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Increase in Car Defects and Recalls in 2010

California injury lawyers were not surprised by the increase in the number of consumer complaints about automobiles made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2010. Many of these complaints were linked to the Toyota recalls, which were quickly followed by a slew of other recalls by a number of other auto manufacturers. If there is a silver lining in all of this, it is that consumers are now more aware than ever of their rights, and are not hesitating to use them.

In the past, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was an obscure organization that was known only to auto safety advocates and California auto accident lawyers. The general public knew little about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its duties. All that changed when the Toyota acceleration scandal broke out in 2009. An accident killing four members of a single family in San Diego would not have garnered international attention, if it had not been for the fact that the Toyota Lexus had accelerated to high speeds inexplicably, crashing and killing all occupants.

An investigation soon revealed that the accelerator pedal had inexplicably causing the car to accelerate to high speeds, and crash. The accident soon turned to a sudden acceleration problem in other vehicles. Now, millions of Toyota owners around the country, who had suffered similar sudden acceleration issues with their cars, found out that there could actually be auto defects and recalls reasons for this sudden acceleration. Toyota followed up with a string of recalls, many of them related to the sudden acceleration, but others related to a host of other problems in other Toyota models.

Since then, a number of other automakers have also recalled their cars for a series of safety issues. Most of the recalls have been covered extensively in the media, and the general public is now very aware that there are serious auto safety issues that have remained unaddressed for very long. That has likely lead to an increase in the number of complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency received more than 40,000 auto defects and recalls complaints in 2010. That’s four times the average number of complaints that the agency has received over the past few years. Not surprisingly, Toyota-related complaints accounted for approximately 25% of all complaints. The complaint ratio indicates the state of the shattered Toyota brand. For instance, in 2009, the Toyota safety complaint ratio was 37 for every 100,000 vehicles. That ratio jumped to 87 for every 100,000 vehicles in 2010.

The second worst complaint ratio was Nissan Motor Co. with a ratio of 62 complaints for every 100,000 vehicles in 2002. At number three was Volkswagen, which had about 50 complaints for every 100,000 vehicles.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto defects. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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