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A federal grand jury in New York subpoenaed Toyota Motor Corp. this week seeking documents related to problems involving steering relay rods. The subpoena came as part of an expanded investigation into the safety of Toyota vehicles, which originally was called into question last fall when potential sudden unintended acceleration defects led to a record Toyota vehicle recall.
While Toyota Corollas have the potential to accelerate suddenly and unintentionally, now there is mounting concern that they may also do the opposite: stall out while in motion.
When Toyota’s former president Katsuaki Watanabe met with American investors for the first time, he bragged about the accomplishments he made in his three short months with the company. Assuming the reigns of the world’s second-largest car company (GM was number one at the time), Watanabe wanted to be the leader who made Toyota number one, and he succeeded.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it continues to receive reports from Toyota drivers that their cars are speeding out of control, even after the recall repairs have been performed on the vehicles. According to research conducted by the Associated Press, at least 15 owners of Toyota vehicles have filed complaints to the NHTSA saying that their cars and trucks continued to experience sudden unintended acceleration after the recall fixes were made.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is finally taking some proactive measures to get to the bottom of an ongoing controversy involving Toyota cars and trucks: can the electronic throttle controls cause sudden unintended acceleration in the recalled vehicles? Federal regulators are now contacting owners of Toyota vehicles who reported experiencing sudden acceleration incidents after their cars were repaired under the current floor mat entrapment and sticky accelerator pedal recalls.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee sharply criticized Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for their handling of the sudden acceleration problems that have afflicted Toyota vehicles for several years. The criticism was expressed in two separate letters delivered on the eve of the Committee’s recall hearings.
The major recalls that have tarnished Toyota’s previously stellar reputation for safety and quality may have signaled just the beginning of its troubles as yet another recall appears likely, this time involving the Corolla, the second best-selling car in the U.S.
