For a whopping $1.2 billion, Toyota Motor Co. agreed earlier this week to settle a federal criminal probe concerning its statements during the unintended-acceleration-related recalls of Toyota and Lexus vehicles four years ago. The penalty is the largest one ever imposed on an automaker. But as a...Read More»
In 2010, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles for "unintended acceleration" issues, which generated lots of negative press for the automaker and put the brakes on Toyota sales. Though the recall has fallen out of the headlines, it's still the subject of a huge class action lawsuit working its way...Read More»
Plaintiffs in the accelerator-related cases against Toyota are likely to challenge the NASA report conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this year, reports Bloomberg. According to the plaintiffs, the NASA study only reviewed 280,000 out of the 8 million...Read More»
Toyota said this morning it would conduct a "voluntary safety recall" of another 2.17 million vehicles in the United States to modify accelerator pedals that could get trapped by floor mats or carpets. The company has already recalled more than 11 million vehicles to fix related safety problems...Read More»
So-called 'sudden acceleration' has a long and unfortunate history, almost destroying Audi sales in the mid-1980s after 60 Minutes accused the Audi 5000 of accelerating out of control at random. Now, as previewed a few weeks ago, an NHTSA report finds no electronic cause for the phenomenon--and...Read More»
What if the traditional pedal setup, with an accelerator and brake adjacent and just a couple of inches apart, typically, isn't such a great idea after all? Japanese inventor Masuyuki Naruse doesn't think it is, and argues that it can cause drivers to mistake the accelerator for the brake, in...Read More»
Despite ominous news reports of cars careening out of control, there's no substitute for data. And now it looks like many reported cases of so-called "sudden acceleration" in Toyotas are actually due to driver error. That's the preliminary conclusion coming from investigators at the National...Read More»
American Honda has announced that it will be installing a brake-override system on all of its Honda- and Acura-brand vehicles for the North American market by the end of 2011. The device would, quite simply, allow the brake pedal to override any throttle input returning the engine to idle or near...Read More»
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating yet another potential case of sticking accelerator pedals, this time in 2007 Dodge Caliber compacts. According to trade journal Automotive News, the NHTSA has received five complaints of accelerator pedals that stuck in the open...Read More»
Toyota's troubles with so-called sudden acceleration are so well publicized, we're not going to run them down here. But we'd remind the world's largest carmaker that it might be far worse. As well as sticky accelerator pedals and ill-fitting floor mats, they could also be facing cars that...Read More»
So-called "sudden acceleration" is an ugly mix of media frenzy, sophisticated engineering, and complex human-machine interaction. But recent data on Toyota sudden-acceleration complaints seems to show--with some qualifiers--that the bulk of the incidents ending in fatalities have been reported by...Read More»
It's already looking like the Toyota recall hearings will bring us at least one new safety feature to all new vehicles: brake overrides. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood might recommend that every U.S. new vehicle be equipped with so-called smart throttle systems—meaning, most importantly...Read More»
Sometimes you see something you just can't believe. And yet, there it is in cold type (or warm electrons). Today's candidate is a single sentence by Washington Post writers Peter Whoriskey and Frank Ahrens, discussing the Congressional investigation of the National Highway Traffic Safety...Read More»
A Toyota-funded test of vehicles has failed to find issue with the automaker's electronic throttle system, which some safety advocates have accused of being linked to widespread reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Back in September, Toyota recalled 3.8 million Toyota...Read More»
In a House Appropriations panel hearing this morning Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood stated that his own advice to owners of the 2.3 million Toyota vehicles recalled due to potentially sticky accelerator pedals would be to not drive them at all. Up until now, Toyota—and the official recall...Read More»
When it rains, it pours. And Toyota may find itself swimming a lot faster if new allegations of safety problems prove to be true. In Japan this morning, the Ministry of Transportation ordered the company to investigate complaints into brake problems in its new 2010 Toyota Prius. More than 100 U.S...Read More»
Toyota's recent recall for an issue that might lead to a sticky accelerator pedal covers about 2.3 million vehicles going all the way back to 2005. But is the owner of a 2005 Toyota Avalon with 150,000 miles more likely to experience this as, say, the owner of 2010 Toyota Corolla fresh out of the...Read More»
Own a Toyota or Lexus vehicle and not even sure if or how it's affected by the recent massive recall efforts? Looking back at the headlines of recent weeks and months—especially in this era of fast-moving, encapsulated news—it's easy to be confused over what's happened and what cars are...Read More»
The number of vehicles Toyota has to recall over the faulty floor mat and stuck accelerator debacle continues to mount, with news breaking overnight that an additional 1.1 million vehicles in the U.S. need to be recalled in order to have their floor mats fixed. This is in addition to the 4.3...Read More»
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