NHTSA'S White Wash!

NHTSA ignored 4,150 COMPLAINTS?

Defining an industry that eschews safety....

Toyota had received more than 37,900 complaints concerning the ETCS, which have been installed in Toyota-brand vehicles sold in the United States since 1998.

+ 37,900 complaints ignored by Toyota

Automakers Are Companies and Don’t Care About You

TOYOTA: CHAIN REACTION

A RUNAWAY LEXUS KILLED THESE PEOPLE:

TOYOTA SETTLE WITH A CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT FOR $10 MILLION. 
Why do you think they would have settled? 

This man went to prison after his RUNAWAY TOYOTA KILLED OTHERS. 

WHEN A JURY UNANIMOUSLY AWARDED $$$, TOYOTA APPEALED THE VERDICT 
see details on right] 

TOYOTA settled the case below with a CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT. 
Why? Was it because there were survivors who could testify about a RUNAWAY TOYOTA? 

There are many others. 


NHTSA won’t probe into Toyota unintended acceleration
David Shepardson, Detroit News Washington Bureau August 21, 2015


Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it will not open a formal investigation into unintended acceleration claims in Lexus and Toyota vehicles.

The denial is the second time this year the safety agency has refused to open a probe into unintended acceleration.

The petition filed by a California man was based on his interpretation of Event Data Recorder data from a crash his wife experienced in a 2009 Lexus ES350 vehicle and from two other crashes involving a 2010 Toyota Corolla and a 2009 Toyota Camry. NHTSA found that the three crashes were likely the result of using the accelerator — rather than the brake pedal — rather than sudden unintended acceleration.

"The petitioner's allegations regarding the three crashes are based upon several misconceptions about the manner in which the EDR samples and records pre-crash data in the ES350, Corolla and Camry vehicles. In each of the three crashes, the vehicles accelerated as the drivers were attempting to park the vehicles. All three accelerations occurred as the vehicles were entering the intended parking spaces and in the times and positions where driver braking should be initiated to safely park the vehicles," NHTSA said. "No braking was recorded in two of the crash events until the EDR trigger point... and in the third crash no braking was recorded at all."

NHTSA said the crashes "are all consistent with pedal misapplications by the driver mistaking the accelerator pedal for the brake when attempting to park the vehicle. In addition, contrary to the petitioner's assertion regarding previous studies by NHTSA and NASA, the issues raised in the petition are fully within the scope of prior studies which have carefully examined the subject of low-speed sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control."

In May, NHTSA denied another petition that claims sudden unintended acceleration problems were occurring in up to 1.6 million Toyota Corollas.

NHTSA said it was closing its review without a full investigation of “low-speed surging” in 2006-2010 Corollas in which brakes fail to stop the car in time to prevent a crash.

The owner of a 2010 Corolla alleged that while parking, the Toyota collided with another parked car. The petition said a review of the NHTSA database found 163 reports in which drivers experienced low-speed power surges in the cars. NHTSA said it found no evidence the driver had applied the brakes.

NHTSA spent years investigating millions of Toyota vehicles for unintended acceleration issues linked to faulty floor mats and other issues. After four people were killed in a crash linked to an accelerator pedal that had been trapped by a floor mat, Toyota recalled more than 10 million vehicles worldwide because of the issue in 2009 and 2010. Several reviews have found no evidence that electronic glitches were to blame for unintended acceleration — but blamed the issues on mechanical interference like floor mats

In March 2014, Toyota paid a $1.2 billion fine to the Justice Department after it was charged with wire fraud. Toyota admitted it misled U.S. consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements to both consumers and regulators about the extent of sudden acceleration problems in 2009 and 2010, the Justice Department said, adding that Toyota minimized problems, misled regulators and provided inaccurate facts to Congress.  THIS REPORTER NEEDS TO READ THE SETTLEMENT! 

Toyota has radically revamped its safety practices since its recall crisis briefly forced the automaker to halt sales of nearly half of its vehicles and led to the company’s president, Akio Toyoda, to appear before Congress to apologize for the company’s handling of safety issues. The company’s safety reputation has dramatically rebounded and it has won high marks in recent quality surveys.

HAVE THEY? 

Toyota has settled numerous other suits connected to the problem, including a class-action settlement covering as many as 22 million current and former Toyota owners over sudden acceleration claims valued at as much as $1.63 billion.

