Toyota issued multiple worldwide recalls involving millions of its best-known cars, in a belated acknowledgement of serious manufacturing defects and quality control failures. The value of Toyota’s cars has been damaged.
Toyota’s cars face several serious problems. In January 2010 Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles for sticking accelerator pedals. A defect in the pedal’s friction device caused the Toyota accelerator pedal to stick. The Toyota accelerator pedal may become harder to depress, slower to return to the idle position, or get stuck in a partially depressed position.
The January 2010 recall comes on the heels of a November 2009 recall, in which Toyota recalled 3.8 million vehicles for having floor mats capable of jamming Toyota accelerator pedals in a wide open, or open throttle, position. A stuck open accelerator pedal resulted in dangerously high car speeds. On many occasions consumers had great difficulty stopping the car, resulting in crashes, serious injuries, and deaths.
More recently, in February 2010 Toyota recalled approximately 133,000 model year 2010 Priuses for braking difficulties. Consumers allege their Priuses lurch when traveling over potholes or bumps. Consumers further allege temporary losses in Prius braking power. In addition, Toyota Prius owners have complained about unintended acceleration or loss of braking power on normal surfaces. In this third recall, Toyota has said the Prius software controlling the braking engages in a longer delay than previous versions. Notably, older Prius owners also have complained about braking difficulties. Consumers allege Toyota’s limited recall of 2010 Priuses wrongfully excludes older Prius models with the same defect.
Loose Toyota floor mat jams accelerator pedal
By issuing recall after recall, Toyota has harmed millions of Toyota consumers. Many owners purchased Toyota products based on the mistaken belief that Toyota produced quality-driven, reliable and safe products. The recent recall wave affects the entire Toyota product line: eleven models have been identified with serious safety problems. The vast number of vehicles affected, totaling millions of units, together with the multiple recalls worldwide, has generated serious and unprecedented concern in the safety of Toyota’s cars.
Consumers are rightly concerned whether Toyota can recover its image as a top-name auto manufacturer. Troublingly, Toyota was aware of consumer complaints about the accelerators and brakes for years, but did nothing to fix the problem. Toyota’s disregard for consumer safety has resulted in millions of consumers facing a substantial diminution in the value of their cars.
Toyota vehicles affected by the recalls include:
- Avalon (2005 – 2010)
- Camry (2007 – 2010)
- Corolla (2009 – 2010)
- Highlander (2008 – 2010)
- Matrix (2009 – 2010)
- Prius (2004 – 2010)
- RAV4 (2009 – 2010)
- Sequoia (2008 – 2010)
- Tacoma (2005 – 2010)
- Tundra (2007 – 2010)
- VENZA (2009 – 2010)
For more information, to learn about your rights, or to participate in litigation against Toyota for diminution in value to your Toyota vehicle, please call 1-877-573-0007.
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