
Originariamente Scritto da
Leftlanenews NHTSA:60 unintended acceleration cases post recall fix
According to NHTSA, what was initially reported as 6-10 complaints of Toyota owners experiencing unintended acceleration problems after having their vehicles serviced for the recent recalls has now grown to over 60 complaints. Toyota is currently recalling 5.4 million vehicles due to possible floor mat entrapment, and an additional 4.1 million vehicles with accelerator pedals that can stick.
These complaints have now been confirmed by NHTSA in terms of count, but not in their validity in regards to the source of unintended acceleration. If any of the cases are determined to be true, the results would indicate that there may be a source of unintended acceleration outside of the vehicles’ pedals and floor mats.
Following the discovery of the first ten cases of unintended acceleration of vehicles that had already been serviced as part of Toyota’s recent recalls, NHTSA officials commented on the situation and began to take action. “NHTSA has already started contacting consumers about these complaints to get to the bottom of the problem and to make sure Toyota is doing everything possible to make its vehicles safe, ” said David Strickland, NHTSA administrator.
But some analysts worry that the recent media attention on Toyota Motor Company has instilled the idea that unintended acceleration is more common than
it really is, causing drivers to be constantly weary of the possibility and even potentially jumping to false conclusions. For instance, some vehicles have displayed check engine warning lights on the dashboard after having their vehicles serviced for the recall – which may or may not be related to the repairs at the dealership.
“There is already doubt out there that the solutions Toyota has put forward really fix the problem of unintended acceleration,” said Aaron Bragman, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, to the LA Times.
Bragman went on to caution that all complaints should be investigated before conclusions are drawn.
Given the extremely high number of complaints (60) to arise in such a short period of time,
it is extremely unlikely that all reports involve the same type of severe unintended acceleration typically associated with the description. The numbers are also far above the rate reported prior to the recalls, suggesting drivers are either reporting cases that previously went unreported, or drivers are associating other events with the occurrence of unintended acceleration.
The increased attention to Toyota vehicle problems has also brought with
it a skyrocketing of complaints to NHTSA since January. NHTSA says
it has also increased the number of fatalities associated with unintended acceleration to 52 – up from 34.
Segnalibri