Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Toyota has announced another large U.S. recall of 740,000 vehicles with braking systems that have the potential to leak and gradually deteriorate, leading to a loss of brake performance. The recall is the latest in a series of safety-related recalls launched by Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the last 18 months for defects related to sudden, unintended acceleration, braking problems, loss of steering, frame rust and deterioration, electrical components, electronic stability, and other problems.

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An Associated Press report says that David Gilbert, the Southern Illinois University automotive technology professor who testified against Toyota during a Congressional hearing in February, came under attack by the auto giant for his findings that linked incidents of sudden, unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles to the cars’ electronic throttle controls.

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Federal transportation officials now say that 89 deaths have been linked to sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles since 2000, up from 52 reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in March.

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Toyota has sent a memo to its dealerships telling them to offer a complete pedal replacement to certain customers whose vehicles were recalled for the sticky accelerator defect. To receive the replacement pedal, customers must already have had their gas pedal modified under Toyota’s sticking accelerator pedal recall and they must express dissatisfaction with the repair.

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In the quest to discover the cause of sudden, unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, some scientists are looking to the sun. Subatomic particles bursting forth from our sun and other stars occasionally make it through the earth’s atmosphere, propelled by cosmic blast waves to the earth’s surface, where they can sometimes wreak havoc on our terrestrial electronic systems.

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The governors of four states with large non-union Toyota manufacturing operations have banded together to voice their support for Toyota amidst damaging news reports about the company’s record-breaking safety recalls. The letter bears the signatures of Governor Bob Riley of Alabama, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, Steven Beshear of Kentucky, and Mitch Daniels of Indiana. It addresses the leaders of two congressional committees that are probing Toyota for the way it handled customer reports and complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in several of its best-selling models, including the Camry, which is the top-selling car in the U.S.

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Toyota announced today that it would recall approximately 2.3 million vehicles in an effort to correct sticking accelerator pedals. This recall is not related to the current on-going recall of 4.2 million Toyota cars and trucks for floor mat pedal entrapment, which Toyota says is the cause of so many reports of sudden and Unintended Acceleration.

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Toyota has announced it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States as a result of a dangerous problem with the vehicle floor mats, which may interfere with the vehicle’s accelerator, causing uncontrolled accleration leading to loss of control of the vehicle and a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is referring to this as an urgent matter. Affected vehicles include:

• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2004-2009 Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2007-2010 Lexus ES350
• 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350

The NHTSA and Toyota advise that car owners should immediately remove the driver’s side floor mat, and should not replace it. More information should be forthcoming from Toyota in the next few days. This is the largest recall in Toyota history.