Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyers Blog

Chrysler has announced three separate recalls that involves close to 600,000 vehicles.
The first recall involves over 25,000 model year Jeep Compass and Dodge Caliber vehicles. The vehicles have been recalled due to a "sticky accelerator pedal." This recall is similar to the massive Toyota recalls and could cause the driver of the defective vehicle to suddenly and uncontrollably accelerate.

The second recall involves 285,000 model year 2008 and 2009 Chrysler Town and Country minivans and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans. A problem with the electrical wiring on the sliding door could cause it to short circuit and start a fire.

The third recall involves 290,000 model year 2007 through 2010 Jeep Wrangler vehicles. The Jeeps are being recalled due to a leak in the brake fluid that could cause the brakes of the vehicles to lose power.

Chrysler has notified all owners of the defective vehicles and agreed to fix the defects free of charge.

Related Sources:
Chrysler recalls nearly 600,000 vehicles
2007 Dodge Caliber also sticky pedal issue with part from CTS

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is once again receiving reports of vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerating due to floor mats; however the reports are coming from Ford and Mercy drivers not Toyota and Lexus drivers.

The administration has advised that drivers of model year 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles to not place any manufacturer or after market floor mats on top of the secured floor mat currently in their vehicle. Drivers who have stacked floor mat in this manner have experienced sudden acceleration. The mats have been known to interfere with the pedal and cause it to remain in a decompressed position. An accelerator pedal left in a partially decompressed position will hinder the driver's ability to stop or slow down the vehicle. As seen in the Toyota recalls, sudden acceleration is an extremely dangerous phenomenon.

While no recall has been issued, the administration is urging all owners of Ford and Mercury vehicles to ensure that the floor mats on the driver side of their vehicle are properly secured. Furthermore, no floor mats are to be stacked under any circumstances on any vehicle but especially with those who drive 2010 model year Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles.

Related Sources:
Consumer Advisory: Owners of MY 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Warned of Possible Stuck Accelerator Pedals

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

Toyota is investigating reports of power steering problems with the world's bestselling car, the Toyota Corolla. No recall has been announced but Toyota is examining the couple hundred complaints very seriously.

The investigation will aim to discover what exactly is causing some drivers to feel like they are losing control of their vehicles. Toyota has yet to discover if the problem stems from a problem with the steering system or from the braking system or the tires. After the massive recalls by the company Toyota is taking this most recent problem very seriously and has vowed to discover and fix this latest defect in one of its vehicles.

Over 8.5 million vehicles have been recalled by Toyota since the end of 2009. The first was recall was a problem with floor mats interfering with accelerators and causing drivers to lose control of their vehicles. The second recall named a defect that caused vehicles to suddenly accelerate on drivers and the third was a problem with the electronic braking on the Toyota Prius.

Over thirty deaths have been attributed to the sudden acceleration of Toyotas. Thirteen have been reported since the end of 2009 adding to the 21 reports since 2000. Toyota once had a sterling reputation for safety but these latest transgressions have the company suffering in sales and under the scrutiny of the United States Government. Toyota is doing the best to repair its reputation and is hoping to be proactive with the Corolla problem instead of reactive as it has been in the recent past.

Related Sources:

Gov't: 34 deaths alleged in Toyotas since 2000

Toyota considers Corolla recall

A Montgomery County woman unexplainably crashed into the store front of a laundromat in Glenside. The woman was attempting to place her Toyota Camry in park when the vehicle suddenly accelerated up the curb and through the window of the local laundromat. Luckily no one was injured in the accident and the laundromat owner estimates the woman was travelling 50 mph.

This accident comes as Toyota announces another 1.09 million vehicles recalled because of sudden acceleration concerns. This recall is in addition to the 2.3 million vehicles Toyota has recalled.

Vehicles affected by the mats recall:
• 2008-2010 Highlander
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Venza
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe
•
Vehicles affected by the accelerator recall:
• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Toyota has decided to halt production at six North American car-assembly plants starting February 1 and will halt sales in North America on the vehicles named in the recalls to fix the problem before it reaches consumers. Toyota has yet to set a date when production and sales of the vehicles will resume.