NHTSA has been investigating other claims of unintended acceleration — an issue it has reviewed for 40 years, when it first opened an investigation into 60 million General Motors vehicles in 1978. The probe lasted eight years and was closed without finding a defect.

In June 2014, NHTSA said it was investigating 360,000 2012-2014 Nissan Versa cars after receiving four complaints in the U.S. that a trim panel had trapped the edge of the driver’s shoe. A fifth complaint was filed by a driver in a foreign country.

A complaint filed June 9 said a driver had to use their right hand to grab their leg and pull their foot free, almost causing a crash. The complainant included a photograph showing how the edge of the panel wedged itself in the driver’s work boot. That probe was upgraded to an engineering analysis in April.

In May 2014, Ford Motor Co. said it was recalling 82,500 driver’s side all-weather Ford floor mats that may be in 2006-11 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ cars. If improperly installed, the mats may come in contact with the accelerator pedal. Owners were asked to return the mats for a new set.

NHTSA has been investigating the floor mat issue for four years. The agency said it had 52 reports of problems with floor mats in its investigation of 480,000 2008-10 Fusion, Milan and MKZ cars. After NHTSA told Ford it was recommending a recall, Ford opted to recall the vehicles.



http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2015/08/21/agency-probe-toyota-unintended-acceleration/32111075/

GEOTALK • (August 21, 2015)

We have been telling our story for 3 years to no avail. But wrong is wrong and

unanticipated acceleration happens. After we reported the incident to our insurance

company, Toyota shut down everything. They sent a tech to the dealership, and no one

was allowed to talk to him. He drove the car around the parking lot and pronounced it

good. Our Prius (many others do this) would always "skip" a little when stopping at places

with loose gravel. In this case, we were sitting completely still in a parking lot waiting for

my sister-in-law to park her car, when our car took off and flew over two barriers and

dropped 17 inches to the ground below. My foot was never on the accelerator. IF it had

been on the accelerator and even if the accelerator had been "floored" it still would not

have flown that far that fast. We have photos and witnesses, but Toyota will not

acknowledge this problem exists. Blaming it on the driver makes me ashamed of a

company I once respected. I filed a report with the NTSB...what else could I do?

Someday, someone will be sitting at a crosswalk, the car will lurch forward, kill people,

and the driver will be blamed. We had no other option, but to trade the car into Toyota

after we received a letter from them saying that there was nothing wrong with the car!

Maybe if enough people tell their stories someone will believe them

Charlene McCarthy Blake  GEOTALK 

GEOTALK, can you contact me using FB? I have some info re: your situation. I'd like to link you with similarly-affected vocal individuals! Thanks!

The TROLL below is here to CENSOR you! I took a screenshot of your comment to tweet on Twitter because Toyota-protectors will be reporting your comment and falsely flagging it as they have ALL of us vocal ones;)

Ignore the anonymous defamers & provocateurs sent to discredit you! They wish to control the dialogue about TOYOTA SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION and silence us!

Charlene McCarthy Blake 

Jeep vehicles are WELL-KNOWN in terms of sudden unintended acceleration. Ask ANY car wash business. As a matter of fact, the Car Wash Association has a formal LIST of most likely vehicles to do this. Jeeps often TAKE OFF while inside these car washes!

There's a BIG hidden secret in the auto industry...it's called ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration! I know...you thought that was just about FLOOR MATS and sticky pedals, or "driver error," right? That's certainly what TOYOTA would like you to continue to believe, BUT DON'T!

These ultra-complex new engines are completely computer driven. Software is needed to control the throttle system. You THINK you are giving gas when you press the accelerator, but you are only SUGGESTING this to the computer. In electronic SUA cases, the throttle software may be glitch-prone and NOT do as you wish.

What happens then? Well, the glitch may (and has for countless SUA victims) result in an OPEN THROTTLE situation. The brakes become INEFFECTIVE in these situations and crashes into storefronts, buildings, and homes have resulted.

What does the automaker say? They hook the vehicles up to the computer and declare NOTHING WRONG! They cite the EDR which has erroneous data and say YOU were NOT braking. They point the finger at you based on AGE, GENDER, MEDICAL history, prescription meds, etc. YOU name it, they've TRIED it!

