2010 February Archive

Toyota Corp. and the safety questions it is raising could eventually lead to Congress strengthening government oversight of the auto industry. That is according to Rep. Henry Waxman who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He told that to a hearing on Toyota, raising the reality that federal highway safety regulators do not have there wherewithal and expertise to evaluate the increasingly sophisticated computer-generated electronics that commandeer today’s vehicles. In other words, NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is still in the old days when cars were commanded by mechanics, not electronics. Traditionally, NHTSA studied fuel efficiency standards and auto safety. It receives about 30,000 consumer complaints a year. And the agency relies on a voluntary recall from industry when it finds a problem. NHTSA has overseen about 524 recalls over the past three years involving more than 23 million vehicles.

This flood of recalls surrounding one manufacturer, Toyota, is unprecedented.

Expect new regulatory action and renewed funding to NHTSA to bring it up to modern times. Amazingly, NHTSA does not have electric or software engineers. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says NHTSA is adding staff. He disputed the committee’s assessment that there are no electrical engineering specialists.

Rep. Waxman’s committee has chastised the way NHTSA handled consumer complaints of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota says it has taken it upon itself to open up its problem to an outside review.

Expect new Toyotas to have a brake override system in case of a runaway acceleration, as may be deemed necessary by government mandate.

State Farm, the insurance giant, says it has known about problems with Toyotas for at least six years, based on a Daily Finance report. The insurer is making statements now revealing that it first told federal regulators about problems with Toyotas as early as 2004, which it discovered by reviewing its records. State Farm could see the trends of an increasing number of accidents involving Toyota vehicles. The insurer said that it contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in late 2007, and in recently reviewing its records said that initial contact actually took place in 2004.

Two congressional committees investigating Toyota recalls have sought the State Farm records. The government believes five crash deaths are linked to the unintended acceleration and another 29 fatalities are likely linked as well. The sticky pedal problem has not been linked to any deaths. Publicity shy Akio Toyoda, who is the grandson of the company’s founder, has said he has no intention of appearing before Congress. (He later reversed himself). While Toyota is under intense scrutiny, so is the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration for failing to handle complaints related to unintended acceleration that came from consumers and now it is revealed, from the insurer who should know.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reports there may be as many as 34 deaths connected to problems with Toyota vehicles. Since January 27, the total has jumped by 13 deaths, often from sudden acceleration and braking problems. More than 8 million vehicles have been recalled and the automaker suspended the sale of eight different models in the U.S. for a short while. The death incidents date back to 2000, based on a consumeraffaris.com article. So far about 500,000 of the troublesome Toyotas have been “fixed” as the company calls it. Toyota has consistently said that it cannot find a problem with electronics that many believe to be the source for the runaway vehicles. That has allowed Toyota dealerships to resume selling some of the vehicles that had been named in a worldwide recall.

Last October, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles, blaming floor mats for pinning the accelerator to the floor. But when that explanation became nonsensical, Toyota was forced to concede the floor mats may not be the only problem. The automaker says it has been unable to replicate the sticky accelerator that causes cars to runaway out of control and may have contributed to the 34 deaths.

The company has lost about $8 billion so far. The latest recall is for the 8,000 four-wheel Toyota Tacoma trucks, that maybe defective in the front drive shafts. Remember that the 2010 Prius and certain Lexus vehicles are affected. The 2008-1010 Highlanders need to have their floor mats fixed along with the 2009-2010 Corollas, Venzas and Matrixes.

A January recall covers the following 2.3 million cars for a sticking accelerator pedal.

• 2007-10 Camrys,
• 2009-10 Corollas,
• 2009-10 RAV4s,
• 2009-10 Matrixes,
• 2005-10 Avalons,
• 2010 Highlanders,
• 2007-10 Tundras and
• 2008-10 Sequoias.

And the original recall from September is for 3.8 million vehicles that may have a floor mat problem. They include:

• 2007-2010 Camry,
• 2005-2010 Avalon,
• 2004-2009 Prius,
• 2005-2010 Tacoma,
• 2007-2010 Tundra,
• 2007-2010 ES 350,
• 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350

If you or a loved one has experienced a problem with your Toyota, even those not listed in the recall, please contact an experienced Florida accident attorney to determine whether NHTSA has any reports of problems with your particular model.

At least 34 deaths are now believed to be linked to runaway Toyotas, consumeraffairs.com reports. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, is the federal agency overseeing the recall of defective Toyotas over the last several months.

NHTSA has received a surge of new death reports, jumping by 13 since January. Ten injury reports have come in, many occurring between 2000 and 2009. And the agency has received 1,000 new complaints about the recalled Prius, and about and the accidental accelerations of Toyotas.

