Toyota and some safety experts are at odds in interpreting the new federal report that found that the sole cause of sudden acceleration incidents in their cars are the removable floor mats and that no other defects have been discovered.
Toyota welcomed the report which coincides with the floor mat recall letters that the car manufacturing giant had sent to owners of certain Toyota and Lexus models.
The company has been busy trying to do damage control especially after the Santee car accident that killed a CHP officer together with his family.
The company does not need any more investigations for other probable safety defect that could further damage their reputation.
They are happy that the NHTSA found no other defects and can now move on from the “floor mat” incidences.
However, safety experts disagree that the report gives Toyota a clean bill of health, when they claim that it is not the case.
They say that the investigation was focused on narrow issues and may have not discovered other possible safety defects.
The investigation, they said, did not explain sudden accelerations that were not caused by floor mats.
In any case, the floor mat issue is probably on its last legs and Toyota would probably settle with the victims that filed or plans to file for personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits under the product liability law.
Toyota did share some tips that we can use in case of sudden acceleration; so in case it happens to us, we can follow these guides:
Toyota welcomed the report which coincides with the floor mat recall letters that the car manufacturing giant had sent to owners of certain Toyota and Lexus models.
The company has been busy trying to do damage control especially after the Santee car accident that killed a CHP officer together with his family.
The company does not need any more investigations for other probable safety defect that could further damage their reputation.
They are happy that the NHTSA found no other defects and can now move on from the “floor mat” incidences.
However, safety experts disagree that the report gives Toyota a clean bill of health, when they claim that it is not the case.
They say that the investigation was focused on narrow issues and may have not discovered other possible safety defects.
The investigation, they said, did not explain sudden accelerations that were not caused by floor mats.
In any case, the floor mat issue is probably on its last legs and Toyota would probably settle with the victims that filed or plans to file for personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits under the product liability law.
Toyota did share some tips that we can use in case of sudden acceleration; so in case it happens to us, we can follow these guides:
- Pull over and dislodge floor mat.
- If not possible to pull over, step on brakes with both feet and do not pump the pedal.
- Shift the gear to neutral.
- If not possible, turn engine off or to the ACC.
- Do not remove key as it may lock the steering wheel
