Posts Tagged ‘acceleration’
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
In the last year, Toyota Motor Corporation has issued voluntary recalls on over 8 million of its vehicles worldwide and the number continues to climb. The first recall covering over four million vehicles was announced late last year and came after numerous complaints were filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration regarding unintended acceleration problems. The complaints – some dating back years – all complained of Toyota manufactured vehicles that accelerated without warning or that could not be stopped by pushing the brake. The final push for Toyota to issue the recall came when a family of four was killed in a Toyota manufactured Lexus SUV that accelerated out of control causing the death of all four occupants. That recall became known as the “accelerator entrapment” recall. The next recall was announced in January and covered 2.3 million vehicles for similar issues. This recall, however, was blamed on a defect in the pedal itself and became known as the “sticky pedal” recall. Another recall was issued in February and two more have been announced just this month.
The fine that was ordered this month by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) comes after an investigation initiated by the USDOT as to whether Toyota addressed the potential defects in its vehicles in a timely manner as required under United States law. The conclusion of the investigation was that Toyota did NOT notify regulators and consumers as quickly as required under the law. U.S. laws regarding defective products have numerous requirements for what a company must do in the event of a defective product. In essence, the company must make all efforts to investigate a potential defect, must report the defect to U.S. regulators, must notify consumers and must repair, replace of refund the product.
The fine that was issued by the USDOT this month is based on their conclusion that for the defects covered in the January recall of 2.3 million vehicles Toyota did not notify the proper authorities or consumers in a timely manner. The fine amount of $16.4 million was the limit allowed under current United States laws. In other words, authorities were not permitted, under the law, to order a fine greater than the $16.4 million. Had a cap not been in place for the maximum fine that a single manufacturer can face, the total fine could have reached over $13 billion. Absent the cap, the law allows a fine of $6000 per vehicle covered in the recall. In reality, $16.4 million dollars for a corporation that has annual sales in the billions isn’t as stiff of a fine as it initially sounds. While authorities were not able to fine Toyota more than the $16.4 million for the January recall, they could issue more fines based on other recalls. Reports are that they are looking into the first recall to decide whether Toyota violated any notice laws and requirements during that recall. If so, another fine could be forthcoming for the giant automaker.
If you have been personally affected by the Toyota recalls and would like further information regarding your legal options, please feel free to call California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger at his law firm Ledger & Associates. He can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or you may contact him through his website at 1-800-300-0001.
Tags: acceleration, acceleration problems, accelerator, attorney, auto, automaker, complaint, defective products, killed, lexus recall, occupants, recalls, toyota, toyota motor, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney, Toyota recalls
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Monday, April 26th, 2010
Just days ago, Toyota announced yet another recall covering another 35,000 vehicles– this one for 2010 Lexus GX 460 for an issue with the Vehicle Stability Control Software. This latest recall is the second in less than two weeks for the once seemingly untouchable automaker giant. Last Friday, the automaker announced a recall of approximately 600,000 Sienna minivans for corrosion problems with the spare tire that could lead to the tire failing onto the road unexpectedly. While these two recalls in and of themselves might not appear out of the ordinary or particularly harmful to an automobile manufacturer, with Toyota’s track record over the last year they may be devastating news.
Toyota first made headlines last Fall when a family of four was killed in a runaway Lexus SUV in San Diego. The fatal accident brought attention to the numerous complaints that had been filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the previous months – and even years – regarding unintended or sudden acceleration problems in Toyota manufactured vehicles. The accident eventually led to Toyota’s initial recall of some 4 million vehicles, but not before additional accidents and deaths were attributed to defective vehicles. The reason given for the recall was that the gas pedals were getting stuck on the floor mats. The next recall came in January and covered and additional 2.5 vehicles for a “sticky accelerator ” problems. A third recall followed in February for what appeared to be an unrelated problem with the anti-lock brake system.
