This was not a good week for Toyota. In fact, the whole year has been one big stink cloud following them around with the occasional pungent downpour. It was a year of record breaking for them, but nothing to shake the pom-poms over.
First it was the 8.5 million car recall for sudden acceleration problems, the largest auto recall in history. Then the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found out that they actually knew about the problem and tried to hide it. That led to another record breaker, a $16.4 million fine, the largest ever levied on a car manufacturer.
Then came the minor problems such as “fixing” cars accelerator pedal at dealerships just to have the vehicles suddenly accelerate, sometimes only a day or two after the fix was made. Of course, this is not to mention that multiple independent experts who have demonstrated that the problem is actually a software problem.
Toyota has dismissed the independent research. Instead, they chose to address the untested and unproven cheap $1 floor mat replacement.
As if that didn’t show how much they love their customers, on Wednesday of this week they made a couple of shocking announcements. One, based on a rumor that the NHTSA has found a few of the sudden acceleration incidents were caused by people’s feet slipping from the brake onto the accelerator, Toyota spokesmen fell over themselves to get onto the microphone and announce that “virtually all” sudden acceleration incidents were caused by “user error.”
The announcement brought a 4% raise in stock prices, but as any person over the age of 6 will tell you, blaming the customer for your problems is not the best business model.
Also on Wednesday they announced that through customer complaints to both the NHTSA and their internal customer service that they had found another serious problem in nearly ¾ of a million more cars, but have opted NOT to recall the cars.
Why? Read on.
Toyota Recall
Toyota is telling federal regulators that a steering problem that could affect 749,685 Corolla and Matrix models isn’t a safety defect, thus no recall is required. If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration agrees, it would save Toyota from pushing its worldwide safety recall total in the past year to nearly 9.25 million vehicles.
In February, the NHTSA opened an investigation into 2009 and 2010 Corolla and Matrix models after receiving 168 reports that the electric power steering in the vehicles was prone to drifting or locking up, especially at highway speeds.
In response to NHTSA, Toyota said that it had 437 reports of steering problems covering 395 vehicles, including 11 injuries in 18 crashes. That’s 437 times that Toyota violated the NHTSA requirements that they inform them of complaints within a week of the complaint.
Toyota Spokesman Brian Lyons said Toyota told NHTSA of its steps in late May. The agency has kept its probe open and did not comment on its status.
Lyons went on to say that the company believes most of the complaints involved wandering from the on-center steering position that didn’t amount to a safety problem. “We see this as a customer-satisfaction issue.”
Toyota spokesmen are so cute aren’t they? If you’re steering wheel locked up and suddenly made it impossible for you to control the direction of the car while you drove 60 mph on the freeway would you a) consider it a “customer satisfaction” issue or b) be in fear of your life or ever getting into your car again.
I don’t know about you, but option ‘b’ sounds reasonable under the circumstances.
Toyota Recall Lawyers
Toyota issued a bulletin to dealerships in June telling them to address complaints by checking the tire pressure and alignment. If that was insufficient, the bulletin told dealers they could replace the computer that governs the electric power steering with a unit Toyota said had been “re-tuned” with an “alternative steering feel.”
That’s fantastic, but that doesn’t address the real problem, which is the fact that, without a recall, Toyota customers have no idea that their Matrix or Corolla has steering problems that could potentially endanger not only their lives, but the lives of all of the people in the cars around them.
This is really indicative of the overall deceptive behavior by Toyota to salvage what little credibility they have and in the process have destroyed their credibility. Regardless, we urge you, if you own a Matrix or Corolla, to call your local dealership and get the vehicle fixed as soon as possible.
If you or someone you know has been effected by the steering on the Toyota Matrix or Toyota Corolla locking up resulting in a car accident or serious personal injury then it is very important that you find an attorney with experience in product liability that can represent you and assure that you get the compensation you deserve. Call Phillips Webster for a free consultation and to find out your legal options.
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West Seattle – Toyota Prius’s weren’t built to plow over fence posts and jump retaining walls, but that’s exactly what happened to a man in West Seattle. The undisclosed 71 year-old driver was driving on Feb. 5th, 2009 on Southwest Andover Street when the car suddenly surged forward sending him through a fence post and almost over a stone retaining wall. The driver was not injured, but the front end of the Toyota Prius wound up hanging over the wall precariously. If you have ever been to West Seattle, then you would know that it is a steep climb and if you drive over a retaining wall you are in for a spectacular, all-be-it tragic, death. Regardless, the car was declared by the insurance company a total loss.
Toyota’s news is just getting worse. According to