Related Web Sources:

Woman's Toyota crashes into Laundromat
Toyota recalls an additional 1.09M vehicles

Toyota has announced another massive recall on older model vehicles after continuing reports of vehicles suddenly accelerating on drivers. This latest recall covers 2.3 million vehicles and comes at a surprise to Philadelphia drivers and others nationwide.

In December 2009, Toyota launched its largest recall in history. The recall was a response to a problem that had plagued the company for years, floor mats that interfered with accelerator pedals. The recall finally offered a permanent solution to problem.

However The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is still receiving numerous complaints of Toyota vehicles suddenly accelerating and causing severe accidents. Drivers are reporting that the accelerator pedal is sticking in a partially depressed condition and causing the vehicle to suddenly accelerate. The reports come from drivers who have removed the floor mats from their vehicles. In Toyota's last massive recall the company stated that there is no mechanical defect with the pedal but this latest recall alters the company's stance. Investigations by Toyota have discovered that when the pedal mechanism is worn it can take longer to return to an idle position or more dangerously remain partially depressed.

If a vehicle suddenly accelerates drivers are being told to firmly press down on the brake and shift the car into to neutral. Once in neutral they are told to steer the vehicle off the road and turn off the engine. Drivers should not turn off the car in traffic as they are likely to lose power steering, making the car difficult to maneuver. There is no remedy yet for this recall.

The following Toyota Division vehicles were named in the recall:

• 2009-2010 RAV4,
• 2009-2010 Corolla,
• 2009-2010 Matrix,
• 2005-2010 Avalon,
• 2007-2010 Camry,
• 2010 Highlander,
• 2007-2010 Tundra,
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Related Sources:

Toyota issues recall for 2.3 million vehicles

Toyota Files Voluntary Safety Recall on Select Toyota Division Vehicles for Sticking Accelerator Pedal

Philadelphia Toyota Drivers, there is finally a permanent solution to a problem that has been plaguing Toyota and its drivers for years. After years of reports of the floor mats causing the vehicle to suddenly accelerate, Toyota announced a recall in October that urged all drivers to remove the floor mats until a vehicle-based remedy could be implemented. The remedy announced by Toyota will be a reconfiguration of the accelerator pedal and a brake-to-idle override that will allow the driver to quickly stop the vehicle in an unintended sudden acceleration situation. Toyota will also install new floor mats in the vehicles.

Starting in January, drivers can bring their Toyota or Lexus to a dealer and the dealership will shorten the length of the accelerator pedal until replacement pedals arrive. They will also install an "extra measure of confidence" by programming the car to idle when the brake and accelerator are pressed simultaneously. Toyota hopes this extra measure will alleviate concern and re-instill confidence in their vehicles. In many sudden acceleration accidents the driver has stated that no amount of braking could slow down or stop the vehicle.

The recalled vehicles include:
2005 - 2010 Avalon
2007 - 2010 Camry
2004 - 2009 Prius
2005 - 2010 Tacoma
2007 - 2010 Tundra
2007 - 2010 Lexus ES 350
2006 - 2010 Lexus IS 250
2006 - 2010 Lexus IS 350

There have also been reports that some Toyota sudden unintended acceleration accidents are not due to the floor mat. The problem lies with the electronic throttle and while the "extra measure of confidence" that is being installed in the recalled vehicles the 2002 thru 2006 Camry/Lexus ES also have electronic throttles and have been reported to suddenly accelerate on drivers. Toyota currently has no plans to address these situations and is only offering the solution to the vehicles mentioned in the recall.

Pennsylvania Toyota drivers may want to remove their floor mats on the driver's side. Toyota has announced a recall of almost 4 million vehicles and is urging all Toyota and Lexus drivers to remove their floor mats and not replace them until the automaker can come up with a permanent solution to a dangerous problem.

Toyota has received numerous reports of the floor mat causing the accelerators to jam causing drivers to lose control of their vehicle which can ultimately end in a high speed collision. The first known reports came to Toyota in 2004 and concerned the Prius but since then there have been over 100 reports with dozens of crashes, nearly twenty injuries and five deaths.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has warned drivers to remove floor mats from the following vehicles:

• 2007-2010 Toyota Camry
• 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon
• 2004-2009 Toyota Prius
• 2005-2010 Toyota Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra
• 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350
• 2006-2010 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350