Toyota Announces little fix to the Accelerator pedal nightmare
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), announced today, that the company has developed a safe solution to the risk of sudden, unwanted acceleration. The Japanese automaker indicated that its engineers created and thoroughly tested the solution: a small steel pedal reinforcement assembly designed to eliminate excess friction. Toyota reports that it has commenced shipping the parts to dealers, and expects the millions of affected vehicles to undergo repair as soon as possible.
According to Toyota, this sticking occurred (or can occur) because of excess friction resulting from normal vehicle operation. The company indicates that the pedal reinforcement assembly will eliminate the excess friction that caused the accelerators to stick in rare instances.
At the end of January, the company recalled over 4 million cars from eight vehicle models due to the risk of sudden acceleration caused by the accelerator sticking in a partially open position. In an unprecedented move, the Japanese automaker also halted production to resolve the problem safely and effectively. With Toyota’s announcement comes an apology from top brass, and a hope that the solution will begin to restore customers’ faith in the brand.
Toyota Motor Sales (USA) president and Chief Operating Officer, Jim Lentz, commented on the situation:
“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive. We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers and we are doing everything we can – as fast as we can – to make things right. Stopping production is never an easy decision, but we are 100% confident it was the right decision. We know what’s causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it. We also know it is most important to fix this problem in the cars on the road.
The Toyota saga continues with the National Public Radio report Toyota Apologizes, Releases Details On Plan To Fix Gas Pedals. In a continuing story, NPR's All Things Considered, co-host Melissa Block spoke with Toyota's Jim Lentz this afternoon on how a driver should handle the situation, of a gas pedal getting stuck.
Lentz is quoted in the interview as giving listeners the following advice:
The Driver should put both feet on the break, press hard, shift the transmission into neutral, and pull off the road.
Click on the following link to hear the All Things Considered interview with Toyota President Jim Lentz
Click on the following link to view more from Toyota on the accelerator pedal recall issue.
Click on the following link to see the Toyota PSA on the accelerator issue given by Jim Lentz..
The Toyota vehicles involved in the recent accelerator recall include:
- 2009-2010 RAV4 (Certain models)
- 2009-2010 Corolla (Certain models)
- 2009-2010 Matrix
- 2005-2010 Avalon
- 2007-2010 Camry (Certain models)
- 2010 Highlander (Certain models)
- 2007-2010 Tundra
- 2008-2010 Sequoia
As we mentioned in a previous LaBovickInjuryLawBlog article on the Toyota accelerator recall, owners and drivers of the above mentioned Toyota models to contact their local Toyota dealer or to contact Toyota directly, if they are having issues. Safety measures and precautions should be taken to avoid any serious car accident.
