Stanley M. Chesley of the Cincinnati-based law firm of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley, whose firm has filed a major RICO class action against Toyota for deceiving its customers and dealers about these mounting defects – recently stated, “when your Toyota’s accelerator, brakes and steering are all defective, what you really have is a failure of your car’s electronic controls, which function as the car’s brain and central nervous system.”

Congressman Bart Stupak also recently noted that Toyota’s internal documents had made clear that, as far back as 2002, Toyota was aware that electronic control system problems may be causing sudden acceleration.  Despite this Congressional investigation, however, Toyota refuses to allow investigators access to examine its electronic control technology. 

Now, with Toyota’s recall of what could possibly be a staggering 11 million vehicles, Toyota’s president and CEO, Akio Toyoda, indicated on Wednesday that he won’t come to the United States to testify at the upcoming congressional hearings on the recalls. 

According to news sources, Toyota’s faulty engineering and sloppy quality control – all of which stem from decision-making at Toyota’s Japanese headquarters – have caused at least 39 confirmed deaths, countless injuries and billions of dollars in economic damage to Toyota drivers.  I have to agree with Chesley, who says that it’s outrageous for Toyota’s CEO to refuse to appear before Congress, particularly when he’s looking to the United States to make Toyota the world’s largest car manufacturer.

Chesley filed the RICO class action, in part, because the evidence continues to disprove Toyota’s statements about the defects’ causes.

In the meantime, attorney Graham Esdale of Beasley Allen Law Firm is calling for a recall of model year 2002-2006 Toyota Camry’s, citing that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) allegedly excluded eight early reports of deaths linked to Toyota from its official complaints, crash, injury and death counts. The omission occurred during the first two years of the NHTSA’s probe into the matter, which may have affected the recall remedy future recalls, and downplayed the urgency and intensity of the situation.

In a statement, Esdale said:

“Another very important point about the eight deaths is that all involved 2002-2004 year model Camry vehicles. This is important because the 2002-2006 year model Camry’s have been completely ignored by Toyota in its recalls. A previously released Beasley Allen statistical analysis of NHTSA complaints shows these year model vehicles experience sudden unintended acceleration more frequently than do the recalled models. This is yet more evidence of Toyota not being forthcoming with consumers and NHTSA about the source of the problem with these vehicles.” 

Esdale is reviewing hundreds of Toyota cases involving Toyota sudden unintended acceleration involving serious injury or death and has at least one case currently filed on behalf of an Oklahoma client whose 2005 Toyota Camry began speeding out of control even after she had removed her foot from the accelerator pedal. The client was critically injured when her car left the interstate as a result and crashed, and her friend, who was a passenger, was killed.

Update:

Toyota Motor’s president, Akio Toyoda, has announced that he will testify before a congressional committee on Wednesday, February 24, concerning the Japanese auto maker’s vehicle recalls.

On Friday, the auto maker announced its plans to conduct a voluntary safety recall to inspect the front drive shaft on a small production run of certain 2010 model year Tacoma 4WD trucks.  The front shaft in approximately 8,000 vehicles may include a component that contains cracks that developed during the manufacturing process.  As those vehicles are used, the cracks may eventually lead to the separation of the drive shaft at the joint portion.

This condition only involves two specific front drive shaft production lot numbers installed in certain 2010 model year Tacoma 4WD vehicles.

No other Toyota or Lexus vehicles are involved. 

Dealers will be instructed to perform an inspection to identify the specific lot numbers located on the front drive shaft. Based upon the inspection results, in a limited number of cases, the front drive shaft may need to be replaced.

The inspection is estimated to take ten minutes.  The inspection and/or replacement will be performed at no cost to the vehicle owner.

Toyota will notify owners by first class mail starting in mid-March, 2010.

For detailed information and answers to questions about issues related to this recall, you can visit www.toyota.com/recall, or call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

Certain 2000 through 2003 model year Tundra vehicles which are operated in cold climates that have high road salt use, can exhibit excessive corrosion on the frame rear cross-member. According to Toyota, this may cause the spare tire stowed under the truck bed to become separated from the rear cross-member, which can create a road hazard for following vehicles and may increase the likelihood of a crash.

Another concern is that excessive corrosion of the rear cross-member can eventually affect the functionality of the rear brake line at the proportioning valve. If this occurs, it can lead to the loss of the rear brake circuits, which will increase vehicle stopping distances and the risk of a crash.

In addition to the District of Columbia, this involves the following 20 cold climate states with high road salt usage:  

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• Maine
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Virginia
• Vermont
• Wisconsin
• West Virginia

Beginning in December 2009 through early 2010, owners of the involved vehicles will receive a Safety Recall notification via first class mail asking them to take their vehicles to a Toyota dealer for an initial inspection of the rear cross-member. During this inspection, the rear cross-member including the surrounding components such as, the brake line at the proportioning valve (which is mounted on the cross-member assembly) will also be inspected.

In those relatively rare cases where the rear cross-member is significantly corroded and can no longer safely support the spare tire, but the rear cross-member cannot be replaced due to excessive frame corrosion at the mounting location (e.g., if the side rails are too damaged), Toyota will develop an appropriate remedy for those vehicles on a case-by-case basis.

This inspection will take approximately 20 minutes depending on dealer scheduling.

Toyota recommends that until your vehicle is inspected, you can minimize the risk of the spare tire separating from the rear cross-member by removing it. Toyota says that if you choose to do so, be sure not to be under the rear cross-member or spare tire carrier during the lowering process

Customers with questions are asked to call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1 800 331-4331.