Get the picture? And you THOUGHT the GM issue was big? Think again! This cover-up of ELECTRONIC SUA is scandalous and very well-orchestrated.

Why even a WHISTLEBLOWER has been legally harassed by Toyota as it does NOT want her Toyota internal docs posted online anymore. The automaker wants to intimidate and SILENCE her. It doesn't want the PUBLIC involved, for goodness sake!

Charlene McCarthy Blake

There's a HUGE push to show driver "pedal misapplication" and much reference to this being a problem with "elderly" drivers. Drivers own complaints (showing remarkable similarity if one compares notes among these types of accidents) are discounted. Worse, drivers are discredited...some say even targeted...by those who wish to keep the truth from surfacing.

Let's see...have we seen an automaker hide key safety-related information before? Have we seen any cases where the NHTSA has even covered for an automaker in such unconscionable actions? OK...you get the idea. THINK...why would an automaker wish to keep ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration a secret? After all, isn't SUA history and just about pesky floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, or better-yet driver error? NO! That's just what the automaker would like you to believe...and there's a HUGE economic reason for that, isn't there?

Unfortunately, what you do not know about ELECTRONICALLY-induced SUA can be an issue as many of the current SUA victims are learning the hard way. An electronic sudden unintended acceleration event can result (and has!) in jail time for the driver. Why? Speculation of "pedal misapplication" is all that is left when the historically-unreliable EDR (black box) shows no braking even when the driver has two feet on the brake and incurs foot damage (see Tanya Spotts Lexus case). The Toyota electronic throttle control system software glitch has been found not to leave a fault code. The vehicle brakes which did NOT function at the time of the ETCS-i software glitch show no signs of a failure mode. The DRIVER is assumed GUILTY and the vehicle is found fault-free. It continues to happen DAILY.

Absence of proof is NOT proof of absence. This electronic SUA problem is one that every driver should be concerned about. Drivers should be asking some tough questions of the automaker, Toyota specifically.

Let's not forget that these engines are complex and computer-driven. Electronics will have glitches. The important factor is how these glitches are handled within and what safety standards have been applied. An electronic software glitch which renders a fail-safe ineffective is totally unacceptable. Don't make assumptions that strict safety standards have been applied when they have not!

Azar Hadi was blocked by ABC from posting this: 

Thank you for telling your story and you are right if everybody told their story, maybe maybe then NHTSA will do something. Believe me you are not alone and you are not imagining it like Toyota would want you to believe. I am a victim of Lexus unintended acceleration and I unfortunately was not able to stop the runaway car and I was also very lucky that I did not kill anyone. I end up hitting an SUV head on totaling both cars and crushing my legs. 24 surgeries, disable and Toyota is claiming PEDAL CONFUSION. Why would anyone get confused is beyond me. SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION is very real and it happens daily, killing, injuring and in some cases putting people in prison. No one seems to be able to stop is CRIMINAL corporation not even NHTSA.

This is AP's version of the White Wash: 

Agency Won't Open Probe Into Toyota Unintended Acceleration

DETROIT — Aug 21, 2015

U.S. safety regulators have rejected an electrical engineer's request to investigate low-speed unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus cars.

The petition was the latest in a string of claims that Toyota vehicles can accelerate on their own dating to 2009.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in documents posted Friday, said that three crashes cited in the engineer's request are consistent with the driver mistakenly hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake. The agency also says the issue was examined carefully in two previous government studies.

Gopal Raghavan of Thousand Oaks, California, who has a doctorate degree from Stanford University, filed a petition seeking the investigation in June.

He contended that his 2009 Lexus ES350 sedan surged suddenly in a parking lot while being driven by his wife, crashing into some bushes and smashing the front of the car. He wrote in his petition that she did not press the gas, which was documented by the car's event data recorder. He believes the car's electronic throttle control malfunctioned.

Raghavan also cited event data recorder information in two other crashes involving Toyota vehicles and asked NHTSA to do a more detailed analysis of the cars' hardware and software.

But the agency wrote that his petition was based on "misconceptions" about how the event data recorder samples and records data before a crash.

"The crashes are all consistent with pedal misapplications by the driver mistaking the accelerator pedal for the brake when attempting to park the vehicle," the agency wrote.

