Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyers Blog

Toyota has announced a recall to its popular sports utility vehicle, the Toyota Sequoia. Toyota is recalling fifty thousand 2003 Toyota Sequoia SUVs to upgrade its anti-rollover software. This is the sixth recall Toyota has issued in recent months, again placing doubt in the minds of consumers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began an investigation into the Sequoia in late 2008 amid reports of sudden unexpected braking and slowing of the vehicle. Drivers reported to NHTSA that they suddenly would lose control of the throttle and the brakes would automatically apply themselves, stopping or slowing the vehicle. During these events the brake lights would not illuminate to warn traffic that the vehicle was stopping or slowing down.

Toyota has determined the defect to be located in the skid control software installed on the vehicles. A steering angle sensor in the vehicle was not stored properly activating the stability control system at inappropriate speeds causing the vehicle to brake. To remedy the defect Toyota will replace the skid control electronic control unit and upgrade the associated software. Half of the vehicles under warranty have already been fixed and Toyota will begin to fix the remaining defective vehicles in May 2010.

Although this recall is not connected to the recalls of sudden acceleration and the braking problems in the Prius, it again raises concern about the electronics of Toyota vehicles. This is the third recall that is associated with electronics and most experts in the auto community believe the electronic throttle control system is causing the sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles.

Related Sources:
2003 Sequoia added to Toyota's recall list

Ford Motor Company is recalling 33,000 vehicles due to a seat defect. The seats can collapse rearward and seriously injure a person if it would occur during an accident.

Ford states the defect lies with the "gear plate teeth" which is located on the manual recliner mechanism. The defective part was manufactured "out of dimensional specification." This defect should cause the vehicle to fail the federal safety standard for seat strength.

Recalled Vehicles:
2010 Explorer
2010 Explorer Sport Trac
2010 Mercury Mountaineer
2010 Ford Fusion
2010 Mercury Milan

Related Sources:

Ford Is Recalling 33,000 Vehicles for Seat Problem

An internal e-mail from a Toyota executive suggests Toyota knew of the dangerous defects of its accelerators before the automaker issued a recall. The e-mail was written five days before the "sticky pedal" recall was announced by Toyota and the contents suggest some in the company were opposed of withholding information from the public.

In an e-mail dated January 16, 2010, a high level executive at Toyota wrote that the company must come clean, the time to hide the truth is over, and the company is not protecting its customers by keeping a defect from going public. The e-mail further stressed that there was a mechanical defect with the accelerator pedal on certain models and the executive hoped the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could work with the company to keep it from going out of business.

The e-mail was basically dismissed by the recipient, the communication leader for all Toyota sales in the United States. He responded that the company would not disclose the information until it discovered the cause of the defect and he did not want to raise further uneasiness in customers. The e-mail was among the 70,000 pages of papers turned over to the federal government who is currently investigating Toyota and its recent massive recalls.
Related Sources:
Toyota Executive: 'We Need To Come Clean'

The federal government has fined Toyota a record $16.375 million for hiding the dangerous "sticky pedal" defect from the public. The fine is the greatest amount the government can levy against the auto maker but it could face further fines and sanctions from continuing federal investigations.

Toyota has recalled more than 6 million vehicles in the United States and 8 million vehicles worldwide because of floor mat problems, sticky pedals and braking problems with the Prius. These massive recalls have dealt the company a black eye and left its once sterling reputation for safety in serious doubt. Now that the federal government has documentation that Toyota knew of the defect months before it issued the recall faith in Toyota may reach an all time low.

Internal documents have surfaced that the company knew of the problems with the gas pedal in late September but did not issue its first recall in the United States until late January. The documents show that Toyota issued repairs to vehicles exhibiting sudden acceleration in Europe and Canada as early as September 29, 2009 and knew that motorists in the United States were experiencing the same problems. Toyota failed in its duty to protect millions of United States motorists and knowingly put their customer's lives at risk by waiting almost four months to issue a recall. To date the government has linked over fifty deaths and hundreds of injuries to the accelerator pedal defect with Toyota vehicles.

Toyota has two weeks to pay or contest the fine levied by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If Toyota pays the fine and admits guilt the hundreds of lawsuits nationwide brought against Toyota will hold greater power in court. Toyota has yet to decide if it plans to pay the fine or contest the allegations of the federal government.

Amid the fines and government investigations, experts are still concerned that Toyota has yet to address the issue. Many in the auto industry believe that the defect lies with the electronic throttle control system. Toyota denies those claims and believes they have addressed all the defects in the recalls it has already issued.

Related Sources:
Toyota Faces $16M Fine, Accused Of Hiding Defect

The Federal Motor Safety Standard No. 139 sets safety requirements for many of the tires we as consumers travel around on each day. The standard applies certain characteristics tires must have and appropriate tests tires must endure to ensure they are safe for the public. Unfortunately, not all tires meet these standards and must be recalled to protect consumers from harm.
One extremely dangerous defect a tire can have is tread chunking or cracking. Any defect in the tread can cause the tread to separate from the tire making the vehicle extremely difficult to control. Many tire tread defects end in serious collisions that unnecessary take the lives of motorists daily.

The following is a list of companies and tires that have been recalled due to tread defects:

• Definity Dakota H/T Tires Size 245/70R17 manufactured in November 2009


• Cyclone Radial SUV Tires Size 245/70R17 manufactured in November & December 2009


• American Prospector SUV Tires Size 245/70R17 manufactured in November 2009


• Delta A/S Sierradial Tires Size 245/70R17 manufactured in November & December 2009


• Nokian Vatiiva H/T Tires Size 245/70R17 manufactured in November & December 2009