Some reasonable and loyal Toyota owners called their dealerships, set their appointments, and drove their recalled Toyota cars to have the acceleration problem “fixed”. The reason why the word fixed is in quotes is because, as reported in the LA Times today, many of them have now found that they have acceleration problems where none existed previously. Unfortunately, they only find this out as they careen down the road in an ever accelerating hell ride to fear. It is usually mid-ride that the customer’s loyalty to Toyota comes into question.
They trusted the company. They listened to the television commercials reported on previously by the Phillips Webster Blog. They listen to the PR campaign which drags poor unsuspecting employees like poor Ronnie Malone to stand in front of the world and lie for them. He too, naively trusted them.
It leaves one question. What makes us think that a company that put quality aside for profit, put customer safety aside for profit, and even misled Congress would not try to cut corners when fixing the problem?
Cutting Corners Was the Problem to Begin With
In the past two weeks several complaints have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They allege that after the Toyota Service Department had modified pedals and replaced floor mats that the cars still surged out of control.
In one complaint filed to the NTSA, a Michigan owner of a recalled 2010 Camry supposedly “repaired” on Feb. 12 said the car accelerated up a snowbank five days after the repair. The dealership had even installed special brake override software as part of the recall, the complaint said.
“Had the incident happened one minute earlier, I would have been in a high car/pedestrian area and would not have been able to avoid an accident,” the anonymous consumer wrote. “The fix done by Toyota is not the fix for the acceleration problem.”
The cash strapped NHTSA has yet found the resources to verify the allegations. Yet, the allegations like the Michigan are a sign that the nearly 10 million recall notices issued by Toyota may not take care of the problem of unintended acceleration.
“There is already doubt out there that the solutions Toyota has put forward really fix the problem of unintended acceleration,” said Aaron Bragman, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight. He cautioned, however, that the complaints should be thoroughly investigated before definitive conclusions are drawn.
Toyota still insists that the acceleration problems have something to do with the mats and pedals, which are cheap to fix. But some experts believe the problem is caused by problems in the electronic throttle system. This requires the re-engineering of the electrical system, which requires a far more expensive employee to do the fix, which means fewer employees to do the fix. That will cause a complete slow down to the recall. This could cost Toyota billions of dollars. Luckily they have up to $23 billion hanging around.
Recalling the Recall
Toyota from the beginning of the recall has launched a campaign of back handed apologies and positive statements that they quickly retract after the statement has hit the news cycle. In the light of this new revelation that Toyota’s cheap triage tactics are just making things worse, the company has decided to go into denial rather than into action.
Celeste Migliore, Toyota spokeswoman, contradicted herself in a statement to the press yesterday regarding this issue. She said she was not aware of complaints regarding sudden acceleration post-repair. She then said the automaker closely monitored the NHTSA database. This of course can’t be true because they would have known about the complaints.
“We very much would like to have any of those individuals who claim they’ve had unintended acceleration after the fix go back to the dealership,” Migliore said. “If there was an accident, we want to see the vehicle and the driver and the accident report.”
Presumably they want to see the evidence so that they can properly prepare a campaign of denial.
The Congress Shuffles into Action by Putting on the Brakes
At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Toyota yesterday, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., said “strong legislative action,” including mandates for brake overrides, is needed to protect all drivers. Rockefeller, the committee chairman, also called for requiring company executives to personally certify that information provided to regulators is “100 percent correct and accurate.”
The Department of Transportation is also considering a rule to mandate an override system.
“We think it is a good safety device and we’re trying to figure out if we should be recommending that,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told members of the committee.
Safety experts are skeptical that the brake override software described as a “final solution” to the problem of unintended acceleration. They’re concerned it may just cause more problems by adding a new layer of software to the system.
“These fixes are not dealing with the root causes of the problem,” said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies.
Brake override software, sometimes called a “smart pedal,” isn’t new technology.
Mercedes started using it more than six years ago. Other companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen, Porsche and Chrysler have chosen to install the fail safe on most, if not all, of their new vehicles.
BMW is currently implementing the second generation of brake override software in its vehicles.
Ford and General Motors also have it on some models, but until the current crisis, Toyota did not use it on any of its Scion, Toyota or Lexus vehicles.
There have been new complaints filed with the NHTSA claiming sudden acceleration incidents involving other models not previously associated with the acceleration problem like the Avalon and Matrix. They are currently being fitted the brake override software as part of the recall, along with the, Camry, Lexus IS and ES. We were unable to find complaints about post-repair incidents in the IS and ES in the NHTSA databases as of earlier today.
Last week, Toyota said it would begin installing the brake software to the Venza, Tacoma and Sequoia, which it calls “an additional measure of confidence.”
Toyota Recall NHTSA Horror Stories
Other complaints reported by the Los Angeles Times involve a 2009 Camry in Massachusetts that “still does not respond immediately to de-accelerate” after the driver’s foot is taken off the pedal, regardless of the fact that it was taken in under the recall Feb. 22.
Another complained of a 2008 Avalon in Atlanta that was repaired by the dealership but only a few days later “accelerated on its own and [sic] did about 3 loops around the garage area of the home causing damage to the car, benches, tree, bushes, lamp post, etc.”
There are a few consumers that say the fixes created other problems in their vehicles.
A 2007 Camry driver from Sherrill, N.Y. said that since the dealership repaired the vehicle it idles fast in reverse, the cruise control doesn’t disengage properly, and check engine lights come on in a varying fashion.
Another harrowing account from a Toyota customer from Houston was of a 2005 Avalon following the car’s recall service. His wife stepped on the gas and found that nothing happened, causing it to lose speed on the highway.
During yesterday’s hearing, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) argued that until the definitive problem causing unintended acceleration was identified, the fixes implemented in the recalls, including brake override, would not solve the problem.
“It is not really a solution as much as it is a fail-safe strategy,” Cantwell said.
This is the sort of comment that leaves Toyota sweating and investors losing confidence in the company.
Protect Yourself
Toyota has shown that they are not committed to protecting their customers and more interested in saving money and their reputation. As a Toyota owner it is important that you protect yourself. As all of these problems and complaints mount, the resale of your newer Toyota vehicle quickly declines.
If you or a loved one have been affected by the problems in Toyota vehicles, it is important that you find council that is experienced in product liability and defective product litigation. Call Phillips Webster for a consultation on your legal options.
