTSA
crash test results are likely to put Toyota's truck team into a deep defensive
posture as the Tundra tries to prove itself an equal to the incumbents,
and Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler pounce on any perceived weakness
in the new truck's armor.