From the original recall on, many consumers, regulators and government officials have been asking when Toyota new about these defective products. Families of accident victims and consumers have been asking why something wasn’t done sooner. A search of the NHTSA complaints for Toyota manufactured vehicles shows a history of “unintended acceleration” complaints that go back months-even years-before the first recall was issued. The United States government opened its own investigation into when Toyota knew about the issues and whether it acted in a timely manner to correct the problems. Under United States law, a manufacturer of any consumer product must make goof faith efforts to uncover any defects in their product, must report those defects to the proper governing bodies, and must repair, replace or refund the product. The United States government recently levied the largest fine in U.S. history against an automaker against Toyota – a hefty $16.4 million – for failure to act in a timely manner for the sticking gas pedal problems. The fine is the most allowed under current United States law, according to California recall attorney Emery Ledger. Toyota has agreed to pay the fine without protest. While not an admission of guilt, Toyota’s agreement to pay the fine may say much without actually saying anything.
If you have been the victim of an accident involving a Toyota manufactured vehicle and would like more information regarding what your legal options may be, please feel free to contact California Toyota recall attorney Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates – 1-800-300-0001 or visit his website at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: acceleration, acceleration problems, accelerator, accident, accident victims, attorney, auto, automaker, automobil, complaint, deaths, defective products, defective vehicles, emery ledger, floor mat, floor mats, highway transportation, killed, law, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, legal options, lexus, million vehicles, nhtsa, sudden acceleration, toyota, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Attorney
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Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
The list of recalled vehicles may be getting bigger, and the speculation as to the actual cause of the problems may be growing larger as well. The list of vehicles currently covered under one of the three Toyota recalls has topped 8 million worldwide. Over 50 deaths and an untold amount of injuries are being blamed on one of the defective parts that are the subject of the recalls. While Toyota is in the midst of implementing their first round of “fixes”, questions are swirling as to whether more cars need to be included and whether the “fix” even works. Toyota’s pride and joy, the Prius, has now taken the spotlight as the latest “unintended acceleration” scare to hit national television, according to personal injury and product liability attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates in California.
Just yesterday, 61 year old James Sikes, made an emergency 911 call near San Diego, California. The reason for his call? His 2008 Toyota Prius was accelerating out of control in Highway 8 near San Diego. Topping speeds of 90 m.p.h., Sikes was unable to stop his vehicle with either the brake or the emergency brake. He also tried putting the vehicle in neutral and shutting off the ignition – all to no avail. “I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny … it jumped and it just stuck there… I was trying the brakes … it wasn’t stopping, it wasn’t doing anything and it just kept speeding up,” Mr. Sikes said according to the Associated Press. Luckily for Mr. Sikes, after barrelling down the Interstate for about 20 minutes., a California Highway patrolman showed up beside Sikes. He began to give Sikes instructions over the loudspeaker for how to stop the vehicle. Ultimately, Mr. Sikes was able to get the vehicle stopped by using both the emergency brake and the regular brake AS WELL AS using the bumber of the patrolman in fornt of him to slow him down. Mr. Sikes indicated that he reached down to the gas peddle to make sure that nothing was obstructing it and found it clear. Mr. Sikes can count himself as one of the lucky ones.
This latest example of the unintended acceleration problems that Toyota made vehicles are having may just be the last straw for the automaker giant. According to Toyota, Mr. Sikes Prius was intended to be part of an official recall, but Toyota didn’t have a “fix” yet for the problem, so it hadn’t officaily been recalled. Needless to say, Prius owners are not happy with this explanation and are psuhing for an immediate recall. Additionally, this incident again raises the issue of whether stuck floor mats are truly to blame for the problem. Mr. Sikes is very clear that nothing was obstructing the gas pedal in his vehcile. His vehcile is currently being inspected by law enforcement officials in an attempt to determine the cause of the uninteneded acceleration. Toyoita has denied rumors for weeks that something in the electrical system may be to blame for the unintended accleration – not floor mats. Toyota’s denials, however, are becoming harder and harder to believe for many.
