Toyota Acceleration Problem Fixed

Agency Says Toyota Accelerator Problem is ‘Serious Safety Issue’

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says balky accelerator pedals on an estimated 2.3 million Toyotas are “a serious safety issue” and the agency is pleased with the company’s recall announced late Thursday.

Karen Aldana, a N.H.T.S.A. spokeswoman, said the automaker had been discussing the issue “over the last several days” and will “be reviewing the remedy that Toyota is offering to vehicle owners.”

While the recall was announced Thursday, the automaker had been investigating the problem since 2007.

In a statement, Irv Miller, Toyota Motor Sales Group vice president, said the company’s “investigation indicates that there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position.”

Brian Lyons, a Toyota spokesman, said the automaker has no reports of accidents related to the problem.

Toyota said the new recall is unrelated to last year’s recall of 4.2 million vehicles because the accelerator pedal could become snared by floor mats. However, about 1.7 million of those vehicles will be recalled for both problems.

The automaker told the safety agency it began investigating the current problem in March 2007 when it got consumer complaints “of rough operation or being slow to return to the idle position” on the Tundra pickup. It eventually found a “friction lever” was made of a material that could swell after absorbing moisture from condensation.

In February 2008 the company began using a different material for the friction lever “while investigations continued.” In June 2008, the automaker concluded “that while accelerator pedal feeling could change under certain conditions, Toyota considered it to be a drivability issue unrelated to safety.”

In December 2008, Toyota said it began to get reports of balky accelerators on its vehicles sold in Europe with accelerators using the new material. By August 2009, the company concluded that moisture could still cause a problem and made some additional changes on the European models.

The automaker got complaints from Canadian and American owners in October 2009 about sticking accelerators and finally decided the recall was necessary.

The vehicles being recalled are:

• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• 2007-10 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia

The recall is another embarrassment for an automaker whose reliability was once the envy of the auto industry. Last year it recalled almost 4.9 million vehicles, the most of any automaker in the United States, although 4.2 million involved the floor-mat problem.
In all Toyota had 9 recalls. Second was Ford with 8 recalls for 4.5 million vehicles. Third was General Motors with 16 recalls covering 2.2 million vehicles.

Toyota Accelerator Recall Lawsuit

Toyota has been one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world for decades, and its brand is known for quality, dependability, fuel economy and safety. Even during a terrible time for the automotive market as a whole, Toyota has continued to forge ahead with new models and designs meant to meet the current needs of the public.
However, news was released today that could harm that effort, as it’s apparent that millions of Toyota drivers could be at risk for serious injury or worse. That was shown by the company issuing its largest United States recall in the company’s history. Below you’ll find information regarding the reason for the recall, the models affected, the problems that could arise and ultimately how you should proceed if you have been harmed as a result of driving one of these defective vehicles.

Reasons for the Toyota Accelerator Recall

The recall involves several different makes and models, and those will be listed below. However, the defect present in each model is consistent, and it concerns the presence of a problematic floor mat on the driver’s side of the vehicle. This floor mat has shown a tendency to cause the accelerator of these vehicles to stick, and as a result the affected models could suddenly accelerate to extremely dangerous speeds and prevent the driver from making a normal stop before it’s too late.
These floor mats are generally made of rubber and are removable, and both the federal government and Toyota have advised drivers of affected models to remove these floor mats immediately until a more permanent solution can be obtained. Both Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are making efforts to formulate that solution and will announce it as soon as possible.
Although Toyota has not yet issued a statement that definitively identifies the specific cause of the problem, the NHTSA has stated that these removable rubber all-weather floor mats appear to be longer than they should be based on the space available on the driver’s side floor, and this added length could be what’s leading to the problem of stuck accelerators.

Toyota Accelerator Recall – Toyota Models Affected

Below is a list of the models of vehicles that are part of this recall:

Toyota Camry – 2007-10 models
Toyota Avalon – 2005-10 models
Toyota Prius – 2004-09 models
Toyota Tacoma – 2005-10 models
Toyota Tundra – 2007-10 models
Lexus ES 350 – 2007-10 models
Lexus IS 250 – 2006-10
Lexus IS 350 – 2006-10

This is also not the first recall issued by Toyota for defective floor mats. In the fall of 2007, the company also recalled an all-weather floor mat that was used in some 2007 and 2008 models of the Lexus ES 350 and the Toyota Camry.
This recall affects a total of 3.8 million vehicles, far exceeding the previous wide-ranging recall made by Toyota that affected 900,000 vehicles in 2005 because of a steering issue. Overall, the NHTSA has received 102 complaints regarding this current defect, although no statistics have been released regarding the number of accidents that the defective floor mats caused.
However, there has been at least one crash that led to fatalities because of this problem, and it occurred in San Diego. As a result of the immediate and extreme danger involved with this potential issue, the company ad
vised drivers to remove the floor mat if they notice irregular acceleration, and if that’s not possible, the driver should step on the brakes with both feet and slam the car into neutral after it slows down. For those models that contain an engine start/stop button, holding the button down for at least three seconds should cut the power from the engine.

Stuck Accelerator Accident Problems

The potential problems that could arise from a stuck accelerator should be quite clear. When a vehicle accelerates unexpectedly, the driver may not be able to take corrective measures to avoid other vehicles, particularly in settings in and around cities where heavy traffic can be present at any time.
In addition, reports have been released that this problem has led to accelerations of vehicles to speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, and the vehicle that killed the family in San Diego was believed to have been traveling at approximately that speed before launching off the side of the road and rolling over several times before the vehicle caught on fire. Four people were killed in that crash.

Toyota Recall Lawsuit, Attorney and Lawyer

If you are driving one of these vehicles, you need to take no chances and remove the floor mat at issue. If you have suffered any sort of injury as a result of this Toyota defect, you need to contact a defective products lawyer as soon as possible to schedule a free initial consultation.