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During this same time period, San Jose attorneys Mohinder Mann and Gary Mann (The Mann Law Firm) along with San Rafael, California engineer and attorney Louis Franecke were in the midst of a major trial against Toyota Motor Corporation in an unrelated case, San Joaquin County (Singh v. Toyota Motor Corporation, Case CV023159), when the family of Troy Johnson asked them to represent them in a lawsuit against Toyota. The California Highway Patrol had just concluded its investigation in the Johnson collision and made no prosecutorial recommendation in the case. In other words, the CHP could not say with certainty if the driver of the Camry should be charged or if the driver should be cleared of wrong doing.

The Manns and Franecke began analyzing the reports and studying the evidence using their engineering and technological backgrounds to piece together a possible explanation into what led to the Camry’s rapid acceleration. In April of 2008, less than six months after getting the case, the attorneys filed a complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court, Case #108CV110696, on behalf of the Johnson family against Toyota. The police Traffic Collision Report identified, based upon the witnesses’ testimony and their investigation, that the cause of the stuck accelerator was the placement of Toyota All Weather mats on the driver’s floor. The mats slid forward and jammed the accelerator, preventing it from being released.

The plaintiff attorneys hired a Collision Reconstruction Consultant whose job was to document all the evidence for the pending litigation. Gary Mann and Franecke, along with their consultant, inspected the vehicle and quickly discovered that the driver of the Toyota’s story was true. In nearly obscure writing, the mats had a phrase written on them that they should not be placed on top of a carpet mat. “This looks more like an afterthought to inform the public about the dangers of what could happen in the real world,” said Mohinder Mann. “The question is, did Toyota f ind problems with the mats in their testing and where are those test results?” “When did Toyota know about the problem,” asked Mann.

Mann knew that they might never find that answer. In their previous case against Toyota, Toyota’s engineer in Japan admitted that Toyota does not keep developmental design nor testing data with the exception of the documents related to the final design. In a deposition of the Toyota engineer, the engineer acknowledged that only the final test results that go to the NHTSA are saved. “Testing and documents compiled previous to the final design including any alternative designs are not saved,” said Gary Mann. “By not being able to look through the alternative design considerations of Toyota, it is difficult to investigate what processes led to the final design that is eventually sold to the public,” continued Gary Mann.

The Mann Law Firm and Franecke got some answers from a September 26, 2007 letter from Toyota to the NTSB, acknowledging that an unsecured All Weather Floor Mat can jam the accelerator pedal. In and around that same time, Toyota issued a recall of the subject mats. One month later, an NHTSA summary showed a compilation of unwanted acceleration due to defectively designed all weather floor mats in the Camry – 26 complaints resulting in 7 crashes and fires with 11 injuries and 1 fatality (Johnson) along with another 35 incidences reported.
The Johnson case against Toyota would take less than 12 months to settle with an agreement of confidentiality. “I believe that Toyota did not want to answer questions in this case,” added Franecke. Those questions surround the push button that kills the engine after it is held down continuously for 3 seconds. At 120 miles an hour, you can travel 500 feet or nearly the distance of two football fields before the car coasts to a stop.

Second, you cannot stop a vehicle with brakes if the accelerator is jammed. Each pump of the brakes is less effective and the amount of force necessary to stop the wheels at 120 miles an hour is nearly impossible for most drivers. You will fry the brakes as Mr. Gomez did in the Johnson case. Third, you cannot get the car out of gear. In the Camry, once the car is moving and accelerator depressed you cannot get it out of gear. It is locked in and won’t move out of the automatic position. This is a transmission design. Placing torque on the accelerator will not
allow it to move out of gear. Lastly, attorneys Mann and Franecke were prepared to ask and delve into why the Toyota accelerator jams so much? Was it a mechanical or electrical problem?