If you have any additional questions regarding the Toyota recalls or any other personal injury questions, please feel free to contact Emerey Ledger of Ledger & Assocaites at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com
Tags: 2008 toyota prius, acceleration, acceleration problems, deaths, ego, emergency brake, floor mat, floor mats, highway patrolman, injury, juries, law, Ledger, liability, luck, Personal Injury, prius, product liability, product liability attorney, recalls, toy, toyota, toyota prius, toyota recall, Toyota Recall Lawyer Emery Brett Ledger, vehicle
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
With over eight million vehicles involved in the three recent Toyota recalls, the world is waiting to see whether Toyota steps up to the plate and does what is legally required of them – fix the problems. Just last week, Toyota Motor Corporation’s president, Akio Toyoda, testified in front of congressional leaders in Washington D.C., and assured them, and the American people, that his company was doing everything necessary to repair the defective vehicles. Mr. Toyoda was asked about the possibility that electrical problems were to blame for the sudden acceleration problems – not floor mats and sticky pedals. My Toyoda repeatedly rejected the possibility that there is a much deeper, electrical issue that is causing the sudden acceleration problems and reaffirmed Toyota Motor Corporation’s position that the repairs they have initiated will solve the problems.
Toyota owners world wide would like to believe that the announced repairs will fix their vehicles and prevent any further deaths or injuries. To date, Toyota manufactured vehicles have been blamed for 52 deaths and at least 40 injuries. What makes these defects even worse than other potential defects is that when a vehicle accelerates out of control, the results are almost always tragic. When a vehicle races out of control and the driver is unable to stop, the resulting crash is frequently catastrophic – as evidenced by the number of deaths attributable to the defects. The importance of getting a handle on these defects cannot be understated. Yet, here we are, less than a week after Mr. Toyoda’s appearance in Washington D.C. and complaints are continuing to pour into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). What’s worse is that this new round of complaints are on vehicles that have supposedly been fixed by Toyota according to product liability and auto accident attorney Emery Ledger, of Ledger & Associates in California.
The NTHSA has received ten new complaints in the last few days – all for unintended acceleration problems and all for vehicles that have allegedly received Toyota’s “fix”. Lawmakers and regulators are initiating a separate investigation into this new round of complaints in an effort to determine if the electrical system is actually at fault. If that turns out to be the case, then it will have far reaching consequences. More vehicles may ultimately be affected and Toyota will not be able to use their announced repairs to fix the problem. Toyota owners have been complaining for years about unintended acceleration with some complaints going all the way back to the 1990’s. For now, it appears as though current owners of Toyota manufactured vehicles are forced to sit back and wait for the lawmakers and regulators to figure out what is really behind the unintended acceleration problems.
If you have been involved in an accident with a recalled Toyota manufactured vehicle, or if you have any additional questions about the laws regarding recalled vehicles, feel free to contact Emery Ledger at Ledger & Associates online at www.ledgerlaw.com or at his toll free number 1-800-300-0001.
Tags: acceleration, acceleration problems, accident, accident attorney, akio toyoda, amp, at fault, ational, attorney, auto, auto accident, auto accident attorney, cat, congressional leaders, consequences, crash, deaths, defective vehicles, electrical problems, fault, floor mat, floor mats, highway traffic safety, istration, juries, law, lawmakers, Ledger, liability, million vehicles, national highway traffic, national highway traffic safety, national highway traffic safety administration, nhtsa, noun, nthsa, product liability, recalls, regulators, safety, sudden acceleration, toy, toyota, toyota motor, toyota owners, toyota recall, traffic, traffic safety administration, vehicle
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Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Toyota’s third recall was announced this week and involves the 2010 Prius and the 2010 Lexus HS 250h. The official explanation for the problem from Toyota is that “The anti-lock brake system (ABS) in the 2010 model-year Prius, in normal operation, engages and disengages rapidly (many times per second) as the control system senses and reacts to tire slippage. Some owners have reported experiencing inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of the brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the anti-lock brake system (ABS) is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction.” Essentially, when drivers try to brake on a bumpy, slick, or otherwise rough surface, the car’s skid control can engage and delay the braking system for 0.46 seconds. The software update that Toyota has announced it will in stall in the affected vehicles will reduce the time of the delay to 0.4 seconds, the time delay on previous generations of the Prius. The question, however, is will the fix work?
