March 4, 2010 (by Horatio Algren) According to reports Toyotas problems might not be over after recalling 8.5 million vehicles.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there have been at least seven complaints from Toyota owners whose vehicles have already been fixed in the recall. The complaints that have been lodged are owners that were part of the Toyota floor mat recall for unintended acceleration.
Reports in the Associated Press state that an owner of a 2009 Toyota Camry had acceleration difficulties five days after it had been repaired in the recall. The vehicle accelerated approximately 15 miles per hour in the driver’s neighborhood near his home over the weekend. Five days earlier the dealership had trimmed the gas pedal and installed the new break override software as a part of the floor mat recall. The complaint made was that the vehicle continued to accelerate for several seconds after the driver stepped on the brake pedal.
There was also a recent report in the Los Angeles Times that there are many experts that believe the fixes that Toyota has issued for the floor mat acceleration, sticking gas pedal and brake override defects are not going to be good enough. These experts do not believe the automaker is dealing with the root of the problems. While they feel this way they are also quick to state the new complaints the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received have not been verified as being accurate yet.
The Detroit News has reported that new data from State Farm auto insurance company shows that claims related to the unintended acceleration has been more than tripled during 2002. This is when Toyota models were equipped with electronic throttle control in the Camry sedans. In 2005 there were similar claims about the Toyota Corolla that were triple the amount prior, when it was fitted with the electronic throttle control.
State Farm stated it had warned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the claims of unintended acceleration after the models with electronic throttle control were released. Edmunds.com is one of the largest online vehicle forums have stated they have heard convincing evidence from Toyota owners that many of the problems are not being fully addressed in the recalls. They also believe it is time for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to try a different tacit other than more investigations.
The car forum is planning to offer a one million dollar award to anyone that can answer the questions that have so far not been answered about the unintended acceleration issues. They are currently drafting the rules for the prize and are hoping to attract some of the world’s best minds to address the problems with the Toyota vehicles.
The deaths have risen from 34 to 52 according to the government officials linked with unintended acceleration defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is debating if the automaker will be required to ensure all of their models sold in the United States will be equipped with the system to deactivate the accelerator when the brake pedal is pressed. Toyota is currently equipping recalled models of their vehicles with override systems and plan to equip all their new models that will be sold in the United States by 2011.