Nearly all new cars today contain an event data recorder, called a black box, which can record several seconds of key information when accidents occur or in other circumstances. According to Toyota, its black boxes can capture vehicle speed, engine speed, brake pedal application, accelerator pedal position and seat belt usage, among other things. Unlike other car manufacturers, Toyota’s data recorders are extremely difficult, if not impossible for non-Toyota personnel to read. Toyota says it has only one device in the U.S. that can read the data.
Once the Johnson case was settled in November of 2008, news came from the San Diego area that a CHP officer and his family lost their lives in a runaway Lexus. Speculation centered on the floor mats. Troy Johnson’s widow, Melanie, went public with her outrage that Toyota had failed to heed the warnings in the Johnson case and allowed these suspect floor mats to cause more needless deaths. After weeks of posturing, changing positions and uncertainty, Toyota finally acknowledged it had a problem and stopped the sales of new Toyota models and issued a recall to fix the rapid acceleration problem.

“We are not sure if Toyota is placing a band aid over a major problem,” said Franecke. “Without access to test results we’re not sure if the problem is with the floor mats, the gas pedal or even a defective engine throttle control system,” added Franecke.

Mann said, “Toyota needs to be forthcoming with all the testing data, and immediately fix the potential death traps caused by sudden acceleration.”

If you have a question for a Toyota Recall Attorney, please feel free to contact The Mann Law Firm.

Click the Link to download the full press release – Toyota Recall Press Release

More than two years ago, federal investigators in the United States discovered that some Toyota vehicles accelerated unexpectedly, the Washington Post reports.

In an investigation that formally began in August 2007, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that three of every 100 owners in Ohio of the Lexus ES350 reported sudden acceleration problems.

The former chief of research for traffic safety programs at the agency told the Washington Post that an unintended sudden acceleration in 1 out of 100 owners should raise a red flag.

Federal safety investigators gathered drivers’ stories of sudden acceleration and collisions. The accelerator and brake pedal were examined and exposed to magnetic fields. The exact cause of the problem was never resolved. However, Toyota and government investigators finally decided that floor mats with deep grooves were to blame, even though 24 of the 59 owners who reported problems with sudden acceleration did not own the mats.

In October 2009, Toyota announced that it was recalling approximately 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus autos because their floor mats could trap the gas pedal, causing sudden acceleration.

Then in January 2010, Toyota advised the NHTSA that approximately 2.3 million vehicles in the United States have a defect that can cause the accelerator to stick.

As the Washington Post story notes, the ever-changing reasons given for the problem have some lawmakers concerned that the root cause is unknown.

Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety remarked:

“It’s hard to believe that a company with the reputation for engineering excellence that Toyota enjoys doesn’t know what is going on. But if they do, they haven’t shared what they know.”

We will continue monitoring the investigation into the Toyota sudden-acceleration problem.

If you or someone you love has been involved in an accident involving sudden acceleration of a Toyota, Lexus or Pontiac auto, contact The Mann Law Firm to be your sudden acceleration attorneys for the Toyota and Lexus Recall.  Please feel free to call us at 408.287.1600

By Laurent Belsie

February 1, 2010

As early as next week, Toyota may begin fixing the sticky acceleration problem that has caused it to recall 2.3 million vehicles last month, the company announced Monday.

Toyota called it an “effective and simple” solution to pedal wear that, in rare instances, has caused vehicles to accelerate suddenly. But with so many cars involved (and an even larger group of cars with a related floor-mat problem) even a simple fix will take weeks or even months to complete.

What should Toyota owners do? Here are five steps you can take now:

1. Determine if your model is on either recall. Here’s a list (click on the chart above for more details):

2005-10 Avalon
2007-10 Camry*
2009-10 Corolla*
2008-10 Highlander*
2009-10 Matrix
2004-09 Prius
2009-10 RAV4*
2008-10 Sequoia
2005-10 Tacoma
2007-10 Tundra
2009-10 VENZA

Models with an asterisk aren’t included in the pedal recall if their vehicle identification number (VIN) starts with a J. You can find the 17-character VIN through the window on the driver’s side dashboard, on the driver’s side pillar by the tire-inflation sticker, or on the vehicle’s registration. (Click here for Toyota’s Q&A about the fix.)