According to Toyota, only the brand new 2010 model Prius uses the new braking software. It is for that reason that the recall is limited to the 2010 models. Toyota claims that the older model Prius uses a different type of software that doesn’t have the same safety defect. The problem with that explanation is that records of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) have been pouring in since 2005 complaining of exactly the same problem on older model Prius vehicles. The complaints sound eerily familiar. Most complain of “unintentional acceleration” or “my car surges forward when I try to stop” or “my car won’t stop when I try to brake”. These are essentially the exact same problems that Toyota claims are limited to the 2010 models. And that’s not all. The complaints aren’t limited to the Prius and the Lexus HS 250h. The registry is full of complaints from other model Toyota vehicles from pervious years alleging the same braking and/or unintended acceleration issues. Sadly, many of these complaints included injuries – some serious or fatal. One complaint regarding a 2006 Toyota Corolla reported that he actually crashed the vehicle four separate times because it kept surging forward when he was driving it at slow speeds. So why are there so many similar complaints from previous years and from other Toyota models? That is a question only Toyota can answer but it does raise doubts as to whether the fix Toyota has promised will actually work.
If you believe that you have been injured in an accident as a result of a defective vehicle or a defective part in a vehicle, then contact an experienced California personal injury and product liability attorney immediately. Only an experienced attorney can evaluate your situation and advise you hoe to proceed with your claim. If you have incurred damages as a result of another’s negligence, then you may be entitled to compensation for those damages.
If you would like an experienced attorney to evaluate your case, contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit us at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: acceleration, braking system, lexus, model toyota, national highway traffic, national highway traffic safety, nthsa, prius, safety defect, tire traction, toyota recall, toyota sticking accelerator, toyota vehicles, traffic safety administration, unwanted acceleration
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Thursday, February 11th, 2010
2008 Avalon blamed for death of four people
Imagine that you are out for a drive on a Saturday morning in rural Texas with three fellow church members in the car with you and the next thing you know your vehicle is accelerating out of control and you are powerless to stop it. That’s what investigators believe happened to Monty Hardy last December when he was driving himself and three others in a 2008 Toyota Avalon through Southlake, Texas. According to police reports and investigators, the vehicle veered off a road, smashed through a metal fence, hit a tree, flipped and ultimately landed upside down in a pond. The 2008 Toyota Avalon had just been recalled two months prior to the accident over concerns that the accelerators were getting stuck to the floor mat, causing uncontrollable acceleration. While that specific cause was ruled out, the 2008 Avalon was also involved in the second recall announced after this accident for problems inherent in the accelerator pedal itself. No skid marks were found on the road leading investigators to believe that the vehicle simply left the road and ended up in the river. The vehicle occupants, 35-year-old Hadassah Vance, 38-year-old Wendy Akion, 56-year-old Monty Hardy, and 56-year-old Sharon Ransom, were all pronounced dead at the scene or shortly thereafter.
The ensuing investigation of Mr. Hardy’s accident was completed in January and the findings were listed as inconclusive – but a mechanical problem with the accelerator was listed as a possible cause of the accident. Additionally, the report stated that the key factor in the accident was “failure to control speed”. The roads were not icy at the time and the driver died from drowning, ruling out a medical condition that caused him to be unable to operate the vehicle.
Unfortunately, stories like this one are being heard far too often on the news, over the internet, and around the water cooler. While it may take years to determine to a certainty what the cause of Mr. Hardy’s accident was, it has become impossible to ignore the sheer volume of stories like his that keep mounting. Stories of terrified motorists attempting to control, and ultimately stop, vehicles that have accelerated out of control. Stories of vehicles reaching speeds of over 90 miles per hour while motorists frantically tried to apply the brakes – to no avail. To make matters worse, many of these motorists had complained to their dealership, to Toyota or to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) prior to actually having an accident or problems with unintended acceleration. Most were told that the problem couldn’t be located.
If you have been the victim of an accident wherein you believe that unintended acceleration, or any other manufacturing defect, was to blame for the accident, contact an experienced California personal injury and product liability attorney immediately. Only an experienced California attorney can assess your specific situation and advise you what options you may have to be compensated for any injuries you have sustained.
If you have been injured in an accident involving any of the recently recalled vehicles and would like an experienced attorney to evaluate your case, contact the law offices of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit us at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: 2008 toyota avalon, acceleration, accelerator, accelerators, accident in toyota, floor mat, investigators, lawyer for toyota accident, mechanical problem, medical condition, police reports, report stated that, skid marks, vehicle occupants
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