Nearly all of the acceleration problems have occurred since the cars had computerized systems substituted for mechanical in the acceleration in 2002. One of the deaths went back as far as 1988 in a runaway Camry. The economical Prius has had 124 complaints and four accidents and two injuries reported to NHTSA. Even the 2010 Lexus HS 250h has had a brake problem that required a recall.

Liability Issues
At last count 500,000 cars have been repaired for a sticky accelerator problem, but since Toyota is not sure what caused the problem in the first place, it’s difficult to have full confidence that the problem has been fixed. After all, this is the company that blamed ill-fitting floor mats or consumers making driver errors. We may just be beginning to see the actual number of fatalities due to defective Toyotas as law enforcement agencies revisit unexplained accident involving Toyotas and sudden acceleration.

If I had a family member or loved one involved in such a fatal crash, I would want to get an accident attorney involved in the investigation to see what role, if any, a defective automobile may have played in the accident. An investigation could reveal whether a sticky accelerator pedal or faulty brake contributed to the crash. An individual can then preserve their rights to hold the appropriate party accountable.

Ralph Nader, consumer advocate, founder of Public Citizen. He may know more about automobile safety than almost anyone. Nader has been criticizing Detroit automakers for more than four decades since his book, Unsafe At Any Speed, a critical look at the Chevy Corvair.

Speaking out about the current Toyota fiasco, Nader believes the floor mats which have been blamed as the cause of the runaway vehicles, is a ruse. First of all, he says there is not a recall in Japan, and Japan and the U.S. use two different suppliers. He too points to problems with NHTSA which he says is operating at a budget roughly 55% of what it had in 1980. Nader wonders why Toyota is not including vehicles made before 2005 in the recalls. They were the focus of six unintentional acceleration petitions since 2003.

Nader believes the sticking throttle problem has plagued Toyota since 1986, but back then things were much simpler. Now with computerized components, they all have to be tested to get to the bottom of the problem. The more electronics, the less mechanics can deal with the problems. Nader believes the brake override system will not fix the fundamental computer problem.

If you have a Toyota and are concerned what should you do according to Nader? “Better learn to brake and put it in neutral at the same time,” he advises.

If you drive a recalled Toyota you might have called your insurance company by now. The big question seems to be whether you are covered in case your car has a runaway accident or a brake failure. The answer is coming from two major insurers, State Farm and Allstate Corp. The short answer is “yes” reports ABC News. You will be covered if you have an accident in a recalled vehicle. If Toyota pays the claim and the insurer is reimbursed, the customer may be able to see part of their deductible returned. But your insurance company will probably go after Toyota to make good on the claim.

Get Recalled Items Fixed
There is a catch. If you have a recalled car, and even if you don’t believe Toyota yet has the “fix,” you still need to bring that vehicle into the dealer to have it repaired as soon as the dealer has the appropriate part. To delay and suffer a wreck later may mean the insurer holds you at least partially responsible. The insurer would also have a more difficult time collecting from Toyota.

Will Insurance Rates Rise?
Does all of this mean that at the end of the day you will be paying more for auto insurance?
Typically a recall does not cause insurance companies to raise their rates, but this is anything but a common recall. The number of claims filed drives up rates and insurance experts say it is unlikely that there will be enough runaway Toyotas and brake problems to be substantial enough to do so.

Even with the value of a Toyota dropping about four to eight percent, observers predict that is temporary and should return whenever the problems are fixed. They warn against dumping your Toyota at a bargain basement price.

Let’s hope that Toyota admits it has a problem and finds a solution and fast before more people are injured or killed. If you have been hurt in a recalled Toyota, you would be well-advised to consult with a Florida consumer attorney who can update you on the recall status and inform you how best to preserve your rights in the face of pending litigation.

How do you get the most cooperation from Washington D.C. if you are running a multi-national business? Hire from within Washington, D.C. That is just what Toyota Motor Corp. did. Former regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helped bring to a conclusion four investigations into unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles over the last decade, government records show.

Both Christopher Santucci and Christopher Tinto, helped persuade the federal regulator, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to stop investigations into the 2002-2003 Toyota Camry and Solaras. Business Week reports that Ford, Honda and General Motors do not have former NHTSA people who deal with defects.

“Toyota bamboozled NHTSA or NHTSA was bamboozled by itself,” said Joan Claybrook, an auto safety advocate and former NHTSA administrator in the Jimmy Carter administration. “I think there is going to be a lot of heat on NHTSA over this.”

NHTSA is operating on the budget it had in 1980, gouged of personnel and funding by previous administrations at a time when 8 million vehicles have been recalled to fix pedals, floor mats and software to fix the brakes on the Prius and other hybrid models.

Four probes that the Toyota aids helped end were for unintended acceleration caused by defects in the electronic throttle systems. There is no waiting period requirement for government workers to move into industry, although they are not supposed to deal with NHTSA about matters they worked on while at NHTSA. In all, NHTSA opened eight investigations into unintended acceleration from 2003 to 2010. Safety Research & Strategies reports that three of the probes ended in recalls for floor mats and five were closed. In four of the five closed cases, Tinto and Santucci were involved.