2. If you have a vehicle with a floor-mat problem, call your dealer. He or she can reshape the pedal and, if you like, replace it with a new pedal when parts become available. Also, Toyota will replace any Toyota all-weather mat with a free newly designed mat. If you don’t want the new mat, the dealer will take back the current mat and reimburse you for its price.

3. If your model is involved in the sticky accelerator recall, it will probably take some time to get it fixed. Letters are going out this week and repairs conceivably could begin next week, says John Hanson, Toyota spokesman. But if you currently have a problem with a sticky accelerator – or even if you’re simply worried you might have a problem – call the dealer now and ask about scheduling a fix. (Click here for a description of the problem.) The repair, which involves installing a steel reinforcement bar behind the accelerator mechanism, will take about 30 minutes and will be free of charge, the company says.

4. If you’re on the pedal recall list and don’t notice any accelerator problem, relax and wait for the company to send out letters about when to set up a dealer appointment, Mr. Hanson says. “What we are saying is [absent a noticeable change in your accelerator] you will not have a problem. You will be driving a safe car.” Toyota dealers will be extending their service hours and, in some cases, operating 24 hours to take care of the problem.

5. If you bought a car between Jan. 21, when Toyota announced the recall, and Jan. 26, when it suspended sales of the recalled models, there’s a possibility you can return your car for a refund. Some buyers have tried to do that on their own. “It’s on a case-by-case basis. There’s no official policy with this,” Hanson says. But “there have been examples where a buyback occurs.” To initiate the process, contact your dealer, he adds.

Click here for the actual article.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer

January 29, 2010: 11:55 AM ET

Click Link for original article.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Millions of Toyotas — some of them among America’s most popular cars — are under scrutiny as the result of two separate recalls, both involving problems with the gas pedal.

Here is what Toyota owners need to know as the carmaker scrambles to find a fix for the problems.

How big is the problem? All major auto manufacturers have gotten at least some complaints of “unintended acceleration” in their vehicles. According to a December 2009 analysis by Consumer Reports looking at a federal database, Toyota has received a disproportionate number of complaints.

How many deaths have there been? Between 2006 and November 2009, there were a total of 5 deaths and 17 injuries in 13 Toyota vehicle crashes officially confirmed to involve unintended acceleration, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Four of those deaths occurred in a single incident: the August 2009 crash that killed an off-duty California Highway patrolman and his family in a Lexus, the agency said. Similar statistics have not been provided for other automakers, so there’s no way to know how those statistics compare.

“Unintended acceleration” is hard to definitively confirm because it involves the interaction of the driver and the vehicle rather than, say, a broken or loosened piece of equipment.

Which cars are involved? The stuck-pedal recall of 2.3 million vehicles announced last week affects Toyota’s 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix models; the 2005-2010 Avalon; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia; and some 2007-2010 Camrys (only those with gas pedal assemblies made by a specific Toyota supplier; your dealer can check). No Lexus or Scion models are involved.

What’s the stuck-pedal recall for? Over time, gas pedals in some of the recalled cars become sticky. At first, they just become a little harder to push down and, when you lift your foot off the gas, slower to come back up.

In the worst case, the pedal on these cars can become stuck part way down. That, of course, could mean the car keeps accelerating, or just keeps going, even after you take the foot off the gas.

This recall is separate from the one announced in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can get stuck in the cars’ removable floor mat.

How’s Toyota going to fix the stuck pedal? The automaker is still working on a solution, which will involve replacing all or part of the gas pedal assembly. It is working with the supplier on a new pedal design that should solve the problem.

What, exactly, is causing this? A lever that is part of the accelerator pedal assembly can become worn and begin to stick. This is especially true if the part becomes moist, such as when condensation occurs on a cold morning or, in some cases, if the vehicle is parked in a humid place for a long period.

