Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Toyota's Brake Recall

On this NHTSA page, you'll find some interesting information regarding TOYOTA --

Additional Information on Toyota Recalls and Investigations
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Additional+Information+on+Toyota+Recalls+and+Investigations



What is particularly interesting about this page is the Toyota Recall caused by SOFTWARE failures that caused brake failures --

Department of Transportation Addresses Toyota Safety Issues

DOT 22-10
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Contact: Olivia Alair
Telephone: (202) 366-4570

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced that it is opening a formal investigation of the Toyota Prius Hybrid model year 2010 to look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump.

The Office of Defects Investigation has received 124 reports from consumers, including four reports alleging that crashes occurred. Investigators have spoken with consumers and conducted pre-investigatory field work.

“Safety is our top priority,” said Secretary Ray LaHood. “That is why in recent weeks NHTSA has also issued a consumer advisory on the recall of several models of Toyota vehicles and the Pontiac Vibe involving pedal entrapment and sticky accelerator pedals. We will continue to monitor these issues closely.”

Late Wednesday, Secretary LaHood spoke with Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, who reassured him that Toyota takes U.S. safety concerns seriously and puts safety at the top of the company’s priorities.

Consumer complaints about possible safety problems are one of NHTSA’s most important sources of information about vehicles. Officials review each one within a single business day and analyze the information to ensure trends are detected early.

Of the 100 investigations NHTSA opens every year, there are currently 40 open defect investigations, three of which involve Toyota. NHTSA has the most active defect investigation program in the world, opening or closing an investigation almost every week. Over the last three years, NHTSA’s defect and compliance investigations have resulted in 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles.
NHTSA is advising owners of vehicles affected by recent Toyota recalls to contact their local dealership if they detect a problem. For more information, consumers should visit www.nhtsa.gov or call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at (888) 327-4236.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/DOT-22-10


IMO, Toyota failed to act until 124 Prius owners/drivers filed complaints in this instance. [Surely there were others who failed to file complaints - not everyone is on the internet or informed about filing complaints.]

In my case, the brakes were not lost briefly. There were NO BRAKES! There was NO rough road surface.

Let's not ignore that Toyota's failure to address and correct the SUA [Sudden Unitended Acceleration] problems killed 89 people. Toyota blamed that failure on "Driver Error" [documentation will follow].

Reason might tell you that were your vehicle hurtling forward, you'd make sure your foot was on the brake.




 

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