Raghavan said Friday that the event data recorder shows no movement in the gas pedal until one second before the crash, which he says doesn't make sense. NHTSA, he said, told him that the gas pedal was being pumped between the samples taken every second by the event data recorder, a contention he disputes. "It's a great coincidence that it just happens right in the middle," he said.

Complaints have brought investigations and recalls totaling 10 million vehicles as well as multiple lawsuits and a $1.2 billion penalty for hiding information from NHTSA.

The recalls were for mechanical problems — faulty brakes, sticky gas pedals and floor mats that could trap the accelerator. But although Toyota has denied it has problems with electronic throttle controls, allegations of problems have lingered.

In May, NHTSA rejected a Rhode Island engineer's request for a similar investigation after his wife got into a crash in a 2010 Toyota Corolla. The agency said it put over 2,000 miles on the man's car but could not find any problems with the throttle or transmission systems.

A message seeking comment from Toyota was left Friday for a company spokeswoman.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/agency-open-probe-toyota-unintended-acceleration-33225480

TOYOTA has PAID SHILLS that post meaningless comments to downplay the significance of TOYOTA's White Wash. 

THE PAID TOYOTA SHILLS ARE AT WORK!

How do you know who's a TOYOTA SHILL?

THE TOYOTA SHILLS resort to:

NAME CALLING

INTRODUCE FALSE ACCUSATIONS [such as Koua Fong Lee was intoxicated, when in fact, he was returning from church and no evidence of such has ever been presented]

MISREPRESENT THE FACTS or MAKE UP THEIR OWN

Continue to repeat the same lies

and much else clearly revealed in their comments 

Toyota Shills workin' overtime?

Have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND and notice that NTSTA released this kind of notice at the end of the news cycle! 

JUST MY OPINION....AT THE MOMENT

Toyota Owner Asks NHTSA To Revisit Sudden Acceleration Problems

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now looking into a driver’s claim of sudden unintended acceleration at low speeds in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles. The driver petitioned the agency for a defect investigation. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is looking into the request by the unnamed petitioner, who claims his 2009 Lexus ES350 accelerated suddenly and crashed while his wife was trying to park the car in February 2015. After analyzing the petition, NHTSA will decide whether or not to investigate. Up to 42,833 ES350s would be affected if a defect is found, according to NHTSA.

The petitioner pointed to two other complaints involving a 2009 Camry and 2010 Corolla as showing a “troubling similarity” in event data recorders indicating acceleration issues at low speeds. He asked the agency to “acquire ALL the data on low-speed sudden acceleration that Toyota currently has and constitute a panel to study this problem.” The petition is not the first to call for an investigation of unintentional acceleration at low speeds in Toyota vehicles.

In May, NHTSA turned down a similar request by petitioner Robert Ruginis, saying it had not been able to replicate a surge at low speed in his 2010 Toyota Corolla. In September 2014, Ruginis asked the agency to look into 2006-10 Corollas after his wife crashed into a parked vehicle. Ruginis claimed that an event data recorder readout showed his Corolla had accelerated after his wife applied the brake. Ruginis had claimed NHTSA never investigated low-speed sudden unintended acceleration, but the agency replied in its denial of the petition that it had been working on the issue for more than a decade.

NHTSA says it conducted three defect investigations from 2003 to 2009 and looked into allegations in five defect investigation requests on sudden unintended acceleration. The agency apparently believed the cause of some of the incidents was a sticky gas pedal or floor mat that could trap the pedal in a depressed position. I heard that theory before in an Oklahoma City courtroom and it gives me some concern. Surely, it couldn’t be a computer problem that is causing the sudden accelerations like we found to be the problem in the Bookout case.

In 2010, NHTSA teamed up with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to further investigate low-speed acceleration incidents. The two agencies released a report in 2011 that found no defect in Toyota’s electronic throttle control system and attributed the incidents to driver error. But Toyota issued recalls of millions of cars and trucks in 2009 and 2010 after reports that several vehicles had experienced unintended acceleration. Our firm was heavily involved in the litigation that exposed Toyota’s wrongful conduct and deliberate cover-up of a known defect in its electronic throttle control system.

After the verdict in the Bookout case, things began to fall in place. In July 2013, Toyota received final approval for the $1.1 billion settlement with a proposed class of 23 million U.S. Toyota drivers, alleging they had suffered economic loss over the acceleration issue. In March 2014, a New York federal judge accepted Toyota’s $1.2 billion deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. That was because the automaker had hidden known defects that caused vehicles to accelerate suddenly. The court said the case “demonstrates that corporate fraud can kill.” The Bookout trial in Oklahoma City handled by our firm was the one single event that brought about all of the above. Hopefully, Toyota will change its position in the current sudden acceleration matter and do the right thing. Our experience with this automaker revealed that it is a master of cover up and deceit.

Source: Law360.com

http://www.jerebeasleyreport.com/2015/08/toyota-owner-asks-nhtsa-to-revisit-sudden-acceleration-problems/

Toyota Camry Crash

Toyota, I'm certain, likes highlighting the driver's driving record!

Charlene McCarthy Blake

 

DWI man crashes into liquor store

Posted: Nov 25, 2014

ANDOVER TOWNSHIP — An Andover Township man was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after he crashed into a car in front of the Liquor Factory, police said.

Police responded to a crash on Newton-Sparta Road near the entrance to the liquor store on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 4:30 p.m.

An investigation revealed that Robert E. Petrin, 54, of Sparta, was driving westbound in a 2009 Ford Focus when James C. Woodstrom, 39, driving a 2013 Toyota Camry, exited a parking lot area and pulled out in front of Petrin's car, causing the two cars to crash, police said.

No injuries were reported at the scene, police said.

Woodstrom was given field sobriety tests at the scene and was arrested. He was charged with reckless driving, driving while under the influence of drugs/alcohol and failing to submit to a breathalyzer test.

Woodstrom was released pending an appearance in Andover Township Municipal Court.

Officer Edward Diklich and Sgt. Rod Mosner investigated the incident.

Charlene Blake

Big PR push to incriminate the driver when Toyota defect like unintended acceleration! Driver is blamed in all these surging events!

Charlene Blake

Toyota vehicles have issues with SURGING related to electronic control glitches. See Robert & Kathy Ruginis 2010 Toyota Corolla NHTSA defect petition. This is a serious problem and it has been DEADLY in the Camry! Search "Toyota amd Lexus sudden unintended acceleration."

http://www.njherald.com/story/27484422/2014/11/25/dwi-man-crashes-into-liquor-store

 

 

Here come the TOYOTA SHILLS!

"Professional provocateur" ?

Kind description of PAID TOYOTA SHILLS!

What's TOYOTA hiding?

THE TRUTH?

	Charlene M. Blake (@charleneblake)
11/15/14, 11:06 AM #Professional #provocateur UPSET about #defective #Toyota #Corolla #Ruginis case! Attacking #commenters viciously! wpri.com/2014/11/13/fed…

Download the official Twitter app here

Charlene McCarthy Blake

Parris Boyd

Here we go again with another "performance" by the auto industry's little lapdog. Never mind NHTSA's complicity in GM's ignition-switch scandal and Takata's exploding airbags, not to mention NHTSA's refusal to address evidence GALORE - presented by embedded systems expert MIchael Barr - of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. The problem is a corporate-controlled government - Repukes n Demagogues alike - incapable of taking action against its murderous, blood-drenched cohorts in the auto industry. I've been blogging about the situation - search "Beware of Toyota. Their next victim may be YOU..."

Azar Hadi

I am a victim of sudden unintended acceleration and there many more out there like me. We need a better system in place to protect consumers from the lies and cover up of auto makers..

Sudden UnintendedAcceleration is real, it happened to me in 2005. I had purchased a brand new 2004 ES 330 Lexus while sitting at the red light my
car took off like a rocket going through the red light. By the time I realized what was happening my car was going over 100 miles an hour and I realized that I did not have brake and I could hear the accelerator revving. All I was able to do hold on to the wheel trying to avoid hitting anyone. All I could think that my car was going to kill people. I was so fortunate that no one was kill and what eventually happen I end up on the other side of the street hitting a SUV head on totaling both cars.

The dashboard fell on my legs and crushed both legs severely. The SUV driver had some minor damages. As the result of my Lexus suddenly accelerating, I have had 24 surgeries and more in future. My left leg will have to be amputated above the knee since surgery can not do any good anymore and my right ankle will have to be fused since I am in sever pain. I hope Toyota stops the lies and fix those cars rather than blaming the elderly, teens, texting, medical issues or anything else Toyota can come up with except its sudden unintended acceleration in its cars.

Azar Hadi Brannan



Azar Hadi

Highway patrol was not able too, remember this case was settled for $10,000,000 out of court.
Case Bookout vs Toyota Mr. Micheal Barr proved that when cars like Toyota/Lexus accelerate there is nothing you can do to stop them due to electronic defects and if you remember Toyota lost this landmark case.

On August 28, 2009, California Highway Patrol Officer Mark
Saylor, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law were killed in an uncontrolled acceleration crash in a 2009 Lexus ES350 in San Diego. Unlike the many deadly Toyota sudden acceleration before, this crash was captured on a 911 call made by Mrs Saylor from the speeding car with a stuck accelerator before it crashed and killed all the occu­pants. At the time of the crash, NHTSA did not have a single open invest­igation in Toyota sudden acceleration. Toyota exploited to avoid recalls
until the tragic crash in San Diego in August 2009 that resulted in 4 deaths in a Lexus driven by an experienced highway patrol officer who was unable to bring the vehicle to a stop. But
for the crash being caught on a 911 tape, the recent recalls would not have occurred because the crash would have gone unnoticed like so many before it which the agency blamed on driver error



FRANKOK

Saudi Arabia knows what to do - why not the NHTSA?
I never owned one but am always concerned for friends and family who do.
There should be a push to force Toyota to install brake override on all that have the electronics and code evaluated by the 12 experts - NASA did not have the source code for their review.
From:
http://www.albawaba.com/busine...
Over 141,000 Toyota and Lexus cars recalled over dangers of sudden
acceleration The recall of as many as 141,007 Toyota and Lexus cars has been initiated in the sultanate to install Smart Stop Technology, a brake override system, in
their vehicles to curtail dangers associated with sudden acceleration.

Azar Hadi

Thank you for your comment and we need more people like you to speak against Toyota and Lexus. You should be worried about friends and families, sudden unintended acceleration has killed and injured over 2000 people in US alone. Why is it that Saudi Arabia values people's life more that US government?

Charlene McCarthy Blake

Ah, professional provocateur is concerned about the Robert & Kathy Ruginis defective Toyota Corolla case! And rightly so as here are the earmarks of a major automotive scandal!

Censorship and critic discrediting is in full force by Toyota $$friends as professional provocateur has pointed out, especially when it concerns evidence of electronic glitches which cause Toyota and Lexus vehicles to become uncontrollable and unstoppable! Why these glitches often cause these vehicles to become airborne just prior to a horrific crash!

Azar Hadi

Landmark case Bookout vs Toyota last October where Toyota lost not only had to pay compensatory, but also punitive damages to victims. It was this case that sent Toyota to settlement mode. Over 500 cases going through MEDIATION right now all over US. Some will end up in trial which will show more exposure of the defect that causes accelerations something that Toyota is trying to avoid. It would have been so much cheaper if Toyota/Lexus had done the right thing rather than hiding their sudden unintended acceleration issues and murdering and injuring innocent people..


Azar Hadi

I am just wondering where the next job will be for Mr. David Friedman since he is not doing much for the public when comes to Toyota/Lexus sudden unintended acceleration??? I have an idea, I am pretty sure his next job will be a highly paid job at Toyota just like Mr. Christopher Santucci, a revolving door..

Charlene McCarthy Blake

Excellent question, Azar! I know you are especially concerned since you are a Toyota Lexus sudden unintended acceleration victim yourself! You've no doubt watched as former NHTSA regulator Christopher Santucci narrowed the focus of the previous Toyota SUA investigation so that no real steps were taken to uncover and FIX the electronic glitches in the ETCS-i software that Michael Barr later found in the Bookout v Toyota Camry fatal death case. It must be devastating to see a paid NHTSA employee, where our taxes are contributed, allegedly allow Toyota to HIDE the serious safety defects and then go on to be EMPLOYED by the automaker! This seems more than criminal; it seems immoral and unconscionable to me!

Let's watch what Mr. David Friedman does in this very important Toyota Corolla unintended acceleration case! IF he does not open a defect investigation, then consumers need to organize...BIG time! This case has all the earmarks of a serious safety defect in a Toyota that could lead to untold numbers of deaths, injuries, and destruction!

IF a defect investigation is opened and then closed in short order as so many have been done in the past in the Toyota and Lexus sudden unintended acceleration, then a major public backlash needs to occur! This would be blatantly ignoring an on-going serious DEADLY situation in these Corolla vehicles!

Azar Hadi

Thanks Charlene, I am so grateful to see a consumer advocate like yourself spending her precious time working so hard to bring changes about and make unscrupulous auto makers like Toyota/Lexus accountable for their criminal activities. Being blocked by sites who support and get paid by Toyota $$$ to me is simply blood of people who have been killed and injured and I am an example of sudden unintended acceleration who injured badly in a Lexus.


Charlene McCarthy

You are welcome, Azar! I have *twenty* years of auto consumer advocacy. When I was involved in the Toyota engine oil sludge debacle, a professional provocateur implied that I had single-handedly created the HOAX back in late 2000.

Well, we all know what ultimately happened there. It was certainly no hoax! There is a May 13, 2002 Automotive News article that highlights my efforts in that serious matter. The oil sludge issue pales in comparison to the Toyota & Lexus electronic throttle control system software defect! I can see why the automaker might be concerned about online dialogue about this potentially deadly defect!

Charlene McCarthy Blake

Just by speaking out to those similarly-impacted, you are making a huge difference! Thank you so much for sharing your story! You are FAR FROM ALONE!

What an automaker, particularly one like Toyota which has admitted to hiding defects and not telling the truth, wants least is for vehicle owners to NETWORK to EXPOSE these same problems!

Kudos to your effort to reach out to those who may not yet know the truth!

 

Will TOYOTA/NHTSA Inc. WHITEWASH?

It is unclear if NHTSA possesses the expertise to analyze the SPAGHETTI CODE!

VIDEO ON LINK

Feds to perform tests on Bristol couple’s car

By Target 12 Consumer Investigator Susan Hogan
Published: November 13, 2014

Related Coverage

• Bristol couple requests investigation by federal safety agency

• Federal regulators reviewing Bristol couple’s case

BRISTOL, R.I. (WPRI) — Federal safety regulators are moving forward with an investigation into a possible unintended acceleration case involving a Bristol couple’s Toyota.
 

Target 12 has learned they’ve picked up the couple’s car and is towing it to a testing facility in Ohio. It’s not often you get a tow from the federal government, but when your car is the source of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation – it’s a welcomed ride.
 

Bob and Kathy Ruginis’s car has been at a Massachusetts dealership ever since it was involved in a low-speed crash. Even though the crash itself was insignificant, Kathy said it’s what led to the crash that makes it a big deal.
 

“It was an awkward feeling knowing my foot was on the brake and I was accelerating,” she said.

Kathy claims her Corolla, on numerous occasions, would surge forward even though she says her foot was on the brake. In September, the couple filed a petition with the NHTSA asking the agency to investigate their case, along with hundreds of other complaints from Toyota owners – all who say their cars experienced surges while the brakes were applied.
 

The NHTSA agreed to lease the car from the couple for 90 days. Their plan is “to replicate the various conditions under which [they] experienced the surges.”
 

“I don’t think we’ll get much out of it, but for other people I hope it will help them find something that Toyota can correct,” said Bob Ruginis.
 

Car safety expert Sean Kane has been very critical of the NHTSA’s handling of Toyota’s response in unintended acceleration incidents in the past.
 

“What we’re looking at is the very same people who have gone out of their way to not find any problems with the electronics are now back at it, and somehow now they’re going to find something?” he asked.
 

Toyota has recalled millions of vehicles for sudden unintended acceleration incidents it blamed on “sticky pedals” and “flood mats,” but some Toyota drivers like the Ruginis’ claim their sudden surge had nothing to do with sticky pedals or floor mats since they had those fixed under the recall. Only time will tell what federal engineers will determine, depending on what is revealed in the testing.
 

Target 12 reached out to Toyota on Thursday, and in a statement said it “welcomes further scientific analysis and will continue to cooperate with any requests from NHTSA regarding its investigation.”

http://wpri.com/2014/11/13/feds-to-perform-tests-on-bristol-couples-car/

Don't hold you breath on this one!