REPORT: Toyota execs deny cover-up after feds rebuke automaker over runaway car investigation
Posted Nov 6th 2009 10:01AM by Chris Shunk
Remember Toyota's massive 3.8 million unit unintended acceleration recall that was attributed to pesky floor mats? It appears defective floor mats doesn't tell the whole story, as the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared in a statement that "this (unintended acceleration) matter is not closed," adding "removal of the floor mats is simply an interim measure, not a remedy of the underlying defect in the vehicles."
Up to 2,000 Toyota customers claim to have experienced a sudden surge of acceleration, and some reportedly told ABC News that they didn't even have the recalled floor mats in their vehicles. Even more disturbing are the results of an ABC News investigation that reportedly found "hundreds" of accidents and up to 16 deaths as a result of unintended acceleration.
Four of those deaths occurred in August when an off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer, traveling with his wife, daughter and brother in-law, were killed after their Lexus accelerated uncontrollably. The driver's brother in-law called 911 and said that the brakes didn't work before the vehicle reached an intersection, struck another car, went into a ditch and caught fire. Some Toyota owners feel there is an electronic glitch in the system that controls the throttle and the ABC report shows that there is some anecdotal evidence which illustrates that incidents rose after the system was put into place in 2002, but so far, NHTSA has found no evidence to support those claims after six investigations.
ABC News caught up with Toyota Vice President Yukitoshi Funo (pictured second from left) and asked him if Toyota was covering anything up. Funo replied "It is not part of the Toyota culture and Toyota way to cover up anything," adding that the Japanese automaker is working with NHTSA to come up with an agreement on how to proceed going forward.
If you own a Toyota or Lexus and you are concerned about this issue, it appears that there is little that will be done in the short term other than tie down or remove the floor mats. If you do experience the acceleration issue, Consumer Reports suggests shifting your vehicle into neutral, pressing the brake and holding it down in an effort to bring your vehicle to a stop. This post and video from CR demonstrates how to effectively resolve the situation, and the risks of pumping the brakes. Turning off your vehicle could be a bad idea, as turning off the engine will also result in the loss of power steering and power brakes.
[Source: ABC News | Image: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
The Other Bob 10:06AM (11/06/2009)
Are these recalls and other quality problems really new, or is it just the fact that everyone likes to take down the guy at the top? It's lonely up there.
I can say that fixing the floormat problem with zipties seems to be a bad PR move. It just looks cheesy and cheap.
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zamafir 10:41AM (11/06/2009)
new? who says they're new? everyone remembers the audi 5000 debacle.
TechRightGuy 11:44AM (11/06/2009)
@zamafir: What "audi 5000 debacle"? The one where 60 Minutes faked footage to make it seem real? The one where it turns out people didn't know how to drive? The one that Car & Driver debunked in June of 1987, proving that brakes overcome engine force 100% of the time? The one where Audi was vindicated in the courts? That debacle? Yeah, I remember that...what about it?
zamafir 1:01PM (11/06/2009)
@TechRightGuy3
I'm not sure why you're reminding me of transpired, i mentioned audi 5000 incident, specifically called it a debacle, and you're rhetorically schooling me on... information I already know. Brilliant. Go ahead and reread the comment I'm replying to.
Jim 2:24PM (11/06/2009)
if there actually is, in fact, an "unintended" acceleration event going on here (a big "IF") then at least in this case its somewhat more plausible. The old Audis had the usual throttle cable connected to the throttle plate, and those just don't open themselves. They can get stuck open, of course, but it's highly unlikely they can open without external input.
In contrast, with pretty much any throttle-by-wire engine, it's at least remotely possible for the throttle to open without pedal input. It's still unlikely, but I can see where a "perfect storm" of bugs could cause it.
TechRightGuy 2:51PM (11/06/2009)
@zamafir
Happy to hear you already knew...but no, sorry, not at all clear from your comment. You responded "new? who says they're new?" which was about quality problems, and then appeared to draw a direct line to a similar (albeit, fictitious) old quality problem, Audi, hence my pedantic reply, for which I apologize.
@Jim
Great point, and one I meant to make. Unlike the mechanical linkages of old, today's drive-everything-by-wire systems mean one cannot dismiss the possibility of software glitches. Like you, I am a bit skeptical, but who knows?
guerro 8:32PM (11/06/2009)
Why wouldn't the driver just slip the car out of gear and pull over to the side of the road and turn the car off?? Sounds to me like there is just as likely a chance that the driver of the car purposely drove the car that speed and crashed.
DarkKnight67 10:08AM (11/06/2009)
It's about freakin' time that someone got on them about potential problems - or in this case, an actual serious one. They have gotten away with playing the "blame game" for far too long and trying to duck the issue that they have built defective product.
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tankd0g 1:48PM (11/07/2009)
Ya those 6 separate investigations that cleared them were just Toyota ducking the issue. *rolls eyes*
miles 10:07AM (11/06/2009)
Oh golly - I was expecting them to say "you bet we covered it up!"
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Gary 11:11AM (11/06/2009)
"It is not part of the Toyota culture and Toyota way to cover up anything"
Just because it isn't part of the culture, doesn't mean it won't happen.
Frank 11:37AM (11/06/2009)
"It is not part of the Toyota culture and Toyota way to cover up anything"
Except for sludging engines.
Vizzler 11:59AM (11/06/2009)
I wouldn't trust any of these beady-eyed fellows. There are more issues they have been trying to cover up than just sudden accelleration. The Toyota culture is full of lies and cover-ups, it is just now starting to come out of the woodwork. This makes GM management look like a bunch of saints.
And regarding Audi and sudden acceleration, don't forget, it took them about 15 years to regain customer confidence. Toyota needs to face the facts and do something about it before the rest of the cover-ups come and hit them like a tsunami!
the4thheat 3:20PM (11/07/2009)
Where did the feds rebuke anything? The investigation isn't finished, how is that a rebuke of Toyota?!? And the only people claiming a cover up appear to be the media. Because surely anecdotal evidence is the best kind.
Seriously where the hell did Autoblog get their headline from? You guys are seriously bordering on libel here.
Vetmstr 10:08AM (11/06/2009)
I wonder how far this is going to go. Am I first?? lol lol
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Vetmstr 10:08AM (11/06/2009)
lol guess not
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Luis 10:08AM (11/06/2009)
"NHTSA has found no evidence to support those claims after six investigations."
As is typical in fantastical America facts mean diddly squat. The Media and their lemmings will believe what they want to believe regardless of facts.
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Derek 9:47AM (11/07/2009)
"It appears defective floor mats doesn't tell the whole story, as the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared in a statement that "this (unintended acceleration) matter is not closed," adding "removal of the floor mats is simply an interim measure, not a remedy of the underlying defect in the vehicles.""
And you prove that someone can always grab a sentence out of context. The content of the article as a whole does not agree with the snippet you chose.
tankd0g 1:51PM (11/07/2009)
So they are going to launch a 7th investigation, and when Toyota is cleared once again will you call for a stop to wasting tax payer dollars on this?
Avinash machado 10:09AM (11/06/2009)
Toyota seems to be getting a lot of negative press these days. Yesteryears GM bashing has given way to Toyota bashing.
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