Toyota Recalls Millions of Vehicles due to Deadly Defect
On August 28, 2009, a 911 call in San Diego finally forced Toyota to step up their inquiries into defects in thousands of recently manufactured cars. The call came from a driver of a Lexus sedan, manufactured by Toyota, who complained that the vehicle accelerated without prompting and was about to crash. Allfour people in the vehicle died in the crash.
Before the tragic accident, Toyota received over 2,000 complaints of unintended acceleration. However, it was not until last week that Toyota finally expanded a series of previous recalls to cover millions of vehicles around the world that may have manufacturing defects. The company also stopped production and sales of eight models, including its popular Camry sedan. Toyota believes that the problems with its cars are from both loose floor mats that can interfere with accelerator pedals and a pedal that sticks when a driver steps on it.
Until recently, Toyota was still claiming that loose floor mats were the only cause of sudden acceleration, and advised owners to simply remove the floor mats. On November 2, 2009, Toyota reported that “there is no evidence” of any other conclusion and stated that its findings were backed by the federal traffic safety agency. However, the federal agency had not endorsed this explanation, saying Toyota’s statements were “misleading and inaccurate.” Congressional hearings will be held to deal with how Toyota handled the vehicle defect problem.
Contact an Experienced Attorney
If you or someone you know has suffered injuries as a result of defects in recently recalled Toyota vehicles, contact the Pintas firm immediately. Our experienced personal injury attorneys will provide you with a free consultation and an explanation of your legal rights.