By Angela Greiling Keane and Margaret Cronin Fisk
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. safety officials are
investigating whether electronic throttle systems may have
caused sudden acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, as
alleged in at least seven lawsuits.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying
to determine if electromagnetic interference may be causing the
throttle system to malfunction, said an official of the
Transportation Department, which oversees NHTSA. The official
asked not to be identified because the review isn’t complete.
Toyota said it has ruled out electronics as a cause and
yesterday began shipping steel shims to dealers as a fix for
sticky gas pedals that have caused the world’s largest automaker
to recall about 2.57 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
“We know what the problem is,” Jim Lentz, Toyota’s
president of U.S. sales, said in an interview on Bloomberg
Television yesterday. “We have the fix.”
The U.S. recall for pedals that stick applies to model
years 2009-2010 RAV4, 2010 Highlander and 2008-2010 Sequoia
sport-utility vehicles; 2009-2010 Corolla and 2005-2010 Avalon
sedans; some 2007-2010 Camry sedans; 2009-2010 Matrix
hatchbacks; and 2007-2010 Tundra pickups, according to Toyota.
Toyota also has recalled and plans to fix about 5.6 million
Toyota and Lexus brand cars and trucks in the U.S. and Canada
because of floor mats that might trap gas pedals and cause
vehicles to speed out of control. Some Toyota brand vehicles are
affected by both types of recalls.
The safety agency as of yesterday hadn’t found evidence
that anything other than sticky or trapped accelerators caused
the unintended acceleration, the Transportation Department
official said.
Throttle System
Mike Michels, Toyota’s U.S. vice president for corporate
communications based in Torrance, California, said in an e-
mailed statement today that he had “no information” on a
continuing investigation by NHTSA of the automaker’s electronic
throttle control system.
Toyota’s American depositary receipts fell $2.74, or 3.4
percent, to $77.20 at 2:44 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange
composite trading. The drop was the most in intraday trading
since Jan. 28. The ADRs, each representing two ordinary shares,
have fallen 8.2 percent since Jan. 1.
At least 15 lawsuits seeking class action status have been
filed against Toyota on the acceleration issue, and seven of
them claim an electronic throttle system called ETCS-i is at
fault instead of the pedals.
In cars with the ETCS-i system, the engine’s throttle is
controlled by electronic signals, which are sent from a sensor
that detects how far the gas pedal is depressed. The signals are
transmitted to a computer module that controls how much the
throttle opens.
Lawyers claiming an electronic defect contend that floor
mats or stuck pedals don’t explain the sudden-acceleration
incidents that triggered their lawsuits.
Hitting a Tree
Edgar Heiskell, an attorney from Charleston, West Virginia,
who represents the family of a Michigan woman who died when her
2005 Toyota Camry hit a tree at almost 80 miles an hour, said
her car didn’t have a floor mat. She stood on the brake,
attempting to stop the car after it accelerated from a speed of
25 miles per hour (40 kilometers), he said.
The suit was filed in November. Heiskell also has filed a
West Virginia suit against Toyota seeking class-action status.
In a Texas lawsuit filed on Jan. 29, plaintiff Alfred Pena
said his 2008 Toyota Avalon unexpectedly accelerated at a stop
sign on Jan. 14, causing a collision. He wasn’t injured, said
Robert Hilliard, an attorney representing Pena. Pena’s wife,
Sylvia, had a previous episode of unintended acceleration that
didn’t result in an accident, Hilliard said.
Wozniak’s Prius
“The fact pattern doesn’t fit the idea of the pedal
getting stuck,” Hilliard of Corpus Christi, Texas, said in an
interview. Sylvia Pena “was sitting dead still,” and the car
accelerated as she released the brake before she touched the gas
pedal, Hilliard said.
“My belief is that fixed Toyotas with new pedals will
still inadvertently accelerate,” Hilliard said.
Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an interview
today his 2010 Prius unexpectedly accelerates to speeds of up to
97 miles per hour while in cruise control. He said he has been
complaining to NHTSA and Toyota for two months.
“The reason that my case is important and urgent is that
it is electronic,” Wozniak, 59, said from San Jose, California.
“I can cause it totally under cruise control without a foot
touching the accelerator pedal,” Wozniak said.
Wozniak’s Prius isn’t among the recalled cars.
NHTSA last year tested throttle electronics in response to
a petition from a 2007 Lexus ES 350 owner who had experienced
sudden acceleration of his vehicle. The agency denied the
petition in October after subjecting the same model of car to
“multiple electrical signals” and “magnetic fields.”
‘Exhaustive Testing’
Toyota said at the time that the October decision marked
the fifth in which the agency had rejected similar requests to
investigate company vehicles for defects including electronics
related to unintended acceleration.
“In terms of electronics of the vehicle, we’ve done
exhaustive testing and we’ve found no issues with the
electronics,” Toyota’s Lentz said on a conference call with
reporters yesterday.
Toyota, as required by law, stopped selling eight vehicles
recalled in the U.S. last week. The company said yesterday it
will begin fixing accelerator pedals, which were supplied by
Elkhart, Indiana-based CTS Corp., this week, with some
dealerships preparing to do repairs around the clock.
‘Enormous Effort’
The Transportation Department and its auto safety agency
have been called to testify at two congressional hearings on the
handling of the Toyota recalls.
“While Toyota is taking responsible action now, it
unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point,”
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today in an e-mailed
statement. The department is “continuing to review possible
defects.”
A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee panel will
hold a hearing on the recalls on Feb. 10, followed by the House
Energy and Commerce Committee on Feb. 25.
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. safety officials are
investigating whether electronic throttle systems may have
caused sudden acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, as
alleged in at least seven lawsuits.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying
to determine if electromagnetic interference may be causing the
throttle system to malfunction, said an official of the
Transportation Department, which oversees NHTSA. The official
asked not to be identified because the review isn’t complete.
Toyota said it has ruled out electronics as a cause and
yesterday began shipping steel shims to dealers as a fix for
sticky gas pedals that have caused the world’s largest automaker
to recall about 2.57 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.
“We know what the problem is,” Jim Lentz, Toyota’s
president of U.S. sales, said in an interview on Bloomberg
Television yesterday. “We have the fix.”
The U.S. recall for pedals that stick applies to model
years 2009-2010 RAV4, 2010 Highlander and 2008-2010 Sequoia
sport-utility vehicles; 2009-2010 Corolla and 2005-2010 Avalon
sedans; some 2007-2010 Camry sedans; 2009-2010 Matrix
hatchbacks; and 2007-2010 Tundra pickups, according to Toyota.
Toyota also has recalled and plans to fix about 5.6 million
Toyota and Lexus brand cars and trucks in the U.S. and Canada
because of floor mats that might trap gas pedals and cause
vehicles to speed out of control. Some Toyota brand vehicles are
affected by both types of recalls.
The safety agency as of yesterday hadn’t found evidence
that anything other than sticky or trapped accelerators caused
the unintended acceleration, the Transportation Department
official said.
Throttle System
Mike Michels, Toyota’s U.S. vice president for corporate
communications based in Torrance, California, said in an e-
mailed statement today that he had “no information” on a
continuing investigation by NHTSA of the automaker’s electronic
throttle control system.
Toyota’s American depositary receipts fell $2.74, or 3.4
percent, to $77.20 at 2:44 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange
composite trading. The drop was the most in intraday trading
since Jan. 28. The ADRs, each representing two ordinary shares,
have fallen 8.2 percent since Jan. 1.
At least 15 lawsuits seeking class action status have been
filed against Toyota on the acceleration issue, and seven of
them claim an electronic throttle system called ETCS-i is at
fault instead of the pedals.
In cars with the ETCS-i system, the engine’s throttle is
controlled by electronic signals, which are sent from a sensor
that detects how far the gas pedal is depressed. The signals are
transmitted to a computer module that controls how much the
throttle opens.
Lawyers claiming an electronic defect contend that floor
mats or stuck pedals don’t explain the sudden-acceleration
incidents that triggered their lawsuits.
Hitting a Tree
Edgar Heiskell, an attorney from Charleston, West Virginia,
who represents the family of a Michigan woman who died when her
2005 Toyota Camry hit a tree at almost 80 miles an hour, said
her car didn’t have a floor mat. She stood on the brake,
attempting to stop the car after it accelerated from a speed of
25 miles per hour (40 kilometers), he said.
The suit was filed in November. Heiskell also has filed a
West Virginia suit against Toyota seeking class-action status.
In a Texas lawsuit filed on Jan. 29, plaintiff Alfred Pena
said his 2008 Toyota Avalon unexpectedly accelerated at a stop
sign on Jan. 14, causing a collision. He wasn’t injured, said
Robert Hilliard, an attorney representing Pena. Pena’s wife,
Sylvia, had a previous episode of unintended acceleration that
didn’t result in an accident, Hilliard said.
Wozniak’s Prius
“The fact pattern doesn’t fit the idea of the pedal
getting stuck,” Hilliard of Corpus Christi, Texas, said in an
interview. Sylvia Pena “was sitting dead still,” and the car
accelerated as she released the brake before she touched the gas
pedal, Hilliard said.
“My belief is that fixed Toyotas with new pedals will
still inadvertently accelerate,” Hilliard said.
Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an interview
today his 2010 Prius unexpectedly accelerates to speeds of up to
97 miles per hour while in cruise control. He said he has been
complaining to NHTSA and Toyota for two months.
“The reason that my case is important and urgent is that
it is electronic,” Wozniak, 59, said from San Jose, California.
“I can cause it totally under cruise control without a foot
touching the accelerator pedal,” Wozniak said.
Wozniak’s Prius isn’t among the recalled cars.
NHTSA last year tested throttle electronics in response to
a petition from a 2007 Lexus ES 350 owner who had experienced
sudden acceleration of his vehicle. The agency denied the
petition in October after subjecting the same model of car to
“multiple electrical signals” and “magnetic fields.”
‘Exhaustive Testing’
Toyota said at the time that the October decision marked
the fifth in which the agency had rejected similar requests to
investigate company vehicles for defects including electronics
related to unintended acceleration.
“In terms of electronics of the vehicle, we’ve done
exhaustive testing and we’ve found no issues with the
electronics,” Toyota’s Lentz said on a conference call with
reporters yesterday.
Toyota, as required by law, stopped selling eight vehicles
recalled in the U.S. last week. The company said yesterday it
will begin fixing accelerator pedals, which were supplied by
Elkhart, Indiana-based CTS Corp., this week, with some
dealerships preparing to do repairs around the clock.
‘Enormous Effort’
The Transportation Department and its auto safety agency
have been called to testify at two congressional hearings on the
handling of the Toyota recalls.
“While Toyota is taking responsible action now, it
unfortunately took an enormous effort to get to this point,”
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today in an e-mailed
statement. The department is “continuing to review possible
defects.”
A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee panel will
hold a hearing on the recalls on Feb. 10, followed by the House
Energy and Commerce Committee on Feb. 25.
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