If there’s no solution yet, and the car is supposedly are safe to drive, why recall them now? Toyota says it just wants to make Toyota owners aware of the issue so that if they start having problems, they know what to do. Once Toyota finds a solution, drivers will be notified and asked to bring their car to a dealership for repair.

What if I notice problems? If your gas pedal starts to feel sticky, stop driving immediately, Toyota says. Pull over in a safe place, then call a dealer and have them come get your car.

What if the gas pedal is really stuck? If it’s stuck part way down, applying the brakes should be enough to slow the car and bring it under control. Don’t pump the brakes, though. That will just weaken your power brakes. Instead, press and hold the brakes. Also, at the same time, you can shift the transmission into neutral, which will stop the engine from driving the wheels.

It’s good to know what to do in cases like this no matter what type of car you drive, said Jake Fisher, senior automotive engineer for Consumer Reports magazine. Although even in cars affected by this recall, it’s a rare occurrence, he said, it can happen in almost any car model as it gets older.

What if I’m not having any problems … yet? Since the problem develops gradually over time, Toyota says, you should have plenty of warning before the pedal gets really sticky. If you’re concerned, take your car to a Toyota dealer and they can tell if your gas pedal is still OK. Remember, though, there is still no prescribed remedy.

Beyond the recall, why stop making and selling all these cars? Toyota says it wants to ensure the safety of its customers and restore confidence in their brand. While that may well be true, Toyota is also under a legal obligation to stop selling cars that are under a recall, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Since Toyota still hasn’t figured out a remedy for this problem, a Toyota spokesman said, they had to stop production until a fix could be found. Otherwise, Toyota would be filling dealer inventories with cars that needed to be fixed and couldn’t be sold until they were.

What’s all this about floormats? About 5.3 million Toyota vehicles are under a separate recall to fix a problem in which the gas pedal could get hung up on the car’s floormats. The floormat-related recall, first announced in November, originally involved 4.2 million vehicles, and was expanded to another 1.1 million this week.

Many of the 2.3 million vehicles recalled for the stuck-pedal problem are also under recall for the floormat problem. Toyota has not yet given a figure for how many vehicles are affected by both recalls.

What’s the remedy for the floormat problem? In that case, Toyota is altering the actual pedal itself to make it shorter and, therefore, less likely to get stuck on the lip of the mat. Toyota also is replacing the floor mats in some cars.

In some Toyota and Lexus models, the automaker also is installing a “brake override” system, which immediately cuts engine power to the wheels when the brake pedal is pressed. In the meantime, Toyota is advising drivers who haven’t yet had their cars worked on to remove the floor mats.

What else is Toyota doing to prevent problems like this? Toyota says it is making “brake override” — a system that cuts engine power to the wheels as soon as the brake pedal is pressed — standard equipment on all of its cars.

Is there more Toyota could do? Some experts, including those at Consumer Reports magazine, have suggested that Toyota change how the “keyless start” system in its cars operates. In some Toyota and Lexus models, the driver can start or turn off the car without using the key by just pressing a button in the dashboard.

If one of those models were to start accelerating wildly, a driver could turn the engine off while still driving by pressing and holding that button for three seconds.

But a panicked driver, especially one who wants to keep both hands on the steering wheel of his speeding car, is unlikely to do that. Instead, he’s more likely to press the button briefly but repeatedly. In a Nissan with keyless start, for instance, three presses like that would do the trick.

Consumer Reports suggests that Toyota alter how its keyless ignition works to match Nissan’s model. Toyota has not said it plans to do that.

Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior. 63% of people killed in accidents are not wearing seat belts.

Data suggests that education alone is not doing the job with young people, especially males ages 16 to 25,­ the age group least likely to buckle up. They simply do not believe they will be injured or killed because they believe they can defy the laws of physics. Yet, they are the nation’s highest-risk drivers, with more drunk driving, more speeding, and more crashes. Neither education nor fear of injury or death is strong enough to motivate this tough-to-reach group. Rather, it takes stronger seat belt laws and high visibility enforcement campaigns to get them to buckle up.

Seat belts are the most effective safety devices in vehicles today. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates seatbelts to save 9,500 lives each year. Yet only 68 percent of the motor vehicle occupants are buckled. In 1996, more than 60 percent of the occupants killed in fatal crashes were unrestrained.

The National Highway Safety Administration also estimated that an additional 9,000 lives would be saved and 160,000 nonfatal injuries would be prevented each year if all motor vehicle occupants ages 5 years and older properly used restraint devices (seat belts, booster seats) all of the time.

Safety belts, when used consistently and correctly, can significantly reduce the rate of injury in a crash. A crash study conducted by the University of California, Irvine found: “Driver restraint use was the strongest predictor of child restraint use.” Almost 40% of children who ride with unbelted drivers are themselves unrestrained.

The cost of unbuckled drivers and passengers goes beyond those killed and the loss to their families. We all pay for those who don’t buckle up in the form of higher taxes, higher health care and higher insurance costs.

On average, inpatient hospital care costs for an unbelted crash victim are 50 percent higher than those for a belted crash victim. Society bears 85 percent of those costs, not the individuals involved. Every American pays about $580 a year toward the cost of crashes. If everyone buckled up, this figure would drop significantly.

Life-saving advice

Fasten Your Lap Belt…

Make sure the belt is worn snugly over the lower part of your pelvis. If the belt is allowed to ride up across your stomach, it will be pushed against your intestines, liver or other internal organs in a crash. Injury to these vital organs can be fatal.

Sit up straight. Slouching causes the lap belt to ride up. A belt that is worn too loosely could allow you to slide under it in a crash.

Check your lap belt several times during a trip, even a short one. Make sure it stays low and snug. In some lap/shoulder belt systems, a tug on the shoulder belt will tighten your lap belt.

Consider clothing. A heavy coat can make it difficult to wear your belt correctly. For very bulky coats, it’s best to take them off. To get the best possible fit when you wear your coat buckle up and then tuck any excess bulk towards your side. This will allow the lap belt to make proper close contact over the pelvic bones. A short jacket can easily be pulled out from under the belt.

Always buckle up, even if pregnant. Make sure the belt stays snug and well below your abdomen.

Adjust Your Shoulder Belt…

Position your shoulder belt over the top part of your shoulder and across your chest. That distributes crash forces over a large area of your rib cage and protects your soft organs underneath.

Make sure the shoulder belt lies comfortably snug against your body. Some shoulder belts work like window shades. Each time you lean forward, even a little, and then back the shoulder belt loosens and stays that way unless it’s tugged on. There should never be more than one inch of slack between you and your shoulder belt. Get into the habit of checking your belt often.

Don’t tuck your shoulder belt underneath your arm. In a crash, this puts pressure on your ribs, which are thin and easily broken. Broken ribs may be pushed inward potentially causing serious damage to your internal organs.

Secure your children safely. Children who have outgrown their regular car seats still may not be tall enough to safely wear a shoulder belt. It may cross their neck or face. A correct fit can be achieved by raising the child up on a special car booster seat. Select a booster seat that will keep the lap belt low across the child’s thighs or hips.

For more information, visit:

http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/seat_belts.html

http://www.bouldercounty.org/transportation/traffic_safety/seatbelt.htm

The following are a few tips that may help you avoid a car accident in winter weather:

-Drive slowly.

-Keep a safe distance from the car in front of you.

-Know what to do if your car starts skidding or hydroplaning.

-Don’t drive if you’re tired or distracted.

-Prepare for wet weather by checking your tires.

-Brake earlier and with less force.

-Don’t use cruise control.

-Don’t attempt to cross running water.

-Turn on your headlights.

-Watch out for pedestrians.

-Give a truck or bus extra distance.

-Defog your windows.

-Make sure that your wipers are in good condition and functioning properly.

-Have a good emergency kit in your car.