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Toyota Admits Sudden Acceleration is Not Just Due to Floor Mats ? 2.3 Million More Vehicles Recalled

By Paul Napoli

January 22, 2010

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A., Inc. announced on Thursday that the company is recalling approximately 2.3 million Toyota brand vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals caused by mechanical wear that may trigger unexpected acceleration. A part inside the pedal sensor assembly may become smooth with wear and the accelerator pedal may become hard to depress, slow to return to idle, or in the worst case, mechanically stuck in a partially depressed position, increasing the risk of a crash.

'In recent months, Toyota has investigated isolated reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles without the presence of floor mats,' said TMS Group Vice President Irv Miller. 'Our 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.'

Vehicles affected by this recall are the 2009 Pontiac Vibe, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla, 2009-2010 Toyota Corolla Matrix, 2010 Toyota Highlander, 2009-2010 Toyota RAV4, 2008-2010 Toyota Sequoia and 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra.

This recall is in addition to 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles recalled in 2009, the biggest recall in U.S. history, due to unexpected acceleration that the company blamed on gas pedal entrapment by incorrect or out of place accessory floor mats, which resulted in accident fatalities. At that time, Toyota denied that a mechanical fault was to blame for the unintentional acceleration and said that recalling the floor mats and shortening the gas pedals would remedy the dangerous hazard.

On the same day Toyota announced the recall, ABC News aired a story revealing that since 2009 when the company said it had solved the problem with a massive recall of suspect floor mats and proposed changes to gas pedals, "More than 60 new cases of runaway Toyotas have been reported.'

The ABC News story profiled an accident the day after Christmas in which four people died when a 2008 Toyota left the roadway, crashed through a fence and came to rest upside down in a pond. Police found the car's floor mats in the trunk, where Toyota advised consumers to place them during the 2009 recall to ensure their safety.

Toyota has not yet released how the company will fix the defective component; simply replacing it does not prevent the same wear and safety hazard in the future. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a loved one killed in an auto accident as the result of a safety-related defect, contact Napoli Bern Ripka LLP immediately. We will discuss the situation with you and come up with a plan of action to help you get compensation for your injuries, property damage or a loved one's wrongful death. Visit www.napolibern.com or call 1-888-529-4669 to discuss your case and find out the best course of action to ensure that you get the compensation you deserve.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on January 23, 2010 (boomark / email).