January 29, 2010 | Posted by admin | 7 Comments |

The Mann Law Firm represented a family who lost a loved one from one of these runaway Toyotas. Please read the following article to learn what to do. If you have any questions about your Toyota or you’ve lost a loved from a recalled vehicle or defect, please feel free to call us @408-287-1600.

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.