Toyota Recall Lawyers

If you or a loved one drives a Toyota (or some Lexus Models), you may be at risk for life-threatening injury. Recently, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles and stopped sales and production due to floor mat issues and gas pedal problems resulting in sudden, unintended acceleration. The Toyota vehicles’ unintended acceleration problems have led to hundreds of accidents and the deaths and injuries of many Toyota vehicle owners and passengers.

Toyota has received well over 2,000 complaints of unintended acceleration of their vehicles. There has also been a great deal of confusion surrounding the cause of this dangerous problem. The first time Toyota acknowledged there was a problem was in September 2009. This acknowledgement came after a fatal accident that took place on August 28, 2009. The accident claimed the life of California Highway Patrolman Mark Saylor as well as three of his family members. The vehicle involved was a Lexus ES 350, which is believed to have accelerated to over 100 mph before it crashed. Toyota urged their customers to remove their driver-side floor mats because they believed the gas pedals were getting stuck under them, causing unintended acceleration. This recall involved 3.8 million Toyota (and Lexus) vehicles. Toyota also advised customers that they would be creating a solution to this problem and further notice would be provided on how to proceed. Two months later, in November 2009, Toyota announced a solution to the accelerator problem. They planned to fix the floor mat problem by shortening the gas pedals to prevent them from getting stuck. This “Floor Mat Entrapment” recall involved 4.2 million vehicles.

While Toyota did pinpoint a possible problem with the floor mats, the risk of unintended acceleration remained. In response to the very serious danger associated with the unintended acceleration, Toyota recalled another 2.3 million U.S. vehicles on January 21, 2010. Toyota’s “Pedal” recall was made to fix a separate problem believed to be causing a sticking accelerator pedal. According to a February 1, 2010 press release statement by Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A., Inc., “Toyota’s engineers have developed and rigorously tested a solution that involves reinforcing the pedal assembly in a manner that eliminates excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare instances.” Although Toyota refers to the sudden acceleration incidents as “rare instances”, the fact remains that there have been over 300 injuries and 19 deaths as a result of sudden acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles.

Jim Lentz, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), released a statement confidently announcing they know what is causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and know what must be done to fix it. However, critics of Toyota have been quick to warn consumers that Toyota may not actually know the exact cause of the sudden acceleration. Toyota has declared the sticking pedal to be a mechanical problem, believing that excess friction in the accelerator is causing the pedal to become stuck in a depressed position, or slow to return to normal position. However, many have argued that the cause of the sudden acceleration may be an electronic problem, attributed to the electronic throttle-control system. Whatever the cause may be, the United States Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has advised owners of recalled Toyota vehicles to stop driving their vehicles and bring them to a Toyota dealer.

Below is a list of the vehicles involved in the recalls:

• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2007-2010 Camry
• 2008-2010 Sequoia
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2008-2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2009-2010 VENZA
• 2004-2009 Prius
• Lexus ES 350
• Lexus IS 250
• Lexus IS 350

If you own one of these defective Toyota vehicles, or you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a defective Toyota vehicle’s unintended acceleration, you may want to speak with an attorney regarding your legal rights. The Law Offices of d’Oliveira and Associates, P.C., can help you receive all of the compensation you deserve. Give us a call for a free consultation and remember you pay no legal fