Orange County Register

Two Los Angeles residents have sued Toyota Motor Corp., alleging that certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles made since 2001 have defective components that can lead to unintended acceleration. The pair are seeking class-action status, and the suit comes in the wake of Toyota’s 3.8-million-car recall over floor mats that can possibly make accelerator pedals get stuck.

Seong Bae Choi and Chris Chan Park, both of Los Angeles, are the plaintiffs in the case and own a  2004 model year Camry and 2008 FJ Cruiser, respectively. The pair say they have experienced multiple instances of sudden, involuntary acceleration.

The suit is being handled by McCuneWright, an Inland Empire law firm.

In a news release, the law firm said:

Toyota’s first response should be immediate changes to their control systems, so drivers can safely stop a sudden unintended acceleration event. Toyota’s current design does not allow drivers to easily put the vehicle in neutral, apply the brakes, or just turn off the ignition. NHTSA recently highlighted this problem in a Vehicle Research & Test Center report. It noted that Toyota and Lexus drivers could be stymied in an emergency situation because:

* the ignition button on vehicles with a keyless ignition system must be depressed continuously for three seconds when the vehicle is moving before it will turn off the engine;
* the neutral gear position is difficult to find because it requires the driver to move the shifter both laterally and vertically; and
* when the throttle is in the open position it requires a brake pedal force of 150 pounds to stop the vehicle, five times more than the 30 pounds required when the vehicle is operating normally.

In addition, Toyota vehicles are not equipped with a brake-to-idle failsafe, which many other manufacturers already incorporate in their designs. This failsafe brings the engine to idle when both the throttle is in the open position at the same time the brake pedal is being depressed.

“We think this lawsuit is necessary to save lives,” McCuneWright attorney David Wright said. “Along with other individual lawsuits, the press, consumer groups, and the government, it is our goal to force Toyota to make these changes.”

Last week, the government’s traffic safety agency criticized Toyota over its floor-mat probe, while the automaker denied any type of cover up, and maintained that the only reason for unintended acceleration was due to “unsecured or incompatible” floor mats.

Toyota issued the recall in September, following a fatal accident involving a Lexus on a highway near San Diego. In that case, a dealer-loaned Lexus ES 350 accelerated to speeds of more than 100 mph before veering off Highway 125 and killing a family of four. Toyota has said the floor mats in that Lexus were actually from another vehicle.

(See: Toyota issues massive recall over floor mats)

The automaker has told owners with affected vehicles to remove the driver’s side floor mat for the time being.

See: Toyota’s safety advisory for consumers, with reaction to NHTSA findings.

(Also see: How to avoid a floor mat safety hazard in your car)

Stay tuned for further developments on this story, including any reaction from Toyota.

Related news:

The saga continues for Toyota and its massive recall of certain vehicles after floor mats were blamed for the August death of a family whose loaner Lexus ES350 accelerated rapidly and ultimately veered off a freeway near San Diego at speeds of over 100 mph.

In September, the automaker recalled 3.8 million vehicles over what it said were potentially faulty floor mats. It urged owners of the affected cars to remove the floormats until a remedy is found.

(See the initial post on the Toyota recall.)

But earlier this week, the U.S. government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criticized Toyota, saying it released misleading information about an investigation into stuck gas pedals.

According to the Associated Press:

Toyota said in a statement on Monday that NHTSA had confirmed “that no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver’s floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured.”

But NHTSA said that was inaccurate and the government was investigating possible causes of the acceleration problem. Removing the floor mats was “simply an interim measure” and “does not correct the underlying defect in the vehicles involving the potential for entrapment of the accelerator by floor mats, which is related to accelerator and floor pan design.”

“The matter is not closed until Toyota has effectively addressed the defect by providing a suitable vehicle based solution,” NHTSA said in the statement, which the department said was issued to correct “inaccurate and misleading information” from the automaker.

Read full report

Today, a senior Toyota executive denied allegations that the automaker was trying to cover up the cause of an estimated 2,000 reports of cars whose accelerators got stuck.

“It is not part of the Toyota culture and Toyota way to cover up anything,” said Yukitoshi Funo, one of Toyota’s five executive vice-presidents at its Tokyo headquarters.

Toyota will continue to meet with NHTSA to figure out a solution. In the meantime, owners of affected cars should be receiving the formal recall notice in the mail. Again, the affected cars are:

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

The letters will urge owners of the affected cars to remove the driver-side floor mat for now.

If you own one of these cars and still have questions, you can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s hot line at 888-327-4236, Toyota at 800-331-4331 or Lexus at 800-255-3987.

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