With appearances being everything, that move is fueling criticism of the handling of defects in Toyota and Lexus models that maybe tied to as many as 34 deaths between 2004 and 2009.

There is more information is coming out about what Toyota knew about runaway and defective vehicles and when it knew it. State Farm Insurance says it alerted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning the Toyota problems in 2007. Because State Farm is a massive insurance company that covers about 42 million vehicles, which is about 18 percent of the U.S. market, it can see trends in vehicle issues. All it has to do is analyze data. In an autoblog article, State Farm says it alerted NHTSA about the unintended acceleration issue. State Farm says it began to see claims activities and that is when it went to NHTSA. A State Farm spokesman, Kip Diggs, told Reuters that the trend had to be sizeable to be noticed. Other insurance companies did not observe the trend. Progressive has told Reuters that it will now look back to see if there were any patterns of unintended acceleration early on.

All of this raises the question, where was NHTSA? Without a leader for a year, the agency is operating at about the budget it had in 2000 and has not been a priority for previous administrations. President Obama says he will fix that and plans on hiring more investigators and beefing up some programs. It is time for NHTSA to become a regulator and not just the Washington D.C. office of Detroit and Japanese automakers.

While it tries to get a handle on the source of the problem that is sending its customers speeding in unintended accelerations and having trouble braking, Toyota plans to stop production at two U.S. plants.
No workers will be suspended, largely a cultural consideration of Japan, but the plants to shut temporarily are located in Kentucky and Texas. CNN Money reports that Toyota plans to adjust its production levels it says. That follows the rapid production of popular models that are increasingly being recalled because of braking problems and acceleration. Consider this largely a business decision as Toyota does not want its dealers to be stuck with a large inventory of unsold vehicles.

The Camry is made in the Kentucky plant and the Texas plant makes the Tundra pickup trucks. That plant will be modified to make the Tacoma trucks.

Still unresolved is the reason for the recall of more than 8.1 million vehicles. Toyota has apologized and promises to fix the problem, but the question remains- does Toyota really believe that redesigning the pedal and fixing floor mats is the only problem, if the problem at all? Increasingly, the electronics of the Toyota commandeered by the computer system are being looked at as a possible cause.

Consumer Complaints
Meanwhile, the number of consumer complaints has shot up to into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which believes a total of 34 fatalities may be due to defective automobiles, namely Toyotas. That has sales eroding 16 percent in January when compared to a year earlier. Expect to see an aggressive Toyota ad campaign thanking customers for their loyalty and offering unprecedented incentives to lure customers back.

The appearance of the company’s president and chief operating officer in front of two House committees next week and a Senate committee in March.

If you have been injured in a Toyota or experienced any unexplained acceleration or braking problems, do not drive the vehicle and get it into the dealership for a “fix” if is recalled. That may be the only way to preserve your rights if the car has a problem. An experienced Florida accident attorney can help you through the difficult process of litigation, especially when the company is denying that it may have a defective product

Toyota, the troubled motor company that can’t seem to catch a break, has plans to redesign its push-button ignition. The keyless starter was a conversation piece when it was developed a few years back. It allows drivers with the appropriate key on hand, to push a button and start the car. It didn’t seem like the key was a useless innovation, but the starter button had all the feel of a Jetson automobile of the future. The problem has been when you are in one of the vehicles accelerating out of control, how do you stop it? Turns out you need to hold down the button for three seconds, but when you are careening out of control, who thinks of that? Safety experts remind us that it is counterintuitive, according to a Los Angeles Times story. So Toyota Motor Corp., based in Japan, is considering a redesign of the keyless ignition system. By tapping the button three times in a row, the engine would be shut off. That doesn’t sound like much of an innovation when you are in a panic.
No Federal Standards

There are no federal standards that regulate the technology, even though it’s been offered for at least five years. Currently there are 155 vehicles that offer the keyless ignition systems. Some require a single tap to shut down, others require a lengthy hold-down.

The keyless or “Smart Key” system was considered to be a significant factor contributing to the crash that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family in San Diego last August, when their loaner Lexus went out of control. Since that accident, Toyota has announced a series of major recalls to address the sudden acceleration problem. So far more than 10 million vehicles have been recalled because of acceleration or problem braking. Two million vehicles have more than one of the problems.

Brake Override System
All of this keyless talk may be a mute point if and when Toyota installs a brake override system in its new cars. When touching the brake, the car is brought back to idle. Expect to see brake override in new Toyota models starting with 2011, including the Camry, Avalon, Lexus IS and Lexus ES. A decision has not yet been made about putting the brake override in eight other models, Highlander, Corolla, Venza, Matrix, Prius, Tacoma, Tundra and Pontiac Vibe.