Toyota Recall Lawyer: Lexus Recall for Potential Steering Problems

Toyota is in the news again for yet another recall, this time it involves potential steering problems in the Lexus LX 470 model vehicles.  The recall affects 39,000 Lexus LX 470 vehicles, made in the years 2003 to 2007.

Why is the Lexus LX 470 being recalled?

Toyota issued this recall because they found that the steering shaft on the LX 470 has a snap ring that could disengage if the vehicle suffers a strong impact to the front wheels (like hitting a big pothole).  Vehicles with a disengaged snap ring can become difficult or impossible to steer if the steering wheel is turned to the full locked position repeatedly.

How will this Toyota steering recall be fixed?

Owners of Lexus LX 470 vehicles will be notified about this recall by mail starting in mid-August of this year.  When owners get their letter in the mail, Toyota wants them to visit their nearest dealer to have a fix done at no charge.

The fix for this recall consists of replacing the snap ring on the steering shaft with a snap ring of a new design.  The dealer will also install an additional part that will prevent the problem from affecting drivers down the road.

How serious is this Lexus steering problem?

So far no accidents or injuries related to this recall have been reported to Toyota.  However, it is always possible that a crash happened, and the driver had no idea that the recalled part could be to blame.

This isn’t the only Toyota Lexus recall this month: on July 2, Toyota recalled 138,000 Lexus vehicles due to a valve problem in the cars’ engines.  And, according to reports, Toyota knew about this problem for two years!

Toyota given 30 days to hand over documents related acceleration recall

Faced with about 230 federal lawsuits across the United States and another 100 or so filed in state courts, Toyota is now having to meet the demands of a U.S. federal judge to turn over documentation related to the ‘unintended acceleration’ recall.

This is great news for Toyota accident victims, and their lawyers trying to secure justice and fair compensation in Toyota-related accident cases.

U.S. District Judge James Selna ordered Toyota to turn over English-language documents within the next 30 days, and Japanese-language documents in the next 60 days.  Toyota may hold back any documents it considers “privileged” (for example, communication between Toyota and its attorneys).

This is certainly a blow to Toyota, but one they brought on themselves after questions were raised about how much they knew about the unintended acceleration problem in their vehicles.  The NHTSA blamed up to 89 deaths on unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.  This is higher than their previous estimate of 52 deaths.

Right now Toyota is facing about $10 billion in civil suits over this major defect, as consumers and crash victims look to recover money for serious injuries or economic loss (for example, reduced resale value on a recalled vehicle).

In one month we’ll know what Toyota was willing to hand over, and if these documents contain the story of what really has been going on behind the scenes at the auto giant.

Toyota recall lawyer: Toyota vehicles plagued by computer problems?

It isn’t news that Toyota has recalled a massive number of vehicles across the globe in past months. What is surprising – and troubling – is that they have just issued the third recall for a computer-related glitch.

Just this week Toyota recalled 50,000 2003 Sequoia SUVs because they have a problem with their Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) System.  This particular computer glitch causes the vehicle to accelerate slower than the driver would normally expect.

According to Toyota this computer glitch was first discovered in 2003.  At that time, instead of a recall Toyota chose to just publish a “technical service bulletin” – which over the years has become a controversial way for auto manufacturers to address issues without the stigma or trouble of an official recall.

Since that bulletin was issued, Toyota has been responding to Sequoia and Lexus owner’s concerns by replacing an onboard computer, what Toyota calls the skid control unit, any time a vehicle had a problem.  The software in question is intended to help drivers “avoid and recover from vehicle skids and spins”.

The other two computer related recalls of late were the Lexus recall and the Prius recall.  In the Lexus recall, the issue was first reported by Consumer Reports earlier this month, when they issued a “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” rating for the Lexus GX460 because of problems with the stability control system.  This led Toyota to initiate and investigation and ultimately recall 9,400 Lexus GX 460 SUVs.

In February of this year 133,000 2010 Prius vehicles were recalled because of inconsistent braking in the antilock brake system (ABS).  This was also attributed to a software issue.

Toyota now claims they are being “proactive” about consumer complaints.  Perhaps this is Toyota code for “more recalls coming!”  Stay tuned, this isn’t over.

VB Toyota Recall Lawyers file unintended acceleration lawsuit in Los Angeles

Unintended acceleration AFTER Toyota dealers repair accelerator pedal?

Skeptical Toyota owners across the country are wondering: will the recall “fix” actually solve the problem of unintended acceleration in all the recalled vehicles?  Depending on the recall, Toyota vehicles could get redesigned floor mats, an accelerator pedal remodel, or a modification to the throttle design. 

So far Toyota has modified floor mats or repaired pedals on 1.3 million vehicles (out of 6 million affected by the recall) since January.  However, some Toyota owners are so dissatisfied with the fix that Toyota has offered to completely replace their gas pedals.

So far over 90 Toyota owners whose vehicles have had pedal repairs – which in these instances consisted of a small metal shim being inserted into the pedal mechanism – report experiencing unintended acceleration.  That’s right, some owners claim that their Toyotas are speeding up unexpectedly AFTER they get fixed at the dealer!

Toyota has agreed to replace the entire accelerator pedal for customers who are not happy with the repair performed by dealers.  However, all the reported cases of unintended acceleration post-dealer fix really beg the question: does Toyota really know what is causing this problem?  It sounds like maybe they do not.

Check out our Toyota Recall Lawyer page for answers to frequently asked questions and a host of blog posts and articles about the Toyota recalls and legal action against Toyota.

Toyota Recall Lawyer: Runaway Prius leads to further investigation

The latest runaway Toyota incident has government investigators and regulators looking for answers.  What is unique about this incident is that the vehicle involved in the unintended acceleration event – a 2008 Prius – was not on the recall list for accelerator issues.  It will be part of the floor mat recall, however the floor mats were not involved in the acceleration problem.

The driver of the runaway car, James Sikes, was fortunate to receive help from a California Highway Patrol officer.  Mr. Sikes called 911 after checking to see if the floor mats were causing his Prius to speed out of control (he determined that they were not).

The officer, Brian Pennings, pulled up alongside Sikes and advised him to put the car into neutral and turn off the ignition.  Mr. Sikes responded by shaking his head, which Officer Pennings interpreted to mean that neither action had worked.  Pennings then instructed Sikes to use his emergency brake in conjunction with his brakes in an effort to slow the car, which reached top speeds of 94 miles per hour.

This tactic worked; once the car slowed to 50 mph Sikes was able to cut the ignition and the car eventually came to a stop.  It was a harrowing journey lasting over 20 minutes, especially considering that Mr. Sikes had recently taken his Prius to a Toyota dealer for maintenance and was told that his car was not part of an existing recall. 

What does this incident mean?

• Just because your Toyota is NOT currently part of the recall does not mean that you won’t have problems
• Toyota does not yes have the answer to what is really causing the unintended acceleration incidents

Sikes’ Prius was held overnight by the California Highway Patrol and federal investigators have been dispatched to dig into the incident.  The real question is: can they find, once and for all, the root cause of this dangerous defect?

Why did Toyota hire Exponent? Probably for the same reason it and other corporations always hire this company.

Post-"Fix" Toyota Recall complaints on the rise - now at 60

TOYOTA RECALL ACCIDENT -- February 4, 2010 -- Austin, Texas

TOYOTA RECALL INCIDENT -- February 10, 2010 -- Houston, Texas

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TOYOTA RECALL INCIDENT -- October 2, 2009 -- Houston, Texas

Toyota paid off plaintiffs, hid internal documents to avoid lawsuits

The news just keeps getting worse for Toyota.  Our Houston Toyota recall lawyers were disturbed to hear that the automaker is facing fresh allegations of wrongdoing in regards to the unintended acceleration problem with their vehicles.

News reports today claim that Toyota withheld documents that they legally should handed over in liability lawsuits and even paid off plaintiffs to avoid revealing internal company information.  According to the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Toyota withheld information in their “Books of Knowledge” which could have provided critical information in lawsuits filed against the auto giant.

This news comes courtesy of one of Toyota’s former lawyers, who decided now to speak out against the company.  House Representative Edolphus Towns stated that the information, obtained under subpoena from the aforementioned lawyer, indicates “a systematic disregard for the law and routine violation of court discovery orders in litigation.”

The whistle-blowing lawyer represented Toyota from 2003 to 2007 in liability cases involving Toyota drivers injured in accidents. According to this attorney, Toyota’s Books of Knowledge contain highly confidential information like trade secrets.  Detailed design specifications for all Toyota’s vehicles are described in these books, which could be an astounding resource for investigators examining vehicles involved in the recent recalls.

As more and more internal documents surface, the depth and breadth of Toyota’s disregard for the safety of its customers and the general driving public is shocking.  Now it is time for them to face justice in the American courts.