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Sudden acceleration reported in Toyota, Lexus
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Published: November 9, 2009
More than 1,000 Toyota and Lexus owners have reported since 2001 that their vehicles suddenly accelerated on their own, in many cases slamming into trees, parked cars and brick walls, among other obstacles, a Los Angeles Times review of federal records has found.
The crashes resulted in at least 19 deaths and scores of injuries, records show, which federal regulators say is far more than any other automaker has experienced.
Owner complaints helped trigger at least eight investigations into sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the past seven years. Toyota recalled fewer than 100,000 vehicles in response to two of those investigations, and the federal agency closed six other cases without finding a defect.
But those investigations systematically excluded or dismissed the majority of complaints by owners that their Toyota and Lexus vehicles had suddenly accelerated, sharply narrowing down the scope of the probes, the Times investigation revealed.
Meanwhile, fatal crashes involving Toyota vehicles continued to mount, surpassing those of all other manufacturers combined.
In a written statement, NHTSA said its records show that since the 2002 model year, a total of 15 people died in crashes related to possible sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles, compared with 11 deaths in vehicles made by all other automakers.
The Times located federal and other records of 19 fatalities involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles in which sudden or unintended acceleration may have been a factor over the same period, as well as more than 1,000 reports by owners that their vehicles had suddenly accelerated. Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies, an independent safety expert, said he has identified nearly 2,000 Toyota sudden-acceleration cases.
Other experts say that the numbers may be far higher, pointing to a 2007 NHTSA survey of 600 Lexus owners that found 10 percent complained they had faced sudden acceleration.
While most sudden accelerations did not result in a crash, there were notable exceptions. Bulent Ezal, a retired engineer, plunged 70 feet off a Pismo Beach cliff into the Pacific Ocean surf, after he said his 2005 Camry suddenly accelerated in a parking lot. He had minor injuries, but his wife of 46 years was killed.
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