Toyota Recall: Have They Really Solved the Problem?

December 04, 2010 (Press-News.org) A recent LA Times story highlights the latest development with cases involving the unintended acceleration of Toyota automobiles and giving rise to product injury claims.

The story discusses a lawsuit filed in California alleging that Toyota failed to report incidents of sudden acceleration. Employees from dealerships are claimed to have either seen sudden acceleration in vehicles or duplicated it.

The suit also alleges Toyota repurchased the vehicles and used confidentiality agreements to buy the customers silence.

The lawsuit filing ran to over 1,100 pages and includes 5,264 incidents of sudden acceleration. This number, the story notes, excludes those cases where the acceleration was due to floor mats and sticking accelerator pedals.

Toyota vigorously denies allegations that problems with the electronic controls are the cause. Toyota has moved to dismiss the suit, arguing plaintiffs failed to identify any defect in the electronic throttle control system (ETCS). Toyota claims operator error is the cause.

Yet reports of these types of accidents date back to 2002. And the recall did not occur until 2009.

A report by Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., (SRS) on the topic neatly describes the situation at Toyota:

"The new documents show that behind Toyota's confident statements of no electronic problems, fail-safes that always work as designed and promises to regain customer trust lay a company beset by quality problems created and exacerbated by its growth to the position of the world's largest automaker."

NHTSA Investigation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating three cases that were referred to it by Toyota. The Times story also notes there are investigations by Congress, NASA and the National Academy of Sciences. These investigations are still ongoing and they have provided no definitive results of what caused these sudden acceleration accidents.

A potential problem in the NHSTA probe is stated by SRS as: "NHTSA has not yet conducted a thorough investigation of all possible causes. It has been hampered by decisions to limit data and exclude data which do not fit its hypotheses."

The Complexity of Modern Cars

There was a time when nearly any backyard mechanic could "fix" most cars. They were fairly simple. With all mechanical linkages, things could go wrong, but it was easy to see what the problem was and to determine how to fix it.

When it comes to cars, these simpler times are gone. Moreover, there are now dashboard GPS, Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, and DVD players in the passenger compartment. And there are engine and drive train connections and controls that are vastly more complex.

The problem is the systems are so complex and are subjected to widely varying conditions. While all the auto manufactures claim they test the electronic systems, it is unlikely they are subjected to extremely rigorous testing, as that is expensive and time-consuming, and when they change models every three to five years, they may not have time to discover and resolve all bugs.

A Problem of Proof

Electronic systems do not necessarily indicate exactly where things have gone wrong, as mechanical systems do. When a brake line fails, or a bolt sheers off, there is evidence of failure. The metal can be examined, metallurgical tests can be performed and determinations can be made as to the cause of the failure.

Replicating electronics-based errors may be difficult. The current generation of onboard electronics may not have the capabilities of aircraft "black boxes" for recording the numerous activities that occur every second and may not be robust enough to survive an accident.

As any plaintiff's attorney will tell you, simply because the manufacturer has not found "proof" of an electronic failure, is no guarantee that one does not exist. They just have not uncovered it yet. Given the problems at NHSTA, and Toyota's attitude, it may not be found anytime soon.

Personal injury lawsuits based on defective or unsafe products are almost always complex cases; the investigations can take years; physical evidence from the accident, test information from the manufacturer, and sometimes tens of thousands of documents and emails must be sifted. If you have been injured by a defective product, contact an experienced attorney who can examine the facts and help you determine your best course of action.

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