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?