Two drivers in California have filed a class action suit against Toyota for a known defect in both Toyota and Lexus vehicles that has resulted in the loss of control of over 2,000 vehicles. So far, at least 16 people have died and over 240 people have been injured as a result of the vehicle acceleration issues. Both parties behind the suit are past Toyota or Lexus owners who have been victimized by the car’s acceleration problems.
Toyota has publicly blamed the problems on floor mats that have trapped the accelerator and prevented its release. The two plaintiffs claim there are other issues behind the acceleration problems besides just the floor mats though. The plaintiffs and their Orange County personal injury attorneys claim that Toyota has a problem with the throttle control system as well, which would have otherwise prevented the sudden acceleration.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for everyone victimized by the defaults and for the company to issue a recall of all affected car models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously investigated these incidents and claimed the floor mats are the only major defect in the cars. They did discover that the problems rendered the vacuum brake system much less functional and noted an increase in stopping distance from 200 feet to more than 1,000 feet. The amount of force required to fully apply the brake also increased from 30 pounds of pressure to 150 pounds of pressure.
So far Toyota has already recalled more than 3.8 million vehicles related to this defect. Owners have been instructed to remove the driver’s floor mats until a more permanent solution is made available.
To read more, see the article in Canadian Driver. Image Via Chris.Corwin [Flickr]
Tags: car accidents, class action suits, product defects, product liability, toyota