Toyota Acceleration Problem Is Still Unresolved - ABC's Nightline

November 3, 2009, 3:48 pm
Toyota Acceleration Problem Is Still Unresolved
By Christopher Jensen (The New York Times)
Toyota said on Tuesday that a press release it issued on Monday was not intended to give the impression that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had cleared 3.8 million of its vehicles of having an unintended acceleration defect.

Indeed, the federal agency said it was still investigating the exact cause of the acceleration problem.

Toyota and the safety administration issued a warning in September to the owners of the Toyota and Lexus vehicles to remove the driver-side floor mat because it could jam the accelerator pedal. The warning was issued after the problem led to the death in August in California of four people in a Lexus. The company said in Mondays release that it would send letters to vehicle owners warning that an unsecured floor mat could jam the accelerator.

But the release went further, implying that, apart from the floor mats, the agency found no other problem. Toyota wrote:

The letter, in compliance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and reviewed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N.H.T.S.A.) also confirms that no defect exists in vehicles in which the drivers floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured.

The wording is subtle, but it could give the impression that the safety agency had found no safety defect beyond errant floor mats. Some news articles certainly interpreted the release that way and reported that the mats were the only problem. But Karen Aldana, a spokeswoman for N.H.T.S.A., said the agency was still exploring other issues, including the design of the gas pedal and the vehicles floor pan.

It goes beyond the floor mats, Ms. Aldana said.

Toyotas release comes as ABCs World News with Charles Gibson and Nightline were preparing to air an investigation tonight into the acceleration problem, including owners who insist that floor mats were not the problem. (Heres an ABC/Consumer Reports video on what to do if your car experiences unintended acceleration.)

John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman, said the company thought it was clear in the release that it was quoting its own letter to owners and not the safety agency.

We are not saying that N.H.T.S.A. says there is no defect other than this, he said.

Mr. Hanson said that letter to owners was approved by the agency, which Ms. Aldana confirmed, including a line that says: Toyota has determined that this defect does not exist in vehicles in which the driver side floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured.

So, the automaker felt it was O.K. to use that information in a press release posted on its Web, he said.

I was hoping it wouldnt be misleading, Mr. Hanson said. It is a very complicated situation.

Yes, it is complex. The bottom line of all this confusion is this: Unsecured floor mats can jam the accelerator, and consumers have to make sure the mats are placed correctly. But there may also be further problems with the vehicles, and the N.H.T.S.A. is still investigating. So stay tuned for more announcements and hopefully clearer wording from both parties.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• toyota
• accelearation
• problem
• abc
• nightline
• accelerator
• pedal
• lexus
• recall
• floor
• mats
• unresolved

[Transfusions]

American make fuss and start beating before they see the truth.Exactly like witch-hunting.

Japanese sale the car all over the world.

Why this problem only happens in America?

Why no one able to find any defect?

Just 2 accidents ruin everything of Toyota?

Watch yourself carefully before start blaming someone.

In anyway you will see the fact soon.

[permessonovecento]

Americans are just too dumb to drive.

[SlayerSoSick]

it happened on saudi arabia !

[retep497]

It all boils down to whether a natural process can cause a resistive short such that (i) the computer doesn't pick that it has occurred; and (ii) that the resistive short acts to accelerate the vehicle. It is amazing that Toyota's engineers and Exponent's engineers aren't aware of a naturally occurring process that can cause a resistive short in tin plated or soldered electronics. Such resistive short circuits due to "tin whiskers" have been found in Toyota's accelerator pedals!!!!!

[bronco98765]

these people are lying, there is absolutely, positively, nothing wrong with these cars except the inept money-hungry greedy lying people who make these false claims, not to mention others who are stupid enough to believe every sensational news story, not to mention the fact that it is just a way to get you attention and sell commercial products on t.v., I work on these cars and I know, nothing wrong with them....period

[5688dude]

Sorry, but if you are unable to figure out how to stop your car with the throttle stuck open you are not fit for the road. Many things (on any car) can stick a gas pedal, or throttle. For that matter the ACTUAL throttle controlling gas/air into the engine can really just get stuck.

[AppleMacBookAir2]

@furiousgeorge1271

Ford/Chrysler acceleration deaths:

Google: Ford Had 20 Acceleration Deaths as Regulators Cited Human Error- Bloomberg

NHTSA sees jump in Toyota complaints. NHTSA Spokesperson says "It is normal for NHTSA to receive an increase in consumer complaints after a recall is announced"

Google: NHTSA sees jump in Toyota complaints- USA Today

While I can't deny Toyota has done a piss-poor job of their recall, other companies like Ford have also tried to cover up their problems too.

[furiousgeorge1271]

Sure I have responded already. Maybe I should have written a Haiku poem to get a positive response from some gullible, mindless, Prius- driving dimwits who profess to care for the environment, yet you have this zombie-like allegiance to one of the only countries that (here in the 21st century), still not only refuses to comply to the international whaling ban, but also kill dolphins (watch "The Cove"), and kill sharks for their fins (watch "Shark Water") SO SORRY, NOT POETIC LIKE TRANSFUSIONSAN

[furiousgeorge1271]

@accordguy0325 What kind of conspiracy nut are you? Remove your head from your butt, and take a good long look at the mess that Obama took over from Bush Jr.. Please tell the rest of us why our president would bother with conspiring against some Japanese corporation, when he has so many other things to deal with? FUCK YOUR JAP-SHIT TOYOTA! THINK ABOUT SUPPORTING YOUR OWN COUNTRY! (Or move to jap land)

[furiousgeorge1271]

@AppleMacBookAir2 I would like to see this report. I'm not doubting you, but I like to check references before I comment on things. Also, did you know about any of the Toyota defects that they hid from the media over the last twenty years or so?