Toyota Admits Sticky Gas Pedals, Floor Mats Responsible for Sudden Acceleration

This week, Toyota admitted that its investigation had revealed problems with sticky gas pedals and floor mats responsible for the sudden and unintended acceleration that has plagued the company over the past year.  It is the first time that the automaker has admitted that there was indeed a problem in its cars, that has caused these accidents. The unintended acceleration has been traced to more than 80 deaths.

According to the New York Times, on Wednesday, the company said it had conducted an investigation of approximately 2,000 vehicles, and found that sticking gas pedals as well as interference by floor mats, did indeed contribute to the problem.  It was the first time the company has admitted that there was a valid complaint about sudden and unintended acceleration in its cars. The company has not said how many of the complaints it has investigated are linked to the interfering floor mats or sticking gas pedals.

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal carried a report citing confidential sources, indicating that Toyota drivers may not have engaged the brakes just before the accidents.   According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Transportation looked at dozens of blackbox data recorders from Toyota vehicles that were involved in accidents caused by sudden and unintended acceleration, and found that the brakes had not been engaged. However, auto safety groups, including Safety Research and Strategies say that just because the data recorders do not show any indication of the drivers having applied the brakes before the crash, it does not absolve Toyota of all responsibility in these accidents. The fact is that when these cars were moved to throttle control, the accident rates increased by almost fourfold.

So far, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received roughly 50,000 complaints about unintended acceleration problem in Toyota vehicle. Since November last year, it has recalled approximately 8.5 million vehicles The first recall was initiated soon after an accident in San Diego in California, in which four persons were killed when their Toyota Lexus accelerated to high speeds, and crashed. Since then, the chain of recalls has continued, and Toyota’s reputation has been badly damaged in the process. The acceleration crisis appears to have opened a can of worms about safety problems at the company. There have been a number of other recalls that have had nothing to do with sudden and unintended acceleration.  The automaker has recalled vehicles for fire hazards and a host of other problems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is continuing its investigations into this problem.  According to the company, there is some indication that issues with electronic throttle control systems were responsible for the accidents. California product liability lawyers and auto safety groups have focused mainly on the electronic throttle control systems in these cars, as being responsible for the problem

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of recalled vehicles. 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.