| one4gatr |
U.S. launches Toyota safety probe
Highway safety authority investigates reports of sudden acceleration in Camry, Lexus models.
March 9, 2004: 7:23 AM EST
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's largest auto manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corp., said Tuesday that the U.S. government has launched an investigation into three of its vehicle models, including the Camry -- its best-selling model in the United States -- over an alleged defect that causes sudden acceleration.
The U.S. highway safety authority announced Monday that it had received reports of 30 crashes that injured at least five people when some Toyota Camry, Camry Solara and Lexus ES300 vehicles suddenly and unexpectedly surged forward.
"One of the noted injuries was serious: it occurred when a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle which allegedly surged forward unexpectedly," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in a statement released on the Internet.
An estimated 1 million vehicles from the 2002 and 2003 model years could be affected, according to the NHTSA.
A spokeswoman for Toyota confirmed the NHTSA's investigation into the three models, but she said she could not give further details.
Shares in Toyota (TM: Research, Estimates) earlier ended Tokyo trade up 0.51 percent at ¥3,950, against a 0.25 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei average.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/09/new....reut/index.htm |
|
|
| one4gatr |
| I wonder how/why it only affects just these 3 models. I would assume that there is some shared technology in their other models. |
|
|
| evoge |
I bet the 30 drivers have more in common than the cars.
Remember this with Audi?
"In March 1989 Audi at last received some good news when the results of a study performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were released. The study supported conclusions of research performed in Japan and Canada. Driver fault, not mechanical problems, caused sudden acceleration. While not ending the controversy, the findings may help limit the damage of numerous liability claims. In fact, the company began to consider filing a lawsuit against 60 Minutes [9]." |
|
|
| XStatic |
I experienced sudden acceleration in the MDX last week. I almost hit the car in front of me at the light but stopped the acceleration before it was an issue.
Basically I was wearing some heavy shoes and didn't have feeling through them to know where the pedals were. I apparently had my foot hanging on the side of the brake instead of head on. As I relaxed at the light my foot rolled to the right a bit releasing pressure on the brake and bumping up the tach very quickly.
If anything is common in the vehicles I would say you should look at placement of the pedals. Seems like a good project for a research study anyway. |
|
|
| Dale MDX |
Don't know if the Toyota situation is the same, but a typical complaint on sudden acceleration looks something like this:
"I was coasting down to a red light, and then put my foot on the brake to slow down. But the brakes didn't work! So I pushed harder, and the harder I pushed on the brake pedal, the faster the car accelerated! It was all the way to the floor, and I hit a tree."
And then, the car is checked over, and the brakes work just fine, even though the car is basically totalled. Hard to explain why there could be zero hydraulic pressure in both of the separate braking hydraulic systems, and then it would return. Sounds exactly like pressing on the accelerator instead of the brake, but most of the "victims" are 100% sure they couldn't have done that. It was interesting how the Audi sudden acceleration cases dropped to almost nothing after the real problem was made public. It has also been made clear that the brakes on ANY modern car with working brakes will outperform the engine's power - in other words, even with a floored accelerator, the brakes can stop the car. |
|
|
| renov8r |
....the MDX accelerator pedal is about the size of a TONGUE DEPRESSOR!
Remember the "old days" -- my dad had a Caddy that the accelerator was bigger than the blade of a HOCKEY STICK -- heck you could've used that thing to STEER A 46 foot SAILBOAT!
Now the LAWYERS make sure that you have to AIM TWICE to nail the gas ... |
|
|
| one4gatr |
quote:
Originally posted by Dale MDX
Don't know if the Toyota situation is the same, but a typical complaint on sudden acceleration looks something like this:
"I was coasting down to a red light, and then put my foot on the brake to slow down. But the brakes didn't work! So I pushed harder, and the harder I pushed on the brake pedal, the faster the car accelerated! It was all the way to the floor, and I hit a tree."
And then, the car is checked over, and the brakes work just fine, even though the car is basically totalled. Hard to explain why there could be zero hydraulic pressure in both of the separate braking hydraulic systems, and then it would return. Sounds exactly like pressing on the accelerator instead of the brake, but most of the "victims" are 100% sure they couldn't have done that. It was interesting how the Audi sudden acceleration cases dropped to almost nothing after the real problem was made public. It has also been made clear that the brakes on ANY modern car with working brakes will outperform the engine's power - in other words, even with a floored accelerator, the brakes can stop the car.
Im sure that in the past you could only speculate but I thought that most newer vehicles had something equivalent to a "black box" where the manufacturer could hook it up to a diagnostic machine and determine what was happening with the car. |
|
|
|
