2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls

Three separate but related recalls of automobiles by Toyota Motor Corporation occurred at the end of two thousand nine and embark of 2010. Toyota initiated the recalls, the very first two with the assistance of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), after reports that several vehicles experienced unintended acceleration. The very first recall, on November Two, 2009, was to correct a possible incursion of an incorrect or out-of-place front driver’s side floor mat into the foot pedal well, which can cause pedal entrapment. The 2nd recall, on January 21, 2010, was begun after some crashes were shown not to have been caused by floor mat incursion. This latter defect was identified as a possible mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal causing unintended acceleration, referred to as Sticking Accelerator Pedal by Toyota. The original activity was initiated by Toyota in their Defect Information Report, dated October Five, 2009, amended January 27, 2010. [1] Following the floor mat and accelerator pedal recalls, Toyota also issued a separate recall for hybrid anti-lock brake software in February 2010. [Two]

As of January 28, 2010, Toyota had announced recalls of approximately Five.Two million vehicles for the pedal entrapment/floor mat problem, and an extra Two.Three million vehicles for the accelerator pedal problem. Approximately 1.7 million vehicles are subject to both. [Trio] [Four] Certain related Lexus and Pontiac models were also affected. [Five] [6] The next day, Toyota widened the recall to include 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and 75,000 in China. [7] By then, the worldwide total number of cars recalled by Toyota stood at nine million. [8] Sales of numerous recalled models were suspended for several weeks as a result of the accelerator pedal recall, [9] with the vehicles awaiting replacement parts. As of January 2010, twenty one deaths were alleged due to the pedal problem since 2000, but following the January twenty eight recall, extra NHTSA complaints brought the alleged total to 37. [Ten] The number of alleged victims and reported problems sharply enlargened following the recall announcements, [11] which were powerfully covered by U.S. media, [12] albeit the causes of individual reports were difficult to verify. [13] [14] [15] Government officials, automotive experts, Toyota, and members of the general public contested the scope of the unexpected acceleration issue and the veracity of victim and problem reports. [16] [17] [Eighteen] Various parties attributed unexpected unintended acceleration reports to mechanical, electrified, and driver error causes. [Nineteen] [20] [21] Some US owners that had their recalled vehicles repaired still reported accelerator pedal issues, leading to investigations and the finding of improper repairs. [22] [23] The recalls further led to extra NHTSA and Toyota investigations, [24] [25] along with numerous lawsuits. [26]

On February 8, 2011, the NHTSA, in collaboration with NASA, released its findings into the investigation on the Toyota drive-by-wire throttle system. After a 10-month search, NASA and NHTSA scientists found no electronic defect in Toyota vehicles. [27] Driver error or pedal misapplication was found responsible for most of the incidents. [28] The report ended stating, “Our conclusion is Toyota’s problems were mechanical, not electrical.” This included sticking accelerator pedals, and pedals caught under floor mats. [29]

However, on October 24, 2013, a jury ruled against Toyota and found that unintended acceleration could have been caused due to deficiencies in the drive-by-wire throttle system or Electronic Throttle Control System (ETCS). Michael Barr of the Barr Group testified that NASA had not been able to finish its examination of Toyota’s ETCS and that Toyota did not go after best practices for real time life critical software, and that a single bit spin which can be caused by cosmic rays could cause unintended acceleration. As well, the run-time stack of the real-time operating system was not large enough and that it was possible for the stack to grow large enough to overwrite data that could cause unintended acceleration. [30] [31] As a result, Toyota has entered into settlement talks with its plaintiffs. [32]

Contents

• Sep 26, two thousand seven – US: 55,000 Toyota Camry and ES three hundred fifty cars in “all-weather” floor mat recall. [33]
• Nov 02, two thousand nine – US: Three.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles again recalled due to floor mat problem, this time for all driver’s side mats. [Five]
• Nov 26, two thousand nine – US: floor mat recall amended to include brake override [Four] and enlargened to Four.Two million vehicles. [citation needed]
• Jan 21, two thousand ten – US: Two.Trio million Toyota vehicles recalled due to faulty accelerator pedals [6] (of those, Two.1 million already involved in floor mat recall). [Trio]
• Jan 27, two thousand ten – US: 1.1 million Toyotas added to amended floor mat recall. [34]
• Jan 29, two thousand ten – Europe, China: 1.8 million Toyotas added to faulty accelerator pedal recall. [7]
• Feb 08, two thousand ten – Worldwide: 436,000 hybrid vehicles in brake recall following two hundred reports of Prius brake glitches. [Two]
• Feb 08, two thousand ten – US: 7,300 model year two thousand ten Camry vehicles recalled over potential brake tube problems. [35]
• Feb 12, two thousand ten – US: 8,000 MY two thousand ten 4WD Tacoma pick-up trucks recalled over concerns about possible defective front drive shafts. [36]
• Apr 16, two thousand ten – US: 600,000 MY 1998–2010 Toyota Sienna for possible corrosion of spare tire carrier cable. [37]
• Apr Nineteen, two thousand ten – World: 21,000 MY two thousand ten Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and 13,000 Lexus GX four hundred sixty SUV’s recalled to reprogram the stability control system. [38][39]
• Apr 28, two thousand ten – US: 50,000 MY two thousand three Toyota Sequoia recalled to reprogram the stability control system. [40]
• May 21, two thousand ten – Japan: Four,509, US: 7,000 MY two thousand ten LS for steering system software update [41]
• July Five, two thousand ten – World: 270,000 Crown and Lexus models for valve springs with potential production issue. [42]
• July 29, two thousand ten – US: 412,000 Avalons and LX 470s for replacement of steering column components. [43]
• August 28, two thousand ten – US & Canada: approximately 1.13 million Toyota Corolla and Toyota Matrix vehicles produced inbetween two thousand five and two thousand eight for Engine Control Modules (ECM) that may have been improperly manufactured. [44]
• February 8, two thousand eleven – US: NASA and NHTSA inquiry exposes that there were no electronic faults in Toyota cars that would have caused acceleration issues. However, accelerator pedal entrapments remains a problem. [45]
• February 22, two thousand eleven – US: Toyota recalls an extra Two.17 million vehicles for accelerator pedals that become trapped on floor hardware. [46]

On September 26, 2007, Toyota recalled 55,000 sets of heavy-duty rubber floor mats from the Toyota Camry and ES three hundred fifty sedans. [33] The recalled mats were of the optional “all-weather” type. NHTSA stated that the recall was due to the risk that unsecured mats could stir forward and trap the accelerator pedal. [33]

On August 28, 2009, a two-car collision killed four people railing in a Lexus dealer-provided loaner ES three hundred fifty in San Diego, California. [48] [49] [50] [51] The NHTSA released a safety investigation report on October 25, finding that the accident vehicle was wrongly fitted with all-weather rubber floor mats meant for the RX 400h SUV, and that these mats were not secured by either of the two retaining clips. [52] The brake hardware also displayed signs of strong braking consistent with a stuck accelerator pedal. [52] The report stated that the accelerator pedal’s hinge did not permit relieving obstructions, and the dashboard lacked directions for the three-second emergency press of the shove button keyless ignition. NHTSA investigators also recovered the accident vehicle’s accelerator pedal, which was still “bonded” to the SUV floor mat. [52] The come back spring activity of the accelerator pedal was found to be “slick and unencumbered.” [53]

Another investigation conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department found that three days prior to the crash another customer had complained to the dealership about the floor mat trapping the same loaner car’s accelerator pedal while driving. [54] The prior driver had switched to neutral and tugged on the floor mat, which released the accelerator. [54]

On November Two, 2009, the NHTSA denied a petition to reopen previously closed unintended acceleration investigations of Toyota vehicles, stating they had already been scrupulously investigated making it unlikely for the NHTSA to reach any fresh conclusions. [55] Later that day Toyota issued a voluntary recall of Trio.8 million vehicles, with a letter sent to owners asking them to liquidate the driver floor mat and not substitute it with any other type of mat. [Five] In its November Two, two thousand nine recall announcement, Toyota appeared to claim the floor mats were solely at fault, stating, “The question of unintended acceleration involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been repeatedly and scrupulously investigated by NHTSA, without any finding of defect other than the risk from an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat”, [Five] [56] but the NHTSA issued another statement stating, “This matter is not closed until Toyota has effectively addressed the defect”, the letter was “inaccurate and misleading”, and that, “removal of the floor mats is simply an interim measure, not a remedy of the underlying defect in the vehicles.” [57] [58]

Affected vehicles for floor mat recall Edit

According to Toyota USA, the floor mat recall is restricted to the following models: [59]

Toyota UK states that the floor mat recall affects US models only. [60]

Amended recall to include accelerator pedal Edit

On November 25, two thousand nine Toyota amended its floor mat recall involving the same Trio.8 million vehicles sold in North America. Toyota will reconfigure the accelerator pedal, substitute the all-weather floor mats with thinner mats, and install a brake override system to prevent unwanted acceleration. [Four] The brake override system, also called “brake to idle” and already a common design in German cars, permits the driver to override the accelerator by hitting the brakes. In a follow-up statement, the NHTSA announced the November 25, two thousand nine recall details as a “vehicle-based remedy” to address the floor mat pedal issue. [61] According to Toyota, the repair work done under the amended recall for floor mat incursion problems are as goes after: [Four]

• The accelerator pedal will be shaven to reduce risk of floor mat entrapment.
• All-weather floor mats will be eliminated and substituted with a freshly designed mat.
• A brake override system, which cuts engine power if both the accelerator and brake are detected as pressed, will be installed.
• A replacement pedal with the same form as the modified pedal would be made available at a later date.
• For drivers who have existing all-weather floor mat but do not need or want the freshly designed all-weather floor mat, the existing mat will be liquidated and the proprietor reimbursed.

In its November 25, two thousand nine announcement, Toyota stated that dealers would be instructed very first on how to reshape the accelerator pedal for the repair. [Four] Installation of the brake override began in January two thousand ten on Toyota Camry and Lexus ES three hundred fifty models, the vehicles with the most units included in the recall. [38] [62]

On January 21, 2010, Toyota initiated a 2nd recall, this time in response to reports of accelerator pedals sticking in cars without floor mats. [9] The company had received three such complaints in 2009. [63] In its recall announcement, Toyota stated that:

The condition is uncommon and does not occur all of a sudden. It can occur when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and, in certain conditions, the accelerator pedal may become tighter to depress, slower to come back or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position. [Four]

A concurrent NHTSA press release identified the issue as the “Goopy Pedal Recall” and described the problem and remedy as goes after:

• The accelerator pedal becomes tighter to depress or slower to come back to the closed position.
• The accelerator pedal may become stuck in partially depressed position.
• Should the pedal become stuck while driving, drivers should switch to neutral and stop.
• A repair fix would be applied by the manufacturer to prevent the gooey pedal condition.
• A fresh pedal would later be made available to substitute repaired pedals. [64]

The January twenty one recall announcement for the accelerator pedal problem covered Two.Three million vehicles sold in the U.S. [Trio] [Four] Toyota then widened the recall to include 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and 75,000 in China. [7] On January 26, Toyota announced that until they had finalized an adequate remedy to address the potential for sticking accelerator pedals, sales would be suspended for selected vehicles. [9]

On January 31, two thousand ten the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. regulators cleared Toyota’s proposed repair for the pedals and the company would resume production by February 8. [65] On February 1, two thousand ten Toyota said that its dealers should get parts to fix the goopy accelerator pedal by the end of the week. [66]

Affected vehicles and vehicle lines Edit

According to the manufacturer, Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales in North America is restrained to the following vehicles (vehicles affected are based on certain Vehicle Identification Numbers): [Four] [67]

On January 27, 2010, Toyota USA issued an expanded list of vehicles under recall including: [1]

• MY 2008–2009 Toyota Highlander* (excludes Highlander Hybrid)
• MY 2009–2010 Toyota Venza

* vehicles built in Japan use Denso pedals and are not subject to the recall

On January 29, 2010, the Toyota recall was extended to Europe and China. [68] The number of vehicles likely to be affected in Europe was unconfirmed but Toyota said it may reach up to 1.8 million. [7] At the time of recall there had been thirty incidents involving the accelerator pedal problem in Europe. [Sixty nine]

The vehicles affected in Europe are: [Sixty-nine]

On January 30, 2010, PSA Peugeot Citroën announced it was recalling cars built in a Czech Republic plant, Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile Czech, a joint venture with Toyota. Albeit the company did not say when it would begin the recall, nor how many cars were affected, the plant in question, which produces the Peugeot 107, Citroën C1 and the Toyota Aygo, produces 200,000 cars a year. [71] On February Two, 2010, Toyota announced that the recalls could extend to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, where Toyota said it had sold a total of 180,000 vehicles, albeit the company did not specify how many might be affected by a recall. [72] On February Trio, 2010, Toyota Australia announced that its accelerator pedals are made by a different supplier and that there is no need for a recall of Australian made vehicles. [73]

History of accelerator pedal design Edit

Automobile accelerator pedals have historically been mechanical assemblies which link the pedal to the engine throttle by mechanical linkages or a Bowden cable. With the advent of electronic throttle control, accelerator pedals consist of a spring-loaded pedal arm connected to an electronic transducer. This transducer, typically a potentiometer or Hall effect sensor, converts the position of the pedal arm to an electronic signal which is sent to an electronic control unit (ECU).

The older mechanically designed accelerator pedals not only provided a spring come back, but the mechanism inherently provided some friction. This friction introduced mechanical hysteresis into the pedal force versus pedal position transfer function. Put more simply, once the pedal was set at a specific position, the friction would help keep the pedal at this setting. This made it lighter for the driver to maintain a pedal position. For example, if the driver’s foot is slightly jostled by a bump in road, the accelerator pedal would tend to stay at its setting. While these old purely mechanical designs did have some friction, the come back spring force was always designed to overcome this friction with a considerable safety margin. The come back spring force ensured that throttle returned to zero if the pedal force applied by the driver was diminished or eliminated.

With electronic accelerator pedals, there was little inherent friction because of the plainness of the mechanical design. The tactile pedal response of only a spring force with no hysteresis can make it more difficult for a driver to maintain an accelerator pedal position. Manufacturers of electronic accelerator pedals designed their pedals with extra parts to recreate the tactile response of the older mechanical accelerator pedals. To quote from CTS Corporation’s two thousand four US patent application:

. drivers generally choose the feel, i.e., the tactile response, of conventional cable-driven throttle systems. Designers have therefore attempted to address this preference with mechanisms for emulating the tactile response of cable-driven accelerator pedals. [74]

The Toyota electronic accelerator pedals contain a special friction device made of nylon Four/6 or polyphenylene sulfide within the pedal assembly to recreate the tactile response of older pedals. According to the Toyota recall information, it is this device, which in some instances, has been preventing the accelerator pedal from returning to zero. To quote from the Toyota recall FAQ:

The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the decent “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal stable and stable. This friction device includes a “shoe” that fondles against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating sleekly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to come back to the idle position or, in infrequent cases, the pedal jams, leaving the throttle partially open. [75]

According to Toyota, the tactile response friction device in the affected Toyota electronic accelerator pedals sometimes creates too much friction. This excess friction either slows the pedal come back or fully stops it. In the worst case, once a pedal is shoved to a specific setting, it stays at the setting even if the driver liquidates their foot from the pedal. Early reports, in March 2007, involved the Tundra pickup truck, which used nylon Four/6 in the friction lever. [76]

Some questions and confusion exist if the Toyota explanation fully accounts for all instances of the unintended acceleration involving Toyota vehicles. CTS Corporation, [77] the American manufacturer of the electronic accelerator pedals that Toyota claims are at fault, has announced that:

The problem of unexpected unintended acceleration has been reported to have existed in some Lexus vehicles and Toyota vehicles going back to 1999, when CTS did not even make this product for any customer, CTS believes that the uncommon slow comeback pedal phenomenon, which may occur in extreme environmental conditions, should absolutely not be linked with any unexpected unintended acceleration incidents. CTS is also not aware of any accidents and injuries caused by the infrequent slow come back pedal condition, to the best of its skill. CTS wishes to clarify that it does not, and has never made, any accelerator pedals for Lexus vehicles and that CTS also has no accelerator pedals in Toyota vehicles prior to model year 2005. [78]

In June 2010, Chrysler also recalled 35,000 Dodge and Jeep models for goopy accelerator pedals made by CTS Corporation. Chrysler stated that the CTS pedals have pivot bushings that may dislodge, causing the accelerator to become stuck or slow to come back to idle. [79]

Field workaround for unexpected unintended acceleration Edit

Different “workarounds”, user deeds that ameliorate or prevent a negative, previously unforeseen circumstance, have been suggested as makeshift fixes:

• Putting the car’s transmission in neutral during out-of-control acceleration disengages the gears; [80]
• Turning the ignition to the ACC (accessory) position, which, while cutting power to the engine, will also disable the power steering and the brake assist.
• Turning the ignition key to the OFF position, which will also cut power, but may cause lockage of the steering wheels and will also disable the power steering and the brake assist. [81]

On whether braking alone may fail to stop affected vehicles, a driver account in the Los Angeles Times claimed that the attempt to stop a two thousand five Camry was unsuccessful with both the brake and emergency brake. [82] However, tests of the Camry by Car and Driver in 2009, attempting to use the brakes to stop acceleration of a purposely stuck throttle at 70, 100, and one hundred twenty mph, found that the test driver was able to reduce speed to ten mph in all instances, and in the seventy and one hundred mph tests, stop the car totally. [83] [84] The Camry’s braking distances with a purposely stuck accelerator were also shorter than that of the Ford Taurus’ regular stopping distance. [83] Car and Driver concluded that, based on their emergency stopping tests, the Camry’s brakes could overcome the accelerator in all cases even without a brake override, and that stopping distances with a wide-open throttle were largely indiscernible from regular braking. [83]

In 2010, Edmunds.com also tested the stopping distances of a Toyota Camry SE V6 with a purposely stuck wide-open throttle. Their tests found that the car’s brakes could override a stuck accelerator and bring the car to a stop. Albeit the transmission downshifted and the engine continued to propel the car, stopping distance compared “favorably to a normal fright stop on moist asphalt.” [85] Edmunds.com did note that switching to neutral was the best option, given that average drivers may not press the brakes as rigidly, and lighter presses will simply wear the brakes down. [85] The German Commission on Technical Compliance (TÜV) of Rheinland also tested the stopping distance of Toyota iQ, Aygo, Yaris, Auris, Verso, Avensis and RAV4 models. [86] With the accelerator purposely jammed to 80% of maximum speed, each vehicle was able to brake securely to a halt. [86] The TÜV findings indicated that each model met the legal requirements for deceleration and stopping distances, and that all Toyota models tested had brakes which could override a stuck accelerator. [86]

On February Trio, 2010, the NHTSA announced that it had received reports from one hundred two drivers of possible problems related to the braking system on the two thousand ten model year Toyota Prius, [87] while an extra fourteen such reports had been received in Japan. Three of these reports claimed that brake problems had led to the car crashing, with one accident in July two thousand nine occurring when a Prius crashed head on into another car injuring two people. [88] The Prius was not involved in Toyota’s 2nd recall, albeit it had been involved in the very first recall involving floor mats. Toyota said that it was investigating the reports, and that it would be “premature to comment.” [89] On February Three, two thousand ten the Japanese Transport Ministry began conducting an investigation on the redesigned Prius, [90] and Toyota said that it was aware of seventy seven Prius brake complaints in Japan. [91] On February Four, 2010, the NHTSA announced it had opened an investigation into the issues with the Prius’s brakes, [92] which Toyota said was caused by a software glitch. The company said it was looking into the best way to solve the problem. [93] An internal NHTSA memo indicated that the issue was the “brief delay” in regenerative braking when hitting a bump, resulting in enlargened stopping distance. [94]

On February 6, 2010, Toyota said that it had immobilized the braking problem on Prius models built since late January two thousand ten via a software update for the Six pack system to improve brake response. [Two] On the same day, a Japanese newspaper reported that Toyota had contacted dealers in Japan about their intent to recall all affected vehicles. While it was unclear if the same step would be taken elsewhere, American dealers had been told that Toyota was planning on repairing the vehicles. [95] On February 8, Toyota announced a voluntary global recall of two thousand ten model year Prius models produced through late January 2010. [Two] [96] The affected vehicles will receive a software update for the brakes and its Six pack system. [Two] In total, Toyota recalled three hybrid vehicles to reprogram the anti-lock braking (Six pack) software. [38] In February 2010, a US federal grand jury in Fresh York began the process of determining if there is probable cause to charge Toyota criminally for the way it has treated the Prius’ brake recall, [97] and a civil class activity lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two thousand ten Prius hybrid owners. [98] A total of 133,000 Prius vehicles in the U.S. and 52,000 in Europe are to receive the same software update. [Two] Guardian.co.uk reports that this affects the third-generation Prius built before January 27, 2010.

Affected vehicles for anti-lock brake software recall Edit

• Toyota Sai
• Toyota Prius (2010 model year)
• Lexus HS 250h (2010 model year)

On February 8, 2009, Toyota announced a recall of approximately 7,300 early two thousand ten model year 4-cylinder Camrys due to the possibility of the power steering hosepipe kneading into the front brake line which may cause a brake fluid leak. [99]

On February Trio, 2010, Toyota recalled approximately 153,000 vehicles from model years two thousand five to two thousand eleven for failing to serve with requirements of FMVSS 110, “Tire Selection and Rims”, due to missing geyser carrying capacity labels.

On February 12, 2010, Toyota recalled approximately 8,000 two thousand ten model year 4WD Tacoma trucks for potential front drive shaft issues. The recall involves testing a drive shaft component which if cracked will be substituted. [100] The Tacoma pickups were built inbetween mid-December two thousand nine and early February 2010. Most affected vehicles have not been sold. [101]

Another recall for framework corrosion recall was held to the following model(s): [102] MY 2000–2003 Toyota Tundra. According to Toyota USA, framework corrosion could permit spare tires or the fuel tank to fall off the vehicle.

On July 7, 2010, Toyota recalled 270,000 Lexus and Crown vehicles worldwide for improperly manufactured valve springs. According to Toyota, the condition can cause rough idling and potential engine stalling.

On October 21, 2010, Toyota announced a recall of 1.53 million vehicles (740,000 in the U.S., 599,000 in Japan, and 191,000 in Europe and other markets) worldwide; the recall effects MY two thousand five and two thousand six Avalon, MY two thousand four to two thousand six Highlander (non-hybrid) and Lexus RX330 and MY two thousand six Lexus GS300, IS250 and IS350; the models affected in Japan and elsewhere (except the U.S.) include MY two thousand two to two thousand six Toyota Crown, Crown Majesta, Harrier, Mark X, Alphard, Kluger and Lexus GS350, IS250 and IS350. The recall concerns brake fluid leakage from the master cylinder (U.S. market and non U.S. marketed Toyota Crown and Lexus GS350) and an electrical problem with the fuel pump, which would cause engine stalling (all markets except the U.S.).

On November 9, 2011, Toyota announced a recall of 550,000 vehicles (447,000 in the U.S., 38,000 in Japan, and 25,000 in Australia and Fresh Zealand) worldwide; the recall affects MY 2004-2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, MY two thousand four Avalon, MY two thousand six Highlander HV, MY 2004-2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330 and MY two thousand six RX400h. The recall concerns a steering problem caused by the misalignment of the internal and outer rings of the crankshaft pulley, which could cause a noise or the Check Engine light to illuminate; if this problem is not corrected, the power steering belt can fall off the pulley, which can cause a unexpected loss of power assist.

On October Ten, 2012, Toyota announced a recall of 7.43 million vehicles (Two.47 million in the US, 460,000 in Japan, 1.39 million in Europe, Three.11 million in other markets) worldwide. In the US the recall affects MY 2005-2010 Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia as well as Scion xB and xD. In Japan the recall affects MY 2005-2010 Vitz, Belta, Ractis, Ist and Corolla Rumion. In Europe the recall affects MY 2005-2010 Yaris, Corolla, Auris, Camry and RAV-4. Vehicles in overseas markets are also affected. The recall concerns a problem with the driver’s side power window switch that “slams” and could lead it to melt or catch fire. [103] It is “not something that would cause any deadly accidents like the recall of 2009” and repairs include the application of a special fluorine grease to the switch. [103]

On January 30, 2013, Toyota announced a recall of one million vehicles in the US. The recall affects 752,000 MY 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix models. The recall concerns the airbag module, which can cause the airbag to inflate improperly. Toyota also announced a recall affecting 270,000 MY 2006-2012 Lexus IS models. This recall concerns liberate nuts on the wiper blades, which can cause the wipers to fail, especially if there is a strenuous buildup of snow.

On March 15, 2013, Toyota announced a recall of 209,000 vehicles in the US. The recall affects MY 2007-2013 FJ Cruiser models. The recall concerns the driver and front passenger seat belt retractors, which can come liberate, especially if the rear doors are slammed repeatedly.

Numerous investigations have taken place, including those by the U.S. NHTSA and Japanese transport ministry. [104] The difficulty of investigations is compounded by the fact that driver error can be a possibility in certain cases. The Wall Street Journal reported, “Even when dealers and auto makers suspect driver error, it is difficult for them to outright blame their customers for fear of alienating them or appearing insensitive”, [20] which USA Today also suggested. [105] Questions about why cases are mainly in the U.S. have also been raised by international investigations; German publication Der Spiegel reported that similar accidents have uncommonly occurred outside North America, and albeit there have been some reports of stuck Toyota accelerator pedals in Germany, all drivers braked successfully without loss of life. [106]

In another U.S. incident, on December 26, 2009, four people died in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, when their two thousand eight Toyota Avalon sped off the road and through a fence, landing upside down in a pond. The car’s floor mats were found in the trunk of the car, where owners had been advised to put them as part of the recall. [107] According to the police report, the driver suffered from epilepsy, but investigators could not rule out either a vehicle defect or the possibility that the driver had suffered a seizure. [15] [108]

On Feb 17, 2010, US safety regulators launched an investigation into Corolla steering complaints. [109] [110] Following the widespread media publicity of the recalls, several media publications suggested that investigations of subsequent reports would have considered the possibility of “copycat complaints” and hoaxes, with potential complainants seeking to capitalize on possible settlement money, [111] or affected by the psychological bandwagon effect of the mass publicity. [112]

On March 14, 2010, the Norwegian government considered whether to ban Prius cars from roads in Norway pending an investigation after a near fatal incident involving a senior citizen. [113] On March 29, after receipt of technical and other information, police indicted the driver involved in the Prius incident for making “a false emergency call to police”. [114]

The use of vehicle event data recorders and movie surveillance also proved beneficial to investigators, with findings of driver error in a March 9, two thousand ten Prius alleged unexpected acceleration crash, where a 56-year-old housekeeper claimed to have braked but was recorded pressing the wrong pedal, [115] and also in a March 29, two thousand ten Camry alleged unexpected acceleration crash, where a 76-year-old driver claimed to have braked, but was filmed not doing so until after influence. [116]

NHTSA investigations Edit

NHTSA data shows that there was an annual average of twenty six abrupt acceleration reports in 1999–2001 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES models. This number enhanced by more than 400% to a total of one hundred thirty two annually in 2002–2004 models, which were designed with fresh electronic throttles. [117] Toyota responded by stating,

Six times in the past six years NHTSA has undertaken an exhaustive review of allegations of unintended acceleration on Toyota and Lexus vehicles and six times the agency closed the investigation without finding any electronic engine control system malfunction to be the cause of unintended acceleration. [118]

In 2004, the NHTSA launched a probe of throttle control systems on around one million Lexus and Toyota sedans. [119] Upon that probe, Toyota urged the NHTSA to define the issues as quick bursts where the engine surged to “something less than a wide-open throttle.” The company compared the complaints to previous unexpected unintended acceleration cases the NHTSA deemed “driver error.” [119] It also said the computer could not open the throttle without the accelerator pedal pressed, and, the brakes would be able to stop the car anyway. [119]

After several months of investigating, the NHTSA said it found no evidence of a defect and there was no data indicating any bad parts. [119] Christopher Santucci, an employee of Toyota’s Washington, D.C. office and an NHTSA employee until he was hired by Toyota in 2003, testified that he was informed by the NHTSA in March two thousand four about pending investigation over unintended acceleration complaints. According to Santucci in his deposition, his former NHTSA colleagues determined not to investigate some incidents involving acceleration lasting longer than one 2nd. The decision to exclude certain incidents from the investigation evidently diminished the significance of the issue to the NHTSA at least on paper. [119] [120] [121] However, in 2005, two thousand six and 2008, Toyota customers again asked the NHTSA to investigate uncontrolled acceleration from electronic throttle controls and power steering issues. Albeit there were hundreds of complaints, the NHTSA found no evidence of defects; and in every case, Toyota provided data it said demonstrated no such evidence.

On November Two, 2009, the NHTSA denied a petition to reopen previously closed unintended investigations of Toyota vehicles, stating they were unlikely to reach any fresh conclusions. [122] In February 2010, however NHTSA was again looking into the electronic throttle control systems on Toyota vehicles. [24] In February 2010, State Farm insurance exposed that it had warned NHTSA in late two thousand seven on an enlargened trend of Toyota accidents related to the recalled models; other insurers stated however that they had not seen such a trend. [123] On June 1, 2010, the NHTSA opened an investigation into reports that floor mats were jamming accelerators in Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans. [124] On June 30, 2010, NHTSA reported on its latest broad examine of unintended acceleration on all car makes, including Toyota, in conjunction with NASA and the National Academy of Sciences. NHTSA stated that it was incapable to find electronic throttle defects, but identified floor mat entrapment and pedals that were slow to come back to idle as two causes of Toyota complaints. NHTSA also stated it could only verify one Toyota unintended acceleration accident caused by a vehicle defect. [125] On July 14, 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that NHTSA investigations of seventy five accidents alleged to unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles had found driver error as the primary cause in all but one case attributed to floor mats. [126] [127] Black box recorder data found that during these crashes, the throttle was open and brakes not pressed. [127] On July 30, the Wall Street Journal quoted the former head of NHTSA’s Recall Management Division stating that the investigation “has become very political”, with Department of Transportation officials “hoping against hope that they find something that points back to a flaw”. [128] Albeit the NHTSA probe finding driver error was reportedly accomplish, DOT officials had blocked its release. [128]

On February 8, 2011, NASA and the NHTSA announced the findings of a ten-month examine concerning the causes of the Toyota malfunctions of 2009. [129] According to their findings, there were no electronic faults in the cars that could have caused the sudden-acceleration problems. [45] [45] [130] [131] [132] “The jury is back, the verdict is in: There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas, period,” Transportation Department Secretary Ray LaHood announced in the LA Times. [45]

MLIT investigations Edit

Hiroko Tabuchi writing in the Fresh York Times claims that problematic vehicles may have been accurately reported in Japan due to police correctly blaming driver error, as no verified unintended acceleration case exists. [ citation needed ] The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) released its findings of unexpected acceleration complaints in February 2010, finding that of the one hundred thirty four cases logged by the ministry inbetween two thousand seven and 2009, Toyota accounted for thirty eight cases (28.3% of all reported). [133] Because Toyota’s market share was approximately 27.8% of all passenger cargo vehicles, the MLIT noted that no particularly unusual rate was found among these complaints. [133]

US congressional hearings Edit

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee held hearings in February 2010. [20] [134] Retired social worker Rhonda Smith testified before Congress that her car accelerated out of control but the NHTSA investigator determined that a misplaced floor mat had caused the problem; [20] the subsequent possessor of the car reported no trouble after driving the car over 27,000 miles. [20]

In a February two thousand ten letter to Toyota, US congressional investigators “said a review of consumer complaints produced by Toyota shows that company personnel identified sticking pedals or floor mats as the cause of only sixteen percent of the unintended acceleration reports”. [135] Several media reports later claimed that Toyota had announced that the recalls will not fully solve the accelerator pedal problems. On February 24, 2010, Toyota responded that it “has rigorously tested its solutions” and are “certain” with the recall repairs, but that it would proceed to monitor other possible contributing factors for unintended acceleration, including mechanical, electronics, and driver error. [136] Akio Toyoda, the president and CEO of Toyota, issued the following statement in regards to the recalled vehicles: [137]

In early 2010, the US government began considering requiring all vehicles sold in the US to have accelerator override built into their brake systems. [138]

Research groups have questioned whether Toyota would “get off lightly” because of its large investment in lobbying in Washington, with close ties to the congressional representatives who will lead inquiries into the company’s string of safety problems. [139] Other publications noted that half the Democratic congressional members involved in the hearings had received campaign contributions from the United Auto Workers union, a major stockholder of Toyota’s top U.S. rival, General Motors. [140]

US governors’ letter to congressional members Edit

On February Ten, 2010, four bipartisan US governors from the states of Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, and Alabama which Toyota operates plants wrote a letter to Congress commenting about “the federal government’s demonstrable conflict of interest because of its gigantic financial stake in some of its competitors,” referring to Toyota as a “victim” of the media’s “aggressive and questionable news coverage”. The letter also noted there were “16.Four million recalls in the auto industry for 2009”, “many as serious or more serious” than Toyota’s recall. [141] [142]

Toyota stopped producing vehicles on certain production lines for the week of February 1, 2010, to assess and coordinate activities. The North America vehicle production facilities affected were located in Cambridge and Woodstock, Ontario, Canada (where Corolla, Matrix, and RAV4 models are produced), Princeton, Indiana (Highlander and Sequoia), Georgetown, Kentucky (Avalon and Camry), and San Antonio, Texas (Tundra). [143] In addition to recalling vehicles, Toyota announced that it would install brake override systems on all Lexus, Scion and Toyota vehicles by the end of 2010. [62]

On February Trio, 2010, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood advised owners of vehicles affected by the recall to “stop driving” their vehicles until they can be motionless by a dealer. LaHood later retracted his statement, stating it was “obviously, a misstatement.” [144] Secretary La Rubber hood was criticized for making that statement by some media columnists, who suspected La Spandex hood of having a conflict-of-interest due to the U.S. government’s auto bailout partial ownership of Toyota’s domestic rivals, General Motors and Chrysler. [16] [145] [146]

Economic influence Edit

The recall came at a difficult time for Toyota, as it was fighting to emerge from the recession and had already suffered from a resultant decrease in sales, [147] and the low exchange rate from yen to US dollars. [148] On the day the recall was announced in the US, it was also announced that seven hundred fifty jobs would be cut at Toyota’s British plant at Burnaston, near Derby. [147] Also, it was estimated that each Toyota dealership in the US could lose inbetween US$1.75 million to US$Two million a month in revenue, a total loss of US$Two,470 million across the country from the entire incident. [8] Additionally, Toyota Motors as a entire announced that it could face losses totaling as much as US$Two,000 million from lost output and sales worldwide. [72] Inbetween twenty five January and twenty nine January two thousand ten Toyota shares fell in value by 15%. [149]

According to analysts, Toyota owners (including owners of cars not recalled) may also be economically affected by the recall, as the harm to Toyota’s reputation could negatively affect the resale value of used cars. [150] [151]

Manufacturer switches Edit

In addition to its recall efforts, a fresh global quality committee to coordinate defect analysis and future recall announcements was announced by Toyota in early 2010, along with a Swift Market Analysis Response Team (“Wise”) in the U.S. to conduct on-site vehicle inspections, expanded Event Data Recorder usage and readers, third-party quality consultation, and enhanced driver safety education initiatives. [115] [152] Industry analysts noted that the recall response was a challenge for The Toyota Way manufacturing philosophy, because the recalled parts were not due to factory errors or quality control problems, but rather to design issues leading to consumer complaints. [153] As a result, better communication of consumer issues with management was needed, [153] and so the global quality committee aimed to be more responsive to consumer concerns. [152]

Competitor reactions Edit

One day after Toyota’s announced sales suspension General Motors began suggesting a US$1,000 cash rebate targeted toward Toyota owners. [154] By February 1, two thousand ten Ford, Chrysler, and Hyundai were suggesting similar incentives. [155]

Release of Toyota driver jailed for fatal crash Edit

In February 2010, a mobility for retrial was submitted on behalf of a Minnesota man, Koua Fong Lee, who, in 2008, was sentenced to eight years in jail for rear-ending a car, killing three of the five occupants and injuring the other two. This happened in June two thousand six when he was driving home from church with his family and exiting the highway. Koua insists that his one thousand nine hundred ninety six Toyota Camry sped up to inbetween seventy and ninety mph despite mighty braking. In May 2010, a vehicle inspector hired by attorneys for the convicted man reported finding problems with the car’s accelerator system. [156] [157] [158]

At least two of the jurors from the two thousand eight trial questioned the guilty verdict, [159] and one of the injured survivors filed suit against Toyota and the local dealership that sold the car, stating that he believed Lee should be set free. [160] [161] In June 2010, the Ramsey County Attorney and prosecutor Susan Gaertner opposed a fresh trial, stating that she eyed no evidence that Koua’s Camry experienced “unexpected unintended acceleration”, and a US District Court Judge was given until September two thousand ten to determine whether or not Lee should be re-tried. [162] In August 2010, the judge ruled that Lee would be re-tried, but the prosecutor declined to prosecute. Prior to the ruling, Gaertner suggested Lee release with the condition that he would still have a felony conviction on his record, barring him from driving privileges for ten years, and that he would be jailed if arrested for anything else. Lee did not agree to such conditions. [163] Later that month, a Minnesota judge liberated Lee from prison and Gaertner said she would instantaneously drop the charges. [164]

Media coverage and criticism Edit

According to news analysis by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which analyzed weekly output from newspapers (The Fresh York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and others) as well as network television (ABC, CBS, NBC, and others), the Toyota recalls were the #Five most reported story on U.S. news for the week of January 25–31, 2010, at 4% of all coverage. [12] The following week of February 1–7, 2010, the story reached #Two, at 11% of all news coverage. [165] On February Ten, Toyota dealers in the five-state Southeast region pulled all advertising from ABC stations in protest of “excessive” reporting on the Toyota recalls. [166] On March Five, the Associated Press described “relentless media coverage” of the recalls from news outlets. [112]

During the height of the recall crisis, Toyota came in for extensive editorial criticism, with commentators including CounterPunch suggesting that emphasis on profits had resulted in manufacturing defects. [167] Editorials criticizing alleged disproportionate coverage of the recalls ran in Automotive News, [168] AutoWeek, [169] BusinessWeek, [170] Car and Driver, [17] Motor Trend, [Eighteen] Popular Mechanics, [171] and the National Post. [145] [172] Such editorials commonly faulted media outlets for leaving out alternative explanations such as driver inattentiveness, driver abilities, DUI, being on the cellphone, erroneous perceptions, reckless driving, or texting as causes of accidents. [Legitimate] [169] [173] In one cited example, the Los Angeles Times did not mention that an alleged Toyota runaway driver was indicted for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of marijuana. [174]

Odds from Car and Driver indicated that the alleged fatality risk was about one in 200,000 recalled Toyota vehicles, versus a one in 8,000 risk of a fatal car accident in any car in the U.S., [17] while Consumer Reports stated a one in Ten,000 chance of an unintended acceleration complaint out of twenty million Toyotas on the road. [16]

James Sikes alleged unintended acceleration case Edit

On March 8, 2010, a two thousand eight Prius allegedly madly accelerated to ninety four miles per hour on a California Highway (US), and the Prius had to be stopped with the wordy assistance of the California Highway Patrol as news cameras observed. [175] The incident received national news coverage, with initial reporting including inaccurate information about the event, such as the claim that a CHP car was used to physically block Sikes’ vehicle. [176] [177] Subsequent investigations uncovered suspicious information about the alleged runaway Prius driver, 61-year-old James Sikes, including being US$Nineteen,000 behind in his Prius car payments and with US$700,000 in accumulated debt. [178] [179] Sikes stated he desired a fresh car as compensation for the incident. [178] [180] Analyses by Edmunds.com and Forbes found Sikes’ acceleration claims and fears of shifting to neutral implausible, with Edmunds concluding that “in other words, this is BS”, [181] and Michael Fumento in Forbes analyzing Sikes’s claims related to the mechanics of his Prius and his own contradictions, such as telling he didn’t want to take his forearms off the steering wheel to shift into neutral even tho’ he held a cell phone in his mitt almost the entire time, comparing it to the balloon boy hoax. [179] Further government investigator tests on Sikes’s Prius reportedly displayed that the brake wear were consistent with intermittent braking, not constant hard braking as he claimed. [182] Sikes also reportedly had a history of false police reports, suspect insurance claims, theft and fraud allegations, and television aspirations. [178] These findings raised questions about “the credibility of Mr. Sikes’ reporting of events” in a Congressional memo. [183]

Public picture Edit

According to a Rasmussen poll released on February 8, 2010, Toyota is viewed very favorably by 22% of Americans, favorably by 59%, and unfavorably by 29%. The poll also found 72% of Americans have followed the latest Toyota news stories “somewhat closely” and 31% “very closely”. [184] A 2nd Rasmussen poll released on February twelve found 23% of Americans believe the federal government is criticizing Toyota to aid General Motors of which it is the majority possessor, 38% disagreed, and 39% were hesitant. [185]

Electronic throttle control system Edit

On November 25, 2009, ABC News quoted Sean Kane, head of the for-profit rock-hard Safety Research & Strategies, [186] stating that he had uncovered hundreds of “non-floor mat unexpected acceleration cases” which the floor mat recall did not address. [187] Kane, who works with attorneys suing Toyota, [188] said his rigid had discovered over Two,000 Toyota unexpected acceleration cases involving sixteen deaths and two hundred forty three injuries, [187] publishing its most comprehensive report on the issue on Feb 5th, 2010. [189] Kane alleged that the problem was not with the accelerator pedals, but with the electronic throttle control systems (ETC). [190] An electronic throttle control system is a drive-by-wire system, in which the accelerator pedal and the engine are indirectly linked electronically, instead of directly linked mechanically. [191] This means that input from the accelerator pedal is just one input used to determine how broad the throttle is opened. On Feb 13, 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kane’s company was “controversial” because its income comes from lawsuits against auto manufacturers, [186] which was not disclosed in media reports; [192] auto journalists noted that the hard had a “vested interest” in blaming manufacturer defects while avoiding operator error. [192] [193] The Los Angeles Times reported that since Toyota and Lexus began installing electronic throttle control systems in 2001, complaints of unintended acceleration with vehicles from both those brands rose sharply. [190] Electromagnetic interference with the electronic throttle control system is another possible cause of unintended acceleration. [194] Some speculated that cosmic rays, or radiation from outer space, was a possible source for alleged electronic malfunctions. [195]

The Wall Street Journal obtained a copy of a preliminary explore dated on February Four, two thousand ten by the California-based engineering research rock-hard Exponent. [196] The initial investigate commissioned by Toyota beginning in December two thousand nine concluded “Exponent has so far been incapable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, either unintended acceleration or behavior that might be a precursor to such an event, despite concerted efforts toward this objective.” For the probe Exponent purchased six Toyota and Lexus vehicles which were analyzed by “engineers and technicians specializing in mechanical, electrical, and automotive engineering.” According to Exponent, Toyota “didn’t limit the scope or budget of its investigation” which is being collective with Toyota and lawmakers. The explore will proceed for several more months. [197] According to the Los Angeles Times, Exponent’s research has been criticized as being relied upon by companies in need of public defense, [198] albeit the rigid has defended its impartiality towards clients ranging from firms to the U.S. government. [198] [199] A University of California cardiologist was quoted telling, “I would have picked a rock-hard with more of a reputation of neutrality” citing as an example their determination that secondhand smoke isn’t carcinogenic. [198] [199] Toyota subsequently asked Stanford University’s Center for Automotive Research, a facility partly funded by numerous automakers including Toyota, to also evaluate the electronics claims. [25] The center’s J. Christian Gerdes PhD, professor of mechanical engineering, rejected several electronics claims as implausible, and said that his findings were independent and that he received no compensation from Toyota for his evaluation. [199] [200]

On Feb. 8, two thousand ten the NHTSA and NASA concluded the electronics were not to blame after reviewing the electronics and electromagnetic interference. The finding was based on studying over 280,000 lines of software coding on nine vehicles involved in earlier unexpected acceleration incidents. [201] And studying the throttle systems at NASA’s Langley Research Center and Chrysler’s Auburn Hills headquarters. [29]

ABC News acceleration controversy Edit

On February 22, 2010, ABC News broadcast a report [202] which evidently demonstrated how unintended acceleration could be caused by inducing a brief circuit in the throttle control. In the segment, Dave Gilbert, a PhD engineer and professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, was shown in a late-model Avalon with ABC News reporter Brian Ross. By “inducing a brief” in an unspecified circuit, Gilbert was able to cause the Avalon to accelerate dramatically. After the car was stopped, a diagnostic implement connected to the car’s ECU displayed no fault code. According to Dr. Gilbert, decent design of the ETC should not have permitted a brief like the one he induced to open the throttle; the ECU should have detected a fault and cut the throttle. Tests on GM vehicles, Gilbert said, did not expose a similar flaw. Autoblog’s analysis queried the test’s real-world accuracy, noting that the brief circuit method was not disclosed outside of wiring normally independent sensors together, the ECU could not be expected to detect unrealistic screenplays, and questioning ABC News’ and Brian Ross’s objectivity. [203] Autoblog also uncovered that Gilbert was being paid by parties in lawsuits against Toyota. [203] Automotive analyst John McElroy on Autoline Detroit pointed to network news’ history of “rigged” car demonstrations, including the 60 Minutes acceleration demo and the Dateline NBC exploding truck scandal, [204] and noted that Big black cock News’ report did not include opposing views or disclose interviewee’s financial ties. [204] Toyota responded by inviting ABC News to be present at its evaluation of the test. [204]

On March 8, 2010, Toyota held a live news conference where its engineers demonstrated the same brief circuit method on Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and BMW vehicles. [25] In each case, engineers were able to induce the same dramatic acceleration with no ECU fault code. [25] Stanford’s Center for Automotive Research stated that ABC News’ demo was unrealistic and misleading. [199] A probe by Exponent Inc. finding that the brief circuit “would be very unlikely to occur naturally” and could “only be contrived in the laboratory” was also issued. [200] Toyota further demonstrated how Gilbert had allegedly hairless away wiring insulation, cut wires in the ETC, re-spliced them in a particular sequence, and added a control switch. [199] [205] Gilbert’s financial motive, being paid by Sean Kane, was also questioned. [205] AutoWeek, [206] Edmunds.com, [25] and other automotive sources witnessed the conference as debunking ABC News’ claims. [205] On March 11, 2010, ABC News further admitted to faking [207] part of its report after tachometer screenshots were posted online. [208] The freeze-frames showcased the parking brake, open-door, and seat belt warning lights on while the car was allegedly “accelerating” to 6,000 RPM, indicating that the car was actually not moving. [208] Media blog Gawker.com posted the photos and stated, “the tachometer footage is faked”. [208] ABC News claimed that it was “unlikely to get a good picture of the tachometer” during the actual test, [209] and re-edited the footage. Gawker.com responded that the edited movie was even more “staged”. [210] The Associated Press added that the falsified footage “created ethical questions”. [209]

Possible cruise control cause Edit

In February 2010, numerous media reports claimed that Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak had suggested that faulty software may be part of the problem. [211] [212] However, in a subsequent CNN interview, Wozniak stated, “I haven’t truly said those things. They have put those words in my mouth”. [213] Instead, Wozniak said his comments were about a “minor” cruise control issue on one of his several Priuses, and regarding other recalls, “whether it was mats, whether it was a goopy accelerator pedal, whatever – I believe they found the right solution. If Toyota says it’s not electrical, then I’m sure they’re right.” [213] When asked to describe his cruise control problem, Wozniak said, “It’s a little more of a procedure of upping the speed, upping the speed, and then abruptly it just sort of went like it thought you told it to go to infinity.” [213] As for alternative explanations, Wozniak said “If you’re panicked and your car takes off, you don’t think of these things.” [213] He also clarified that his comments were “to a group of teachers for a discovery museum and talking about an issue of customer support, how hard it is sometimes to get to the people that can indeed deal with your problems”. [213] Automotive journalist John Voelcker’s analysis of Wozniak’s description blamed the issue on user error, and not being familiar with the design differences of the adaptive cruise control system. [214] In the Prius, unlike some other cars, holding down the accelerate button increases speed in five mph increments continuously; [214] Voelcker suggested Wozniak was holding down the button for longer than necessary, setting the cruise to a high set speed, and thus resulting in the “sleek” [213] acceleration to high speed he experienced. [214] Some Prius users have also suggested erroneous user input explanations. [215] Others have come forward with their own stories about erratic vehicle behavior while using their cruise control. [216] In March 2010, Ward’s Auto reported that user unfamiliarity with the quicker response of laser- and radar-based cruise control systems was a likely factor according to AAA, NHTSA, and manufacturer findings. [217]

Driver error Edit

The Wall Street Journal reported on February 25, two thousand ten that “safety regulators, human-error experts and auto makers say driver error is the primary cause of unexpected acceleration.” [20] Regarding the 2009-10 Toyota recalls, Ward’s Auto noted that NHTSA investigations over past years have found that the majority of unexpected unintended acceleration cases are due to driver error. [14] In such cases, accidents are the result of drivers mistakenly stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake. [14] On November 29, 2009, the Los Angeles Times quoted a motor abilities consultant stating that the fault in unexpected acceleration cases “almost always lies with drivers who step on the wrong pedal.” [117] In February 2010, Car and Driver suggested that the alleged accident rate of one in 200,000 recalled Toyotas was “very unlikely” to result from vehicle defects, pointing to an enlargened danger for drivers who “aren’t wise or peaceful enough to shift to neutral”. [17] The same month, Forbes referred to auto industry experts as “skeptical” of defect explanations, suggesting that “driver error and scare account for many reported problems” with recalled Toyotas. [218] On February Four, Leonard Evans, author of Traffic Safety, claimed that driver behavior was the main factor in Toyota accidents, and that the consensus of seventy years of scientific research is that driver error is the prominent explanation for automotive fatalities. [219] In March 2010, Forbes Michael Fumento, [220] The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle and attorney Ted Frank argued that the fact that most of the incidents of unexpected acceleration in Toyota occur in elderly drivers strongly suggest that there is not an electronics problem as opposed to one of pedal misapplication. [221] Fumento’s article was titled: “Why Do Toyotas Hate the Elderly?”, and McArdle noted that immigrants were also twice as likely to be involved. [222] However, lawsuits filed regarding unexpected unintended acceleration cases, along with related third-party investigation reports, have typically avoided the driver error explanation. [193]

In August 2010, the Wall St. Journal reported that experts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had examined the “black boxes” of fifty eight vehicles involved in sudden-acceleration reports. The investigate found that in thirty five of the cases, the brakes weren’t applied at the time of the crash. In nine other cases in the same investigate, the brakes were used only at the last moment before influence. [223]

Factors leading to pedal misapplication Edit

On March Ten, 2010, the Fresh York Times ran a chunk by Richard Schmidt, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at University of California Los Angeles and unexpected acceleration researcher, suspecting driver error as the primary cause of unexplained Toyota unexpected acceleration reports. [224] Schmidt pointed to several factors that make driver error more likely: elderly driver age, lack of practice with the car, and brief stature. [224] In addition, unexplained unexpected acceleration events were most frequently reported as occurring from low speed or fully stopped. [224] Typically, the driver was intending to press the brake, and did not consciously confuse the pedals; however, because of advanced age and neuromuscular irregularities, brief stature and difficulty reaching the pedals, a slight misalignment in seating position, or unfamiliarity with the car model, the driver’s foot contacted the accelerator by mistake. [224] The resulting unexpected unexpected acceleration would lead to scare, with the driver thinking that the acceleration system had failed. [224] The instant response would be to brake hard, but not knowing that their foot was on the accelerator, pressing down caused greater acceleration. [224] In such fright situations, the driver would think that the brakes were not responding, and proceed pressing on the accelerator pedal until they crashed. [224] Switching to neutral or turning off the ignition was typically not contemplated. [224] Incidents occurred exclusively in automatic transmission-equipped cars [224] with driver complaints involving rental cars being far more frequent. All factors point to diminished driver familiarity and sophistication.

On March 12, 2010, Autoline Detroit argued that searches for extra vehicle defects were likely fruitless, as driver error was the primary cause of the 0.009 per million rate of Toyota unexpected acceleration incidents from one thousand nine hundred ninety nine to 2009, [225] with “demographics and psychographics”, namely elderly drivers and pedal misapplication as factors. [225] Also noted was that drivers with Type II diabetes (adult onset), which is more common among the elderly, are subject to diminished sensation in their lower extremities (peripheral neuropathy) with related impairment in positional skill of foot placement (proprioception). [225] Wired wrote that since investigators have been “incapable to find evidence supporting drivers’ claims their Toyotas all of a sudden raced out of control” [226] operator error is the most likely explanation. [226] However, victims and relatives of unexpected acceleration cases are commonly unwilling to suspect involved loved ones, and blame the vehicle instead. [222] Analysis of alleged Toyota acceleration reports in The Atlantic and other sources have found the highest distribution of involved drivers inbetween seventy and eighty years old, with the average age skewing over 55; [222] [227] with elderly susceptibility to “neuronal misfiring” and pedal misapplication as a possible cause. [222] While many alleged cases lack exact details, over half of reported incidents occurred from a finish stop or low speed, providing a window for the pedal misapplication to occur. [222] A prior GM probe found that 60- and 70-year-olds were six times more likely to practice unexpected acceleration than 20- to 30-year-olds. [224] In the Fresh York Times, Richard Schmidt concluded that a brake override system could prevent acceleration cases where a vehicle defect existed, but would not prevent unexpected acceleration cases caused by pedal misapplication. [224]

Previous findings of driver error Edit

Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and Ward’s Auto also compared the 2009-10 Toyota recalls to the Audi unexpected acceleration cases of the 1980s, which led to a widely noted media madness and hundreds of unexpected unintended acceleration claims for Audi cars. [14] In that case, a one thousand nine hundred eighty six segment on CBS News’ 60 Minutes accused the Audi five thousand sedan of unintended acceleration defects, which was followed by numerous reports of tragic accidents and media accomplished commentary. [17] At the time, Audi was reported to have the highest rate of acceleration complaints. [224] However, the NHTSA later determined all complaints to be due to driver error. [14] [17] [Eighteen]

The Detroit News documented previous unexpected unintended acceleration cases dating back to August one thousand nine hundred seventy eight when the NHTSA opened an investigation into General Motors for unexpected acceleration, concluding eight years later driver error was the likely culprit. By 1986, more than Two,000 injuries had been blamed on unexpected acceleration with unexpected acceleration complaints totaling over ten percent of complaints filed to the NHTSA. In one thousand nine hundred eighty six the NHTSA launched an investigation of the 1981-84 Toyota Cressida and an extra five other automakers. By one thousand nine hundred eighty nine the NHTSA determined driver error was “the most probable explanation” for the complaints. [228]

NHTSA and NASA Investigation Verdict Edit

In February 2011, the findings of a 10-month-long probe conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), aimed to identify the main cause of unexpected acceleration in Toyota and Lexus models. The examine was requested by the U.S. Congress and “enlisted NASA engineers with expertise in areas such as computer managed electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity”. [229] The most common problem was drivers hitting the accelerator pedal when they thought they were hitting the brake, which the NHTSA called “pedal misapplication.” [229] Of the fifty eight cases reported, eighteen were dismissed out of forearm. Of the remaining 40, thirty nine of them were found to have no cause; the remainder being an example of “pedal entrapment.” One investigator says most of the cases involved “pedal misapplication” – that is, “the driver stepped on the gas rather than the brake or in addition to the brake.” [230] The report concluded that the two mechanical safety defects that were originally identified by NHTSA are known causes of dangerous unintended acceleration. [229]

Consumers in the U.S. and Canada have filed numerous [231] class activity lawsuits blaming the unexpected acceleration problem on the electronic throttle control system (ETC) and alleging Toyota’s negligence. [232] [233] As of February 26, 2010, there were at least seventy two lawsuits pending in U.S. federal courts against Toyota or its subsidiaries as a result of the 2009-10 recalls. [26] [234] Plaintiffs are seeking damages for private injury or wrongful death resulting from accidents in the defective Toyota vehicles (in other words, product liability), loss of resale value, or a drop in the value of shares held by Toyota shareholders. [26] Toyota has retained the law rock-hard of Alston & Bird to defend most of these cases. [235]

On April 9, 2010, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered consolidation of all federal deeds into the Central District of California before Judge James V. Selna for all pretrial motions and discovery. [236] In doing so, the Panel noted that “these cases have attracted an unusual amount of publicity to the Panel’s work.” [236] Albeit only eleven cases were directly before the JPML, it also noted that the parties had notified it of more than one hundred potentially related cases, which can also be consolidated as so-called “tag-along” cases. [236] As to why Judge Selna, the Panel explained, “Judge Selna’s twenty eight years of private law practice at the very highest levels and in some of the most elaborate cases leaves him well ready for a case of this magnitude.” [236] Under federal multidistrict litigation law, any cases that are not dismissed or lodged during the consolidated pretrial process will be remanded to their original district court for trial.

The following week, Judge Selna set a May thirteen initial scheduling conference at his courtroom in Santa Ana, California. [237] He also appointed Cari Dawson, chairwoman of Alston & Bird’s class activity department, as lead counsel for defendants.

On May 14, after reviewing submissions from dozens of plaintiffs’ attorneys, Judge Selna issued an order establishing which attorneys would be granted the potentially lucrative positions of lead counsel for the plaintiffs. [238] Very first, he named nine attorneys as lead counsel for the economic loss cases and nine attorneys as lead counsel for the private injury and wrongful death cases. [238] He then named nine of the attorneys from these two panels to form a core discovery committee. [238] Three extra attorneys were named as liaisons to coordinate discovery with pending state court deeds and other related federal litigation in progress outside of the MDL, like shareholder litigation. [238] Eventually, one extra attorney was named as a consultant on behalf of international Toyota consumers. [238] Prominent attorneys appointed on the plaintiffs’ side included Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (on the private injury and wrongful death committee) and Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein (on the economic loss committee). [238]

Selna also clarified the roles of defense counsel by appointing Cari Dawson and Lisa Gilford of Alston & Bird as lead counsel in the economic loss cases and Vince Galvin and Joel Smith of Bowman and Brooke as lead counsel in the individual injury and wrongful death cases. [238] Gilford and Galvin were also appointed to serve as lead defense liaisons to other related cases in federal and state courts. [238]

On June 1, 2010, Judge Selna issued another order setting out a discovery schedule. He ordered both sides to make initial discovery disclosures by July Two, 2010, and set out a briefing schedule for motions with regard to the consolidated complaints, with oral arguments set for November Nineteen, 2010. In a separate order on that same date, he also ordered that all motion-related documents filed by any attorney would now have to be co-signed by lead counsel for that attorney’s side, and that lead counsel were to act as gatekeepers, so as to cut down on the number of documents being filed with the court. On July 1, 2010, Judge Selna appointed two retired Presiding Justices of the California Court of Appeal as special masters: John K. Trotter and Steven Stone.

On June Ten, 2011, after the parties had ended some discovery, Judge Selna issued an order setting trial dates of February Nineteen, two thousand thirteen and May 21, two thousand thirteen for the very first two “bellwether” trials, and designated a Utah wrongful death/individual injury case as the very first one (of three hundred in progress) to go to trial.

Toyota has also been sued for not having a brake override system on older models. [98] Attorney Robert Nelson, signifying Jacquelyn Donoghue of Holder, Nebraska, the 67-year-old widow of a man killed in an accident in which her model year two thousand six Prius allegedly all of a sudden accelerated into another vehicle, killing the man and gravely injuring her, alleged that Toyota’s failure to include a brake override on their models played a “direct role” in the death of John Donoghue. [98] Edgar Heiskell, an attorney involved with one of the lawsuits, contends that electromagnetic interference with the electronic throttle control system is to blame for acceleration cases. [121] Heiskell contends that Toyota models as old as two thousand two are also affected. According to him, “Toyota can’t tell you that the ’07 Camry they are recalling is any different from the ’06 or the ’03 that has the same throttle control in it.” [121] According to the Wall Street Journal’s Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., “trial lawyers love the electronic gremlin theory because it’s unlikely to disprove in any individual case.” [15]

On December 26, 2012, Toyota announced it would spend more than US$1 billion to lodge a class act lawsuit involving unintended acceleration by retrofitting vehicles with safety devices and compensated owners for lost resale value. [239] A confidential settlement was reached in a lawsuit against Toyota involving the injury of Jean Bookout and the death of Barbara Schwarz in November 2013. [240]

Settlement with the U.S. government Edit

On March Nineteen, two thousand fourteen it was announced that Toyota and the U.S. Justice Department had reached an agreement whereby Toyota would pay a US$1.Two billion criminal penalty in exchange for deferred prosecution of wire fraud charges. The agreement also subjects the car company to further independent monitoring of its safety procedures. The penalty ended a four-year investigation in which the Justice Department concluded that Toyota had intentionally hid information about safety defects from the public and had made deceptive statements to protect its brand photo. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. remarked “Other car companies should not repeat Toyota’s mistake. A recall may harm a company’s reputation, but deceiving your customers makes that harm far more lasting.” The penalty is the largest ever waged against a car company. [241]

In a statement, Toyota called the agreement difficult, but “a major step toward putting this unfortunate chapter behind us”. The company said it has made fundamental switch in its corporate structure and safety procedures since the investigation embarked. Brake-override systems are now standard on all Toyota vehicles. [241]

As of March 2014, several civil wrongful death and private injury lawsuits are pending. [241]

2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls

2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls

Three separate but related recalls of automobiles by Toyota Motor Corporation occurred at the end of two thousand nine and commence of 2010. Toyota initiated the recalls, the very first two with the assistance of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), after reports that several vehicles experienced unintended acceleration. The very first recall, on November Two, 2009, was to correct a possible incursion of an incorrect or out-of-place front driver’s side floor mat into the foot pedal well, which can cause pedal entrapment. The 2nd recall, on January 21, 2010, was begun after some crashes were shown not to have been caused by floor mat incursion. This latter defect was identified as a possible mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal causing unintended acceleration, referred to as Sticking Accelerator Pedal by Toyota. The original act was initiated by Toyota in their Defect Information Report, dated October Five, 2009, amended January 27, 2010. [1] Following the floor mat and accelerator pedal recalls, Toyota also issued a separate recall for hybrid anti-lock brake software in February 2010. [Two]

As of January 28, 2010, Toyota had announced recalls of approximately Five.Two million vehicles for the pedal entrapment/floor mat problem, and an extra Two.Three million vehicles for the accelerator pedal problem. Approximately 1.7 million vehicles are subject to both. [Trio] [Four] Certain related Lexus and Pontiac models were also affected. [Five] [6] The next day, Toyota widened the recall to include 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and 75,000 in China. [7] By then, the worldwide total number of cars recalled by Toyota stood at nine million. [8] Sales of numerous recalled models were suspended for several weeks as a result of the accelerator pedal recall, [9] with the vehicles awaiting replacement parts. As of January 2010, twenty one deaths were alleged due to the pedal problem since 2000, but following the January twenty eight recall, extra NHTSA complaints brought the alleged total to 37. [Ten] The number of alleged victims and reported problems sharply enhanced following the recall announcements, [11] which were strongly covered by U.S. media, [12] albeit the causes of individual reports were difficult to verify. [13] [14] [15] Government officials, automotive experts, Toyota, and members of the general public contested the scope of the unexpected acceleration issue and the veracity of victim and problem reports. [16] [17] [Legitimate] Various parties attributed unexpected unintended acceleration reports to mechanical, electrical, and driver error causes. [Nineteen] [20] [21] Some US owners that had their recalled vehicles repaired still reported accelerator pedal issues, leading to investigations and the finding of improper repairs. [22] [23] The recalls further led to extra NHTSA and Toyota investigations, [24] [25] along with numerous lawsuits. [26]

On February 8, 2011, the NHTSA, in collaboration with NASA, released its findings into the investigation on the Toyota drive-by-wire throttle system. After a 10-month search, NASA and NHTSA scientists found no electronic defect in Toyota vehicles. [27] Driver error or pedal misapplication was found responsible for most of the incidents. [28] The report ended stating, “Our conclusion is Toyota’s problems were mechanical, not electrical.” This included sticking accelerator pedals, and pedals caught under floor mats. [29]

However, on October 24, 2013, a jury ruled against Toyota and found that unintended acceleration could have been caused due to deficiencies in the drive-by-wire throttle system or Electronic Throttle Control System (ETCS). Michael Barr of the Barr Group testified that NASA had not been able to accomplish its examination of Toyota’s ETCS and that Toyota did not go after best practices for real time life critical software, and that a single bit roll which can be caused by cosmic rays could cause unintended acceleration. As well, the run-time stack of the real-time operating system was not large enough and that it was possible for the stack to grow large enough to overwrite data that could cause unintended acceleration. [30] [31] As a result, Toyota has entered into settlement talks with its plaintiffs. [32]

Contents

• Sep 26, two thousand seven – US: 55,000 Toyota Camry and ES three hundred fifty cars in “all-weather” floor mat recall. [33]
• Nov 02, two thousand nine – US: Trio.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles again recalled due to floor mat problem, this time for all driver’s side mats. [Five]
• Nov 26, two thousand nine – US: floor mat recall amended to include brake override [Four] and enlargened to Four.Two million vehicles. [citation needed]
• Jan 21, two thousand ten – US: Two.Three million Toyota vehicles recalled due to faulty accelerator pedals [6] (of those, Two.1 million already involved in floor mat recall). [Three]
• Jan 27, two thousand ten – US: 1.1 million Toyotas added to amended floor mat recall. [34]
• Jan 29, two thousand ten – Europe, China: 1.8 million Toyotas added to faulty accelerator pedal recall. [7]
• Feb 08, two thousand ten – Worldwide: 436,000 hybrid vehicles in brake recall following two hundred reports of Prius brake glitches. [Two]
• Feb 08, two thousand ten – US: 7,300 model year two thousand ten Camry vehicles recalled over potential brake tube problems. [35]
• Feb 12, two thousand ten – US: 8,000 MY two thousand ten 4WD Tacoma pick-up trucks recalled over concerns about possible defective front drive shafts. [36]
• Apr 16, two thousand ten – US: 600,000 MY 1998–2010 Toyota Sienna for possible corrosion of spare tire carrier cable. [37]
• Apr Nineteen, two thousand ten – World: 21,000 MY two thousand ten Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and 13,000 Lexus GX four hundred sixty SUV’s recalled to reprogram the stability control system. [38][39]
• Apr 28, two thousand ten – US: 50,000 MY two thousand three Toyota Sequoia recalled to reprogram the stability control system. [40]
• May 21, two thousand ten – Japan: Four,509, US: 7,000 MY two thousand ten LS for steering system software update [41]
• July Five, two thousand ten – World: 270,000 Crown and Lexus models for valve springs with potential production issue. [42]
• July 29, two thousand ten – US: 412,000 Avalons and LX 470s for replacement of steering column components. [43]
• August 28, two thousand ten – US & Canada: approximately 1.13 million Toyota Corolla and Toyota Matrix vehicles produced inbetween two thousand five and two thousand eight for Engine Control Modules (ECM) that may have been improperly manufactured. [44]
• February 8, two thousand eleven – US: NASA and NHTSA inquiry exposes that there were no electronic faults in Toyota cars that would have caused acceleration issues. However, accelerator pedal entrapments remains a problem. [45]
• February 22, two thousand eleven – US: Toyota recalls an extra Two.17 million vehicles for accelerator pedals that become trapped on floor hardware. [46]

On September 26, 2007, Toyota recalled 55,000 sets of heavy-duty rubber floor mats from the Toyota Camry and ES three hundred fifty sedans. [33] The recalled mats were of the optional “all-weather” type. NHTSA stated that the recall was due to the risk that unsecured mats could stir forward and trap the accelerator pedal. [33]

On August 28, 2009, a two-car collision killed four people railing in a Lexus dealer-provided loaner ES three hundred fifty in San Diego, California. [48] [49] [50] [51] The NHTSA released a safety investigation report on October 25, finding that the accident vehicle was wrongly fitted with all-weather rubber floor mats meant for the RX 400h SUV, and that these mats were not secured by either of the two retaining clips. [52] The brake hardware also displayed signs of intense braking consistent with a stuck accelerator pedal. [52] The report stated that the accelerator pedal’s hinge did not permit relieving obstructions, and the dashboard lacked directions for the three-second emergency press of the thrust button keyless ignition. NHTSA investigators also recovered the accident vehicle’s accelerator pedal, which was still “bonded” to the SUV floor mat. [52] The comeback spring act of the accelerator pedal was found to be “slick and unencumbered.” [53]

Another investigation conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department found that three days prior to the crash another customer had complained to the dealership about the floor mat trapping the same loaner car’s accelerator pedal while driving. [54] The prior driver had switched to neutral and tugged on the floor mat, which released the accelerator. [54]

On November Two, 2009, the NHTSA denied a petition to reopen previously closed unintended acceleration investigations of Toyota vehicles, stating they had already been scrupulously investigated making it unlikely for the NHTSA to reach any fresh conclusions. [55] Later that day Toyota issued a voluntary recall of Three.8 million vehicles, with a letter sent to owners asking them to liquidate the driver floor mat and not substitute it with any other type of mat. [Five] In its November Two, two thousand nine recall announcement, Toyota appeared to claim the floor mats were solely at fault, stating, “The question of unintended acceleration involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been repeatedly and accurately investigated by NHTSA, without any finding of defect other than the risk from an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat”, [Five] [56] but the NHTSA issued another statement stating, “This matter is not closed until Toyota has effectively addressed the defect”, the letter was “inaccurate and misleading”, and that, “removal of the floor mats is simply an interim measure, not a remedy of the underlying defect in the vehicles.” [57] [58]

Affected vehicles for floor mat recall Edit

According to Toyota USA, the floor mat recall is limited to the following models: [59]

Toyota UK states that the floor mat recall affects US models only. [60]

Amended recall to include accelerator pedal Edit

On November 25, two thousand nine Toyota amended its floor mat recall involving the same Trio.8 million vehicles sold in North America. Toyota will reconfigure the accelerator pedal, substitute the all-weather floor mats with thinner mats, and install a brake override system to prevent unwanted acceleration. [Four] The brake override system, also called “brake to idle” and already a common design in German cars, permits the driver to override the accelerator by hitting the brakes. In a follow-up statement, the NHTSA announced the November 25, two thousand nine recall details as a “vehicle-based remedy” to address the floor mat pedal issue. [61] According to Toyota, the repair work done under the amended recall for floor mat incursion problems are as goes after: [Four]

• The accelerator pedal will be clean-shaved to reduce risk of floor mat entrapment.
• All-weather floor mats will be eliminated and substituted with a freshly designed mat.
• A brake override system, which cuts engine power if both the accelerator and brake are detected as pressed, will be installed.
• A replacement pedal with the same form as the modified pedal would be made available at a later date.
• For drivers who have existing all-weather floor mat but do not need or want the freshly designed all-weather floor mat, the existing mat will be eliminated and the proprietor reimbursed.

In its November 25, two thousand nine announcement, Toyota stated that dealers would be instructed very first on how to reshape the accelerator pedal for the repair. [Four] Installation of the brake override began in January two thousand ten on Toyota Camry and Lexus ES three hundred fifty models, the vehicles with the most units included in the recall. [38] [62]

On January 21, 2010, Toyota initiated a 2nd recall, this time in response to reports of accelerator pedals sticking in cars without floor mats. [9] The company had received three such complaints in 2009. [63] In its recall announcement, Toyota stated that:

The condition is infrequent and does not occur abruptly. It can occur when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and, in certain conditions, the accelerator pedal may become stiffer to depress, slower to come back or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position. [Four]

A concurrent NHTSA press release identified the issue as the “Goopy Pedal Recall” and described the problem and remedy as goes after:

• The accelerator pedal becomes firmer to depress or slower to come back to the closed position.
• The accelerator pedal may become stuck in partially depressed position.
• Should the pedal become stuck while driving, drivers should switch to neutral and stop.
• A repair fix would be applied by the manufacturer to prevent the gooey pedal condition.
• A fresh pedal would later be made available to substitute repaired pedals. [64]

The January twenty one recall announcement for the accelerator pedal problem covered Two.Three million vehicles sold in the U.S. [Three] [Four] Toyota then widened the recall to include 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and 75,000 in China. [7] On January 26, Toyota announced that until they had finalized an adequate remedy to address the potential for sticking accelerator pedals, sales would be suspended for selected vehicles. [9]

On January 31, two thousand ten the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. regulators cleared Toyota’s proposed repair for the pedals and the company would resume production by February 8. [65] On February 1, two thousand ten Toyota said that its dealers should get parts to fix the gooey accelerator pedal by the end of the week. [66]

Affected vehicles and vehicle lines Edit

According to the manufacturer, Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales in North America is restricted to the following vehicles (vehicles affected are based on certain Vehicle Identification Numbers): [Four] [67]

On January 27, 2010, Toyota USA issued an expanded list of vehicles under recall including: [1]

• MY 2008–2009 Toyota Highlander* (excludes Highlander Hybrid)
• MY 2009–2010 Toyota Venza

* vehicles built in Japan use Denso pedals and are not subject to the recall

On January 29, 2010, the Toyota recall was extended to Europe and China. [68] The number of vehicles likely to be affected in Europe was unconfirmed but Toyota said it may reach up to 1.8 million. [7] At the time of recall there had been thirty incidents involving the accelerator pedal problem in Europe. [Sixty-nine]

The vehicles affected in Europe are: [Sixty nine]

On January 30, 2010, PSA Peugeot Citroën announced it was recalling cars built in a Czech Republic plant, Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile Czech, a joint venture with Toyota. Albeit the company did not say when it would begin the recall, nor how many cars were affected, the plant in question, which produces the Peugeot 107, Citroën C1 and the Toyota Aygo, produces 200,000 cars a year. [71] On February Two, 2010, Toyota announced that the recalls could extend to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, where Toyota said it had sold a total of 180,000 vehicles, albeit the company did not specify how many might be affected by a recall. [72] On February Three, 2010, Toyota Australia announced that its accelerator pedals are made by a different supplier and that there is no need for a recall of Australian made vehicles. [73]

History of accelerator pedal design Edit

Automobile accelerator pedals have historically been mechanical assemblies which link the pedal to the engine throttle by mechanical linkages or a Bowden cable. With the advent of electronic throttle control, accelerator pedals consist of a spring-loaded pedal arm connected to an electronic transducer. This transducer, typically a potentiometer or Hall effect sensor, converts the position of the pedal arm to an electronic signal which is sent to an electronic control unit (ECU).

The older mechanically designed accelerator pedals not only provided a spring comeback, but the mechanism inherently provided some friction. This friction introduced mechanical hysteresis into the pedal force versus pedal position transfer function. Put more simply, once the pedal was set at a specific position, the friction would help keep the pedal at this setting. This made it lighter for the driver to maintain a pedal position. For example, if the driver’s foot is slightly jostled by a bump in road, the accelerator pedal would tend to stay at its setting. While these old purely mechanical designs did have some friction, the comeback spring force was always designed to overcome this friction with a considerable safety margin. The comeback spring force ensured that throttle returned to zero if the pedal force applied by the driver was diminished or liquidated.

With electronic accelerator pedals, there was little inherent friction because of the simpleness of the mechanical design. The tactile pedal response of only a spring force with no hysteresis can make it more difficult for a driver to maintain an accelerator pedal position. Manufacturers of electronic accelerator pedals designed their pedals with extra parts to recreate the tactile response of the older mechanical accelerator pedals. To quote from CTS Corporation’s two thousand four US patent application:

. drivers generally choose the feel, i.e., the tactile response, of conventional cable-driven throttle systems. Designers have therefore attempted to address this preference with mechanisms for emulating the tactile response of cable-driven accelerator pedals. [74]

The Toyota electronic accelerator pedals contain a special friction device made of nylon Four/6 or polyphenylene sulfide within the pedal assembly to recreate the tactile response of older pedals. According to the Toyota recall information, it is this device, which in some instances, has been preventing the accelerator pedal from returning to zero. To quote from the Toyota recall FAQ:

The issue involves a friction device in the pedal designed to provide the decent “feel” by adding resistance and making the pedal stable and stable. This friction device includes a “shoe” that massages against an adjoining surface during normal pedal operation. Due to the materials used, wear and environmental conditions, these surfaces may, over time, begin to stick and release instead of operating slickly. In some cases, friction could increase to a point that the pedal is slow to come back to the idle position or, in infrequent cases, the pedal slams, leaving the throttle partially open. [75]

According to Toyota, the tactile response friction device in the affected Toyota electronic accelerator pedals sometimes creates too much friction. This excess friction either slows the pedal comeback or entirely stops it. In the worst case, once a pedal is shoved to a specific setting, it stays at the setting even if the driver eliminates their foot from the pedal. Early reports, in March 2007, involved the Tundra pickup truck, which used nylon Four/6 in the friction lever. [76]

Some questions and confusion exist if the Toyota explanation fully accounts for all instances of the unintended acceleration involving Toyota vehicles. CTS Corporation, [77] the American manufacturer of the electronic accelerator pedals that Toyota claims are at fault, has announced that:

The problem of unexpected unintended acceleration has been reported to have existed in some Lexus vehicles and Toyota vehicles going back to 1999, when CTS did not even make this product for any customer, CTS believes that the infrequent slow comeback pedal phenomenon, which may occur in extreme environmental conditions, should absolutely not be linked with any unexpected unintended acceleration incidents. CTS is also not aware of any accidents and injuries caused by the infrequent slow come back pedal condition, to the best of its skill. CTS wishes to clarify that it does not, and has never made, any accelerator pedals for Lexus vehicles and that CTS also has no accelerator pedals in Toyota vehicles prior to model year 2005. [78]

In June 2010, Chrysler also recalled 35,000 Dodge and Jeep models for gooey accelerator pedals made by CTS Corporation. Chrysler stated that the CTS pedals have pivot bushings that may dislodge, causing the accelerator to become stuck or slow to come back to idle. [79]

Field workaround for unexpected unintended acceleration Edit

Different “workarounds”, user deeds that ameliorate or prevent a negative, previously unforeseen circumstance, have been suggested as makeshift fixes:

• Putting the car’s transmission in neutral during out-of-control acceleration disengages the gears; [80]
• Turning the ignition to the ACC (accessory) position, which, while cutting power to the engine, will also disable the power steering and the brake assist.
• Turning the ignition key to the OFF position, which will also cut power, but may cause lockage of the steering wheels and will also disable the power steering and the brake assist. [81]

On whether braking alone may fail to stop affected vehicles, a driver account in the Los Angeles Times claimed that the attempt to stop a two thousand five Camry was unsuccessful with both the brake and emergency brake. [82] However, tests of the Camry by Car and Driver in 2009, attempting to use the brakes to stop acceleration of a purposely stuck throttle at 70, 100, and one hundred twenty mph, found that the test driver was able to reduce speed to ten mph in all instances, and in the seventy and one hundred mph tests, stop the car entirely. [83] [84] The Camry’s braking distances with a purposely stuck accelerator were also shorter than that of the Ford Taurus’ regular stopping distance. [83] Car and Driver concluded that, based on their emergency stopping tests, the Camry’s brakes could overcome the accelerator in all cases even without a brake override, and that stopping distances with a wide-open throttle were largely indiscernible from regular braking. [83]

In 2010, Edmunds.com also tested the stopping distances of a Toyota Camry SE V6 with a purposely stuck wide-open throttle. Their tests found that the car’s brakes could override a stuck accelerator and bring the car to a stop. Albeit the transmission downshifted and the engine continued to propel the car, stopping distance compared “favorably to a normal scare stop on raw asphalt.” [85] Edmunds.com did note that switching to neutral was the best option, given that average drivers may not press the brakes as rigidly, and lighter presses will simply wear the brakes down. [85] The German Commission on Technical Compliance (TÜV) of Rheinland also tested the stopping distance of Toyota iQ, Aygo, Yaris, Auris, Verso, Avensis and RAV4 models. [86] With the accelerator purposely jammed to 80% of maximum speed, each vehicle was able to brake securely to a halt. [86] The TÜV findings indicated that each model met the legal requirements for deceleration and stopping distances, and that all Toyota models tested had brakes which could override a stuck accelerator. [86]

On February Three, 2010, the NHTSA announced that it had received reports from one hundred two drivers of possible problems related to the braking system on the two thousand ten model year Toyota Prius, [87] while an extra fourteen such reports had been received in Japan. Three of these reports claimed that brake problems had led to the car crashing, with one accident in July two thousand nine occurring when a Prius crashed head on into another car injuring two people. [88] The Prius was not involved in Toyota’s 2nd recall, albeit it had been involved in the very first recall involving floor mats. Toyota said that it was investigating the reports, and that it would be “premature to comment.” [89] On February Three, two thousand ten the Japanese Transport Ministry began conducting an investigation on the redesigned Prius, [90] and Toyota said that it was aware of seventy seven Prius brake complaints in Japan. [91] On February Four, 2010, the NHTSA announced it had opened an investigation into the issues with the Prius’s brakes, [92] which Toyota said was caused by a software glitch. The company said it was looking into the best way to solve the problem. [93] An internal NHTSA memo indicated that the issue was the “brief delay” in regenerative braking when hitting a bump, resulting in enlargened stopping distance. [94]

On February 6, 2010, Toyota said that it had immobile the braking problem on Prius models built since late January two thousand ten via a software update for the Six pack system to improve brake response. [Two] On the same day, a Japanese newspaper reported that Toyota had contacted dealers in Japan about their intent to recall all affected vehicles. While it was unclear if the same step would be taken elsewhere, American dealers had been told that Toyota was planning on repairing the vehicles. [95] On February 8, Toyota announced a voluntary global recall of two thousand ten model year Prius models produced through late January 2010. [Two] [96] The affected vehicles will receive a software update for the brakes and its Six pack system. [Two] In total, Toyota recalled three hybrid vehicles to reprogram the anti-lock braking (Six pack) software. [38] In February 2010, a US federal grand jury in Fresh York began the process of determining if there is probable cause to charge Toyota criminally for the way it has treated the Prius’ brake recall, [97] and a civil class activity lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two thousand ten Prius hybrid owners. [98] A total of 133,000 Prius vehicles in the U.S. and 52,000 in Europe are to receive the same software update. [Two] Guardian.co.uk reports that this affects the third-generation Prius built before January 27, 2010.

Affected vehicles for anti-lock brake software recall Edit

• Toyota Sai
• Toyota Prius (2010 model year)
• Lexus HS 250h (2010 model year)

On February 8, 2009, Toyota announced a recall of approximately 7,300 early two thousand ten model year 4-cylinder Camrys due to the possibility of the power steering hose pipe massaging into the front brake line which may cause a brake fluid leak. [99]

On February Three, 2010, Toyota recalled approximately 153,000 vehicles from model years two thousand five to two thousand eleven for failing to serve with requirements of FMVSS 110, “Tire Selection and Rims”, due to missing fountain carrying capacity labels.

On February 12, 2010, Toyota recalled approximately 8,000 two thousand ten model year 4WD Tacoma trucks for potential front drive shaft issues. The recall involves studying a drive shaft component which if cracked will be substituted. [100] The Tacoma pickups were built inbetween mid-December two thousand nine and early February 2010. Most affected vehicles have not been sold. [101]

Another recall for framework corrosion recall was held to the following model(s): [102] MY 2000–2003 Toyota Tundra. According to Toyota USA, framework corrosion could permit spare tires or the fuel tank to fall off the vehicle.

On July 7, 2010, Toyota recalled 270,000 Lexus and Crown vehicles worldwide for improperly manufactured valve springs. According to Toyota, the condition can cause rough idling and potential engine stalling.

On October 21, 2010, Toyota announced a recall of 1.53 million vehicles (740,000 in the U.S., 599,000 in Japan, and 191,000 in Europe and other markets) worldwide; the recall effects MY two thousand five and two thousand six Avalon, MY two thousand four to two thousand six Highlander (non-hybrid) and Lexus RX330 and MY two thousand six Lexus GS300, IS250 and IS350; the models affected in Japan and elsewhere (except the U.S.) include MY two thousand two to two thousand six Toyota Crown, Crown Majesta, Harrier, Mark X, Alphard, Kluger and Lexus GS350, IS250 and IS350. The recall concerns brake fluid leakage from the master cylinder (U.S. market and non U.S. marketed Toyota Crown and Lexus GS350) and an electrical problem with the fuel pump, which would cause engine stalling (all markets except the U.S.).

On November 9, 2011, Toyota announced a recall of 550,000 vehicles (447,000 in the U.S., 38,000 in Japan, and 25,000 in Australia and Fresh Zealand) worldwide; the recall affects MY 2004-2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, MY two thousand four Avalon, MY two thousand six Highlander HV, MY 2004-2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330 and MY two thousand six RX400h. The recall concerns a steering problem caused by the misalignment of the internal and outer rings of the crankshaft pulley, which could cause a noise or the Check Engine light to illuminate; if this problem is not corrected, the power steering belt can fall off the pulley, which can cause a unexpected loss of power assist.

On October Ten, 2012, Toyota announced a recall of 7.43 million vehicles (Two.47 million in the US, 460,000 in Japan, 1.39 million in Europe, Three.11 million in other markets) worldwide. In the US the recall affects MY 2005-2010 Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia as well as Scion xB and xD. In Japan the recall affects MY 2005-2010 Vitz, Belta, Ractis, Ist and Corolla Rumion. In Europe the recall affects MY 2005-2010 Yaris, Corolla, Auris, Camry and RAV-4. Vehicles in overseas markets are also affected. The recall concerns a problem with the driver’s side power window switch that “tucks” and could lead it to melt or catch fire. [103] It is “not something that would cause any deadly accidents like the recall of 2009” and repairs include the application of a special fluorine grease to the switch. [103]

On January 30, 2013, Toyota announced a recall of one million vehicles in the US. The recall affects 752,000 MY 2003-2004 Corolla and Corolla Matrix models. The recall concerns the airbag module, which can cause the airbag to inflate improperly. Toyota also announced a recall affecting 270,000 MY 2006-2012 Lexus IS models. This recall concerns liberate nuts on the wiper blades, which can cause the wipers to fail, especially if there is a intense buildup of snow.

On March 15, 2013, Toyota announced a recall of 209,000 vehicles in the US. The recall affects MY 2007-2013 FJ Cruiser models. The recall concerns the driver and front passenger seat belt retractors, which can come liberate, especially if the rear doors are slammed repeatedly.

Numerous investigations have taken place, including those by the U.S. NHTSA and Japanese transport ministry. [104] The difficulty of investigations is compounded by the fact that driver error can be a possibility in certain cases. The Wall Street Journal reported, “Even when dealers and auto makers suspect driver error, it is difficult for them to outright blame their customers for fear of alienating them or appearing insensitive”, [20] which USA Today also suggested. [105] Questions about why cases are mainly in the U.S. have also been raised by international investigations; German publication Der Spiegel reported that similar accidents have uncommonly occurred outside North America, and albeit there have been some reports of stuck Toyota accelerator pedals in Germany, all drivers braked successfully without loss of life. [106]

In another U.S. incident, on December 26, 2009, four people died in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, when their two thousand eight Toyota Avalon sped off the road and through a fence, landing upside down in a pond. The car’s floor mats were found in the trunk of the car, where owners had been advised to put them as part of the recall. [107] According to the police report, the driver suffered from epilepsy, but investigators could not rule out either a vehicle defect or the possibility that the driver had suffered a seizure. [15] [108]

On Feb 17, 2010, US safety regulators launched an investigation into Corolla steering complaints. [109] [110] Following the widespread media publicity of the recalls, several media publications suggested that investigations of subsequent reports would have considered the possibility of “copycat complaints” and hoaxes, with potential complainants seeking to capitalize on possible settlement money, [111] or affected by the psychological bandwagon effect of the mass publicity. [112]

On March 14, 2010, the Norwegian government considered whether to ban Prius cars from roads in Norway pending an investigation after a near fatal incident involving a senior citizen. [113] On March 29, after receipt of technical and other information, police indicted the driver involved in the Prius incident for making “a false emergency call to police”. [114]

The use of vehicle event data recorders and movie surveillance also proved beneficial to investigators, with findings of driver error in a March 9, two thousand ten Prius alleged unexpected acceleration crash, where a 56-year-old housekeeper claimed to have braked but was recorded pressing the wrong pedal, [115] and also in a March 29, two thousand ten Camry alleged unexpected acceleration crash, where a 76-year-old driver claimed to have braked, but was filmed not doing so until after influence. [116]

NHTSA investigations Edit

NHTSA data shows that there was an annual average of twenty six abrupt acceleration reports in 1999–2001 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES models. This number enhanced by more than 400% to a total of one hundred thirty two annually in 2002–2004 models, which were designed with fresh electronic throttles. [117] Toyota responded by stating,

Six times in the past six years NHTSA has undertaken an exhaustive review of allegations of unintended acceleration on Toyota and Lexus vehicles and six times the agency closed the investigation without finding any electronic engine control system malfunction to be the cause of unintended acceleration. [118]

In 2004, the NHTSA launched a probe of throttle control systems on around one million Lexus and Toyota sedans. [119] Upon that probe, Toyota urged the NHTSA to define the issues as quick bursts where the engine surged to “something less than a wide-open throttle.” The company compared the complaints to previous unexpected unintended acceleration cases the NHTSA deemed “driver error.” [119] It also said the computer could not open the throttle without the accelerator pedal pressed, and, the brakes would be able to stop the car anyway. [119]

After several months of investigating, the NHTSA said it found no evidence of a defect and there was no data indicating any bad parts. [119] Christopher Santucci, an employee of Toyota’s Washington, D.C. office and an NHTSA employee until he was hired by Toyota in 2003, testified that he was informed by the NHTSA in March two thousand four about pending investigation over unintended acceleration complaints. According to Santucci in his deposition, his former NHTSA colleagues determined not to investigate some incidents involving acceleration lasting longer than one 2nd. The decision to exclude certain incidents from the investigation evidently diminished the significance of the issue to the NHTSA at least on paper. [119] [120] [121] However, in 2005, two thousand six and 2008, Toyota customers again asked the NHTSA to investigate uncontrolled acceleration from electronic throttle controls and power steering issues. Albeit there were hundreds of complaints, the NHTSA found no evidence of defects; and in every case, Toyota provided data it said showcased no such evidence.

On November Two, 2009, the NHTSA denied a petition to reopen previously closed unintended investigations of Toyota vehicles, stating they were unlikely to reach any fresh conclusions. [122] In February 2010, however NHTSA was again looking into the electronic throttle control systems on Toyota vehicles. [24] In February 2010, State Farm insurance exposed that it had warned NHTSA in late two thousand seven on an enlargened trend of Toyota accidents related to the recalled models; other insurers stated however that they had not seen such a trend. [123] On June 1, 2010, the NHTSA opened an investigation into reports that floor mats were jamming accelerators in Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans. [124] On June 30, 2010, NHTSA reported on its latest broad explore of unintended acceleration on all car makes, including Toyota, in conjunction with NASA and the National Academy of Sciences. NHTSA stated that it was incapable to find electronic throttle defects, but identified floor mat entrapment and pedals that were slow to come back to idle as two causes of Toyota complaints. NHTSA also stated it could only verify one Toyota unintended acceleration accident caused by a vehicle defect. [125] On July 14, 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that NHTSA investigations of seventy five accidents alleged to unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles had found driver error as the primary cause in all but one case attributed to floor mats. [126] [127] Black box recorder data found that during these crashes, the throttle was open and brakes not pressed. [127] On July 30, the Wall Street Journal quoted the former head of NHTSA’s Recall Management Division stating that the investigation “has become very political”, with Department of Transportation officials “hoping against hope that they find something that points back to a flaw”. [128] Albeit the NHTSA investigate finding driver error was reportedly accomplish, DOT officials had blocked its release. [128]

On February 8, 2011, NASA and the NHTSA announced the findings of a ten-month investigate concerning the causes of the Toyota malfunctions of 2009. [129] According to their findings, there were no electronic faults in the cars that could have caused the sudden-acceleration problems. [45] [45] [130] [131] [132] “The jury is back, the verdict is in: There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas, period,” Transportation Department Secretary Ray LaHood proclaimed in the LA Times. [45]

MLIT investigations Edit

Hiroko Tabuchi writing in the Fresh York Times claims that problematic vehicles may have been accurately reported in Japan due to police correctly blaming driver error, as no verified unintended acceleration case exists. [ citation needed ] The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) released its findings of unexpected acceleration complaints in February 2010, finding that of the one hundred thirty four cases logged by the ministry inbetween two thousand seven and 2009, Toyota accounted for thirty eight cases (28.3% of all reported). [133] Because Toyota’s market share was approximately 27.8% of all passenger cargo vehicles, the MLIT noted that no particularly unusual rate was found among these complaints. [133]

US congressional hearings Edit

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee held hearings in February 2010. [20] [134] Retired social worker Rhonda Smith testified before Congress that her car accelerated out of control but the NHTSA investigator determined that a misplaced floor mat had caused the problem; [20] the subsequent possessor of the car reported no trouble after driving the car over 27,000 miles. [20]

In a February two thousand ten letter to Toyota, US congressional investigators “said a review of consumer complaints produced by Toyota shows that company personnel identified sticking pedals or floor mats as the cause of only sixteen percent of the unintended acceleration reports”. [135] Several media reports later claimed that Toyota had announced that the recalls will not downright solve the accelerator pedal problems. On February 24, 2010, Toyota responded that it “has rigorously tested its solutions” and are “certain” with the recall repairs, but that it would proceed to monitor other possible contributing factors for unintended acceleration, including mechanical, electronics, and driver error. [136] Akio Toyoda, the president and CEO of Toyota, issued the following statement in regards to the recalled vehicles: [137]

In early 2010, the US government began considering requiring all vehicles sold in the US to have accelerator override built into their brake systems. [138]

Research groups have questioned whether Toyota would “get off lightly” because of its large investment in lobbying in Washington, with close ties to the congressional representatives who will lead inquiries into the company’s string of safety problems. [139] Other publications noted that half the Democratic congressional members involved in the hearings had received campaign contributions from the United Auto Workers union, a major stockholder of Toyota’s top U.S. rival, General Motors. [140]

US governors’ letter to congressional members Edit

On February Ten, 2010, four bipartisan US governors from the states of Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, and Alabama which Toyota operates plants wrote a letter to Congress commenting about “the federal government’s evident conflict of interest because of its meaty financial stake in some of its competitors,” referring to Toyota as a “victim” of the media’s “aggressive and questionable news coverage”. The letter also noted there were “16.Four million recalls in the auto industry for 2009”, “many as serious or more serious” than Toyota’s recall. [141] [142]

Toyota stopped producing vehicles on certain production lines for the week of February 1, 2010, to assess and coordinate activities. The North America vehicle production facilities affected were located in Cambridge and Woodstock, Ontario, Canada (where Corolla, Matrix, and RAV4 models are produced), Princeton, Indiana (Highlander and Sequoia), Georgetown, Kentucky (Avalon and Camry), and San Antonio, Texas (Tundra). [143] In addition to recalling vehicles, Toyota announced that it would install brake override systems on all Lexus, Scion and Toyota vehicles by the end of 2010. [62]

On February Trio, 2010, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood advised owners of vehicles affected by the recall to “stop driving” their vehicles until they can be stationary by a dealer. LaHood later retracted his statement, stating it was “obviously, a misstatement.” [144] Secretary La Fetish mask was criticized for making that statement by some media columnists, who suspected La Spandex hood of having a conflict-of-interest due to the U.S. government’s auto bailout partial ownership of Toyota’s domestic rivals, General Motors and Chrysler. [16] [145] [146]

Economic influence Edit

The recall came at a difficult time for Toyota, as it was fighting to emerge from the recession and had already suffered from a resultant decrease in sales, [147] and the low exchange rate from yen to US dollars. [148] On the day the recall was announced in the US, it was also announced that seven hundred fifty jobs would be cut at Toyota’s British plant at Burnaston, near Derby. [147] Also, it was estimated that each Toyota dealership in the US could lose inbetween US$1.75 million to US$Two million a month in revenue, a total loss of US$Two,470 million across the country from the entire incident. [8] Additionally, Toyota Motors as a entire announced that it could face losses totaling as much as US$Two,000 million from lost output and sales worldwide. [72] Inbetween twenty five January and twenty nine January two thousand ten Toyota shares fell in value by 15%. [149]

According to analysts, Toyota owners (including owners of cars not recalled) may also be economically affected by the recall, as the harm to Toyota’s reputation could negatively affect the resale value of used cars. [150] [151]

Manufacturer switches Edit

In addition to its recall efforts, a fresh global quality committee to coordinate defect analysis and future recall announcements was announced by Toyota in early 2010, along with a Swift Market Analysis Response Team (“Brainy”) in the U.S. to conduct on-site vehicle inspections, expanded Event Data Recorder usage and readers, third-party quality consultation, and enhanced driver safety education initiatives. [115] [152] Industry analysts noted that the recall response was a challenge for The Toyota Way manufacturing philosophy, because the recalled parts were not due to factory errors or quality control problems, but rather to design issues leading to consumer complaints. [153] As a result, better communication of consumer issues with management was needed, [153] and so the global quality committee aimed to be more responsive to consumer concerns. [152]

Competitor reactions Edit

One day after Toyota’s announced sales suspension General Motors began suggesting a US$1,000 cash rebate targeted toward Toyota owners. [154] By February 1, two thousand ten Ford, Chrysler, and Hyundai were suggesting similar incentives. [155]

Release of Toyota driver jailed for fatal crash Edit

In February 2010, a movability for retrial was submitted on behalf of a Minnesota man, Koua Fong Lee, who, in 2008, was sentenced to eight years in jail for rear-ending a car, killing three of the five occupants and injuring the other two. This happened in June two thousand six when he was driving home from church with his family and exiting the highway. Koua insists that his one thousand nine hundred ninety six Toyota Camry sped up to inbetween seventy and ninety mph despite intense braking. In May 2010, a vehicle inspector hired by attorneys for the convicted man reported finding problems with the car’s accelerator system. [156] [157] [158]

At least two of the jurors from the two thousand eight trial questioned the guilty verdict, [159] and one of the injured survivors filed suit against Toyota and the local dealership that sold the car, stating that he believed Lee should be set free. [160] [161] In June 2010, the Ramsey County Attorney and prosecutor Susan Gaertner opposed a fresh trial, stating that she witnessed no evidence that Koua’s Camry experienced “unexpected unintended acceleration”, and a US District Court Judge was given until September two thousand ten to determine whether or not Lee should be re-tried. [162] In August 2010, the judge ruled that Lee would be re-tried, but the prosecutor declined to prosecute. Prior to the ruling, Gaertner suggested Lee release with the condition that he would still have a felony conviction on his record, barring him from driving privileges for ten years, and that he would be jailed if arrested for anything else. Lee did not agree to such conditions. [163] Later that month, a Minnesota judge liberated Lee from prison and Gaertner said she would instantaneously drop the charges. [164]

Media coverage and criticism Edit

According to news analysis by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which analyzed weekly output from newspapers (The Fresh York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and others) as well as network television (ABC, CBS, NBC, and others), the Toyota recalls were the #Five most reported story on U.S. news for the week of January 25–31, 2010, at 4% of all coverage. [12] The following week of February 1–7, 2010, the story reached #Two, at 11% of all news coverage. [165] On February Ten, Toyota dealers in the five-state Southeast region pulled all advertising from ABC stations in protest of “excessive” reporting on the Toyota recalls. [166] On March Five, the Associated Press described “relentless media coverage” of the recalls from news outlets. [112]

During the height of the recall crisis, Toyota came in for extensive editorial criticism, with commentators including CounterPunch suggesting that emphasis on profits had resulted in manufacturing defects. [167] Editorials criticizing alleged disproportionate coverage of the recalls ran in Automotive News, [168] AutoWeek, [169] BusinessWeek, [170] Car and Driver, [17] Motor Trend, [Eighteen] Popular Mechanics, [171] and the National Post. [145] [172] Such editorials commonly faulted media outlets for leaving out alternative explanations such as driver inattentiveness, driver abilities, DUI, being on the cellphone, erroneous perceptions, reckless driving, or texting as causes of accidents. [Legitimate] [169] [173] In one cited example, the Los Angeles Times did not mention that an alleged Toyota runaway driver was indicted for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of marijuana. [174]

Odds from Car and Driver indicated that the alleged fatality risk was about one in 200,000 recalled Toyota vehicles, versus a one in 8,000 risk of a fatal car accident in any car in the U.S., [17] while Consumer Reports stated a one in Ten,000 chance of an unintended acceleration complaint out of twenty million Toyotas on the road. [16]

James Sikes alleged unintended acceleration case Edit

On March 8, 2010, a two thousand eight Prius allegedly furiously accelerated to ninety four miles per hour on a California Highway (US), and the Prius had to be stopped with the spoken assistance of the California Highway Patrol as news cameras observed. [175] The incident received national news coverage, with initial reporting including inaccurate information about the event, such as the claim that a CHP car was used to physically block Sikes’ vehicle. [176] [177] Subsequent investigations uncovered suspicious information about the alleged runaway Prius driver, 61-year-old James Sikes, including being US$Nineteen,000 behind in his Prius car payments and with US$700,000 in accumulated debt. [178] [179] Sikes stated he dreamed a fresh car as compensation for the incident. [178] [180] Analyses by Edmunds.com and Forbes found Sikes’ acceleration claims and fears of shifting to neutral implausible, with Edmunds concluding that “in other words, this is BS”, [181] and Michael Fumento in Forbes analyzing Sikes’s claims related to the mechanics of his Prius and his own contradictions, such as telling he didn’t want to take his palms off the steering wheel to shift into neutral even tho’ he held a cell phone in his arm almost the entire time, comparing it to the balloon boy hoax. [179] Further government investigator tests on Sikes’s Prius reportedly showcased that the brake wear were consistent with intermittent braking, not constant hard braking as he claimed. [182] Sikes also reportedly had a history of false police reports, suspect insurance claims, theft and fraud allegations, and television aspirations. [178] These findings raised questions about “the credibility of Mr. Sikes’ reporting of events” in a Congressional memo. [183]

Public picture Edit

According to a Rasmussen poll released on February 8, 2010, Toyota is viewed very favorably by 22% of Americans, favorably by 59%, and unfavorably by 29%. The poll also found 72% of Americans have followed the latest Toyota news stories “somewhat closely” and 31% “very closely”. [184] A 2nd Rasmussen poll released on February twelve found 23% of Americans believe the federal government is criticizing Toyota to aid General Motors of which it is the majority holder, 38% disagreed, and 39% were hesitant. [185]

Electronic throttle control system Edit

On November 25, 2009, ABC News quoted Sean Kane, head of the for-profit rock-hard Safety Research & Strategies, [186] stating that he had uncovered hundreds of “non-floor mat unexpected acceleration cases” which the floor mat recall did not address. [187] Kane, who works with attorneys suing Toyota, [188] said his hard had discovered over Two,000 Toyota unexpected acceleration cases involving sixteen deaths and two hundred forty three injuries, [187] publishing its most comprehensive report on the issue on Feb 5th, 2010. [189] Kane alleged that the problem was not with the accelerator pedals, but with the electronic throttle control systems (ETC). [190] An electronic throttle control system is a drive-by-wire system, in which the accelerator pedal and the engine are indirectly linked electronically, instead of directly linked mechanically. [191] This means that input from the accelerator pedal is just one input used to determine how broad the throttle is opened. On Feb 13, 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kane’s company was “controversial” because its income comes from lawsuits against auto manufacturers, [186] which was not disclosed in media reports; [192] auto journalists noted that the hard had a “vested interest” in blaming manufacturer defects while avoiding operator error. [192] [193] The Los Angeles Times reported that since Toyota and Lexus began installing electronic throttle control systems in 2001, complaints of unintended acceleration with vehicles from both those brands rose sharply. [190] Electromagnetic interference with the electronic throttle control system is another possible cause of unintended acceleration. [194] Some speculated that cosmic rays, or radiation from outer space, was a possible source for alleged electronic malfunctions. [195]

The Wall Street Journal obtained a copy of a preliminary examine dated on February Four, two thousand ten by the California-based engineering research hard Exponent. [196] The initial investigate commissioned by Toyota beginning in December two thousand nine concluded “Exponent has so far been incapable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, either unintended acceleration or behavior that might be a precursor to such an event, despite concerted efforts toward this aim.” For the probe Exponent purchased six Toyota and Lexus vehicles which were analyzed by “engineers and technicians specializing in mechanical, electrical, and automotive engineering.” According to Exponent, Toyota “didn’t limit the scope or budget of its investigation” which is being collective with Toyota and lawmakers. The explore will proceed for several more months. [197] According to the Los Angeles Times, Exponent’s research has been criticized as being relied upon by companies in need of public defense, [198] albeit the rock hard has defended its impartiality towards clients ranging from firms to the U.S. government. [198] [199] A University of California cardiologist was quoted telling, “I would have picked a hard with more of a reputation of neutrality” citing as an example their determination that secondhand smoke isn’t carcinogenic. [198] [199] Toyota subsequently asked Stanford University’s Center for Automotive Research, a facility partly funded by numerous automakers including Toyota, to also evaluate the electronics claims. [25] The center’s J. Christian Gerdes PhD, professor of mechanical engineering, rejected several electronics claims as implausible, and said that his findings were independent and that he received no compensation from Toyota for his evaluation. [199] [200]

On Feb. 8, two thousand ten the NHTSA and NASA concluded the electronics were not to blame after reviewing the electronics and electromagnetic interference. The finding was based on studying over 280,000 lines of software coding on nine vehicles involved in earlier unexpected acceleration incidents. [201] And studying the throttle systems at NASA’s Langley Research Center and Chrysler’s Auburn Hills headquarters. [29]

ABC News acceleration controversy Edit

On February 22, 2010, ABC News broadcast a report [202] which evidently demonstrated how unintended acceleration could be caused by inducing a brief circuit in the throttle control. In the segment, Dave Gilbert, a PhD engineer and professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, was shown in a late-model Avalon with ABC News reporter Brian Ross. By “inducing a brief” in an unspecified circuit, Gilbert was able to cause the Avalon to accelerate dramatically. After the car was stopped, a diagnostic device connected to the car’s ECU displayed no fault code. According to Dr. Gilbert, decent design of the ETC should not have permitted a brief like the one he induced to open the throttle; the ECU should have detected a fault and cut the throttle. Tests on GM vehicles, Gilbert said, did not expose a similar flaw. Autoblog’s analysis queried the test’s real-world accuracy, noting that the brief circuit method was not disclosed outside of wiring normally independent sensors together, the ECU could not be expected to detect unrealistic scripts, and questioning ABC News’ and Brian Ross’s objectivity. [203] Autoblog also uncovered that Gilbert was being paid by parties in lawsuits against Toyota. [203] Automotive analyst John McElroy on Autoline Detroit pointed to network news’ history of “rigged” car demonstrations, including the 60 Minutes acceleration demo and the Dateline NBC exploding truck scandal, [204] and noted that Big black cock News’ report did not include opposing views or disclose interviewee’s financial ties. [204] Toyota responded by inviting ABC News to be present at its evaluation of the test. [204]

On March 8, 2010, Toyota held a live news conference where its engineers demonstrated the same brief circuit method on Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and BMW vehicles. [25] In each case, engineers were able to induce the same dramatic acceleration with no ECU fault code. [25] Stanford’s Center for Automotive Research stated that ABC News’ demo was unrealistic and misleading. [199] A probe by Exponent Inc. finding that the brief circuit “would be very unlikely to occur naturally” and could “only be contrived in the laboratory” was also issued. [200] Toyota further demonstrated how Gilbert had allegedly clean-shaven away wiring insulation, cut wires in the ETC, re-spliced them in a particular sequence, and added a control switch. [199] [205] Gilbert’s financial motive, being paid by Sean Kane, was also questioned. [205] AutoWeek, [206] Edmunds.com, [25] and other automotive sources spotted the conference as debunking ABC News’ claims. [205] On March 11, 2010, ABC News further admitted to faking [207] part of its report after tachometer screenshots were posted online. [208] The freeze-frames demonstrated the parking brake, open-door, and seat belt warning lights on while the car was allegedly “accelerating” to 6,000 RPM, indicating that the car was actually not moving. [208] Media blog Gawker.com posted the photos and stated, “the tachometer footage is faked”. [208] ABC News claimed that it was “unlikely to get a good picture of the tachometer” during the actual test, [209] and re-edited the footage. Gawker.com responded that the edited movie was even more “staged”. [210] The Associated Press added that the falsified footage “created ethical questions”. [209]

Possible cruise control cause Edit

In February 2010, numerous media reports claimed that Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak had suggested that faulty software may be part of the problem. [211] [212] However, in a subsequent CNN interview, Wozniak stated, “I haven’t indeed said those things. They have put those words in my mouth”. [213] Instead, Wozniak said his comments were about a “minor” cruise control issue on one of his several Priuses, and regarding other recalls, “whether it was mats, whether it was a gooey accelerator pedal, whatever – I believe they found the right solution. If Toyota says it’s not electrical, then I’m sure they’re right.” [213] When asked to describe his cruise control problem, Wozniak said, “It’s a little more of a procedure of upping the speed, upping the speed, and then all of a sudden it just sort of went like it thought you told it to go to infinity.” [213] As for alternative explanations, Wozniak said “If you’re panicked and your car takes off, you don’t think of these things.” [213] He also clarified that his comments were “to a group of teachers for a discovery museum and talking about an issue of customer support, how hard it is sometimes to get to the people that can indeed deal with your problems”. [213] Automotive journalist John Voelcker’s analysis of Wozniak’s description blamed the issue on user error, and not being familiar with the design differences of the adaptive cruise control system. [214] In the Prius, unlike some other cars, holding down the accelerate button increases speed in five mph increments continuously; [214] Voelcker suggested Wozniak was holding down the button for longer than necessary, setting the cruise to a high set speed, and thus resulting in the “sleek” [213] acceleration to high speed he experienced. [214] Some Prius users have also suggested erroneous user input explanations. [215] Others have come forward with their own stories about erratic vehicle behavior while using their cruise control. [216] In March 2010, Ward’s Auto reported that user unfamiliarity with the quicker response of laser- and radar-based cruise control systems was a likely factor according to AAA, NHTSA, and manufacturer findings. [217]

Driver error Edit

The Wall Street Journal reported on February 25, two thousand ten that “safety regulators, human-error experts and auto makers say driver error is the primary cause of unexpected acceleration.” [20] Regarding the 2009-10 Toyota recalls, Ward’s Auto noted that NHTSA investigations over past years have found that the majority of unexpected unintended acceleration cases are due to driver error. [14] In such cases, accidents are the result of drivers mistakenly stepping on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake. [14] On November 29, 2009, the Los Angeles Times quoted a motor abilities consultant stating that the fault in unexpected acceleration cases “almost always lies with drivers who step on the wrong pedal.” [117] In February 2010, Car and Driver suggested that the alleged accident rate of one in 200,000 recalled Toyotas was “very unlikely” to result from vehicle defects, pointing to an enlargened danger for drivers who “aren’t wise or peaceful enough to shift to neutral”. [17] The same month, Forbes referred to auto industry experts as “skeptical” of defect explanations, suggesting that “driver error and funk account for many reported problems” with recalled Toyotas. [218] On February Four, Leonard Evans, author of Traffic Safety, claimed that driver behavior was the main factor in Toyota accidents, and that the consensus of seventy years of scientific research is that driver error is the prominent explanation for automotive fatalities. [219] In March 2010, Forbes Michael Fumento, [220] The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle and attorney Ted Frank argued that the fact that most of the incidents of unexpected acceleration in Toyota occur in elderly drivers strongly suggest that there is not an electronics problem as opposed to one of pedal misapplication. [221] Fumento’s article was titled: “Why Do Toyotas Hate the Elderly?”, and McArdle noted that immigrants were also twice as likely to be involved. [222] However, lawsuits filed regarding unexpected unintended acceleration cases, along with related third-party investigation reports, have typically avoided the driver error explanation. [193]

In August 2010, the Wall St. Journal reported that experts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had examined the “black boxes” of fifty eight vehicles involved in sudden-acceleration reports. The investigate found that in thirty five of the cases, the brakes weren’t applied at the time of the crash. In nine other cases in the same investigate, the brakes were used only at the last moment before influence. [223]

Factors leading to pedal misapplication Edit

On March Ten, 2010, the Fresh York Times ran a chunk by Richard Schmidt, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at University of California Los Angeles and unexpected acceleration researcher, suspecting driver error as the primary cause of unexplained Toyota unexpected acceleration reports. [224] Schmidt pointed to several factors that make driver error more likely: elderly driver age, lack of practice with the car, and brief stature. [224] In addition, unexplained unexpected acceleration events were most frequently reported as occurring from low speed or fully stopped. [224] Typically, the driver was intending to press the brake, and did not consciously confuse the pedals; however, because of advanced age and neuromuscular irregularities, brief stature and difficulty reaching the pedals, a slight misalignment in seating position, or unfamiliarity with the car model, the driver’s foot contacted the accelerator by mistake. [224] The resulting unexpected unexpected acceleration would lead to fright, with the driver thinking that the acceleration system had failed. [224] The instantaneous response would be to brake hard, but not knowing that their foot was on the accelerator, pressing down caused greater acceleration. [224] In such fright situations, the driver would think that the brakes were not responding, and proceed pressing on the accelerator pedal until they crashed. [224] Switching to neutral or turning off the ignition was typically not contemplated. [224] Incidents occurred exclusively in automatic transmission-equipped cars [224] with driver complaints involving rental cars being far more frequent. All factors point to diminished driver familiarity and sophistication.

On March 12, 2010, Autoline Detroit argued that searches for extra vehicle defects were likely fruitless, as driver error was the primary cause of the 0.009 per million rate of Toyota unexpected acceleration incidents from one thousand nine hundred ninety nine to 2009, [225] with “demographics and psychographics”, namely elderly drivers and pedal misapplication as factors. [225] Also noted was that drivers with Type II diabetes (adult onset), which is more common among the elderly, are subject to diminished sensation in their lower extremities (peripheral neuropathy) with related impairment in positional skill of foot placement (proprioception). [225] Wired wrote that since investigators have been “incapable to find evidence supporting drivers’ claims their Toyotas all of a sudden raced out of control” [226] operator error is the most likely explanation. [226] However, victims and relatives of unexpected acceleration cases are commonly unwilling to suspect involved loved ones, and blame the vehicle instead. [222] Analysis of alleged Toyota acceleration reports in The Atlantic and other sources have found the highest distribution of involved drivers inbetween seventy and eighty years old, with the average age skewing over 55; [222] [227] with elderly susceptibility to “neuronal misfiring” and pedal misapplication as a possible cause. [222] While many alleged cases lack exact details, over half of reported incidents occurred from a finish stop or low speed, providing a window for the pedal misapplication to occur. [222] A prior GM probe found that 60- and 70-year-olds were six times more likely to practice unexpected acceleration than 20- to 30-year-olds. [224] In the Fresh York Times, Richard Schmidt concluded that a brake override system could prevent acceleration cases where a vehicle defect existed, but would not prevent unexpected acceleration cases caused by pedal misapplication. [224]

Previous findings of driver error Edit

Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and Ward’s Auto also compared the 2009-10 Toyota recalls to the Audi unexpected acceleration cases of the 1980s, which led to a widely noted media madness and hundreds of unexpected unintended acceleration claims for Audi cars. [14] In that case, a one thousand nine hundred eighty six segment on CBS News’ 60 Minutes accused the Audi five thousand sedan of unintended acceleration defects, which was followed by numerous reports of tragic accidents and media accomplished commentary. [17] At the time, Audi was reported to have the highest rate of acceleration complaints. [224] However, the NHTSA later determined all complaints to be due to driver error. [14] [17] [Eighteen]

The Detroit News documented previous unexpected unintended acceleration cases dating back to August one thousand nine hundred seventy eight when the NHTSA opened an investigation into General Motors for unexpected acceleration, concluding eight years later driver error was the likely culprit. By 1986, more than Two,000 injuries had been blamed on unexpected acceleration with unexpected acceleration complaints totaling over ten percent of complaints filed to the NHTSA. In one thousand nine hundred eighty six the NHTSA launched an investigation of the 1981-84 Toyota Cressida and an extra five other automakers. By one thousand nine hundred eighty nine the NHTSA determined driver error was “the most probable explanation” for the complaints. [228]

NHTSA and NASA Investigation Verdict Edit

In February 2011, the findings of a 10-month-long probe conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), aimed to identify the main cause of unexpected acceleration in Toyota and Lexus models. The investigate was requested by the U.S. Congress and “enlisted NASA engineers with expertise in areas such as computer managed electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity”. [229] The most common problem was drivers hitting the accelerator pedal when they thought they were hitting the brake, which the NHTSA called “pedal misapplication.” [229] Of the fifty eight cases reported, eighteen were dismissed out of forearm. Of the remaining 40, thirty nine of them were found to have no cause; the remainder being an example of “pedal entrapment.” One investigator says most of the cases involved “pedal misapplication” – that is, “the driver stepped on the gas rather than the brake or in addition to the brake.” [230] The report concluded that the two mechanical safety defects that were originally identified by NHTSA are known causes of dangerous unintended acceleration. [229]

Consumers in the U.S. and Canada have filed numerous [231] class activity lawsuits blaming the unexpected acceleration problem on the electronic throttle control system (ETC) and alleging Toyota’s negligence. [232] [233] As of February 26, 2010, there were at least seventy two lawsuits pending in U.S. federal courts against Toyota or its subsidiaries as a result of the 2009-10 recalls. [26] [234] Plaintiffs are seeking damages for individual injury or wrongful death resulting from accidents in the defective Toyota vehicles (in other words, product liability), loss of resale value, or a drop in the value of shares held by Toyota shareholders. [26] Toyota has retained the law hard of Alston & Bird to defend most of these cases. [235]

On April 9, 2010, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered consolidation of all federal deeds into the Central District of California before Judge James V. Selna for all pretrial motions and discovery. [236] In doing so, the Panel noted that “these cases have attracted an unusual amount of publicity to the Panel’s work.” [236] Albeit only eleven cases were directly before the JPML, it also noted that the parties had notified it of more than one hundred potentially related cases, which can also be consolidated as so-called “tag-along” cases. [236] As to why Judge Selna, the Panel explained, “Judge Selna’s twenty eight years of private law practice at the very highest levels and in some of the most complicated cases leaves him well ready for a case of this magnitude.” [236] Under federal multidistrict litigation law, any cases that are not dismissed or lodged during the consolidated pretrial process will be remanded to their original district court for trial.

The following week, Judge Selna set a May thirteen initial scheduling conference at his courtroom in Santa Ana, California. [237] He also appointed Cari Dawson, chairwoman of Alston & Bird’s class act department, as lead counsel for defendants.

On May 14, after reviewing submissions from dozens of plaintiffs’ attorneys, Judge Selna issued an order establishing which attorneys would be granted the potentially lucrative positions of lead counsel for the plaintiffs. [238] Very first, he named nine attorneys as lead counsel for the economic loss cases and nine attorneys as lead counsel for the private injury and wrongful death cases. [238] He then named nine of the attorneys from these two panels to form a core discovery committee. [238] Three extra attorneys were named as liaisons to coordinate discovery with pending state court deeds and other related federal litigation in progress outside of the MDL, like shareholder litigation. [238] Ultimately, one extra attorney was named as a consultant on behalf of international Toyota consumers. [238] Prominent attorneys appointed on the plaintiffs’ side included Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (on the individual injury and wrongful death committee) and Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein (on the economic loss committee). [238]

Selna also clarified the roles of defense counsel by appointing Cari Dawson and Lisa Gilford of Alston & Bird as lead counsel in the economic loss cases and Vince Galvin and Joel Smith of Bowman and Brooke as lead counsel in the individual injury and wrongful death cases. [238] Gilford and Galvin were also appointed to serve as lead defense liaisons to other related cases in federal and state courts. [238]

On June 1, 2010, Judge Selna issued another order setting out a discovery schedule. He ordered both sides to make initial discovery disclosures by July Two, 2010, and set out a briefing schedule for motions with regard to the consolidated complaints, with oral arguments set for November Nineteen, 2010. In a separate order on that same date, he also ordered that all motion-related documents filed by any attorney would now have to be co-signed by lead counsel for that attorney’s side, and that lead counsel were to act as gatekeepers, so as to cut down on the number of documents being filed with the court. On July 1, 2010, Judge Selna appointed two retired Presiding Justices of the California Court of Appeal as special masters: John K. Trotter and Steven Stone.

On June Ten, 2011, after the parties had ended some discovery, Judge Selna issued an order setting trial dates of February Nineteen, two thousand thirteen and May 21, two thousand thirteen for the very first two “bellwether” trials, and designated a Utah wrongful death/private injury case as the very first one (of three hundred in progress) to go to trial.

Toyota has also been sued for not having a brake override system on older models. [98] Attorney Robert Nelson, signifying Jacquelyn Donoghue of Holder, Nebraska, the 67-year-old widow of a man killed in an accident in which her model year two thousand six Prius allegedly all of a sudden accelerated into another vehicle, killing the man and gravely injuring her, alleged that Toyota’s failure to include a brake override on their models played a “direct role” in the death of John Donoghue. [98] Edgar Heiskell, an attorney involved with one of the lawsuits, contends that electromagnetic interference with the electronic throttle control system is to blame for acceleration cases. [121] Heiskell contends that Toyota models as old as two thousand two are also affected. According to him, “Toyota can’t tell you that the ’07 Camry they are recalling is any different from the ’06 or the ’03 that has the same throttle control in it.” [121] According to the Wall Street Journal’s Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., “trial lawyers love the electronic gremlin theory because it’s unlikely to disprove in any individual case.” [15]

On December 26, 2012, Toyota announced it would spend more than US$1 billion to lodge a class activity lawsuit involving unintended acceleration by retrofitting vehicles with safety devices and compensated owners for lost resale value. [239] A confidential settlement was reached in a lawsuit against Toyota involving the injury of Jean Bookout and the death of Barbara Schwarz in November 2013. [240]

Settlement with the U.S. government Edit

On March Nineteen, two thousand fourteen it was announced that Toyota and the U.S. Justice Department had reached an agreement whereby Toyota would pay a US$1.Two billion criminal penalty in exchange for deferred prosecution of wire fraud charges. The agreement also subjects the car company to further independent monitoring of its safety procedures. The penalty ended a four-year investigation in which the Justice Department concluded that Toyota had intentionally hid information about safety defects from the public and had made deceptive statements to protect its brand pic. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. remarked “Other car companies should not repeat Toyota’s mistake. A recall may harm a company’s reputation, but deceiving your customers makes that harm far more lasting.” The penalty is the largest ever waged against a car company. [241]

In a statement, Toyota called the agreement difficult, but “a major step toward putting this unfortunate chapter behind us”. The company said it has made fundamental switch in its corporate structure and safety procedures since the investigation embarked. Brake-override systems are now standard on all Toyota vehicles. [241]

As of March 2014, several civil wrongful death and private injury lawsuits are pending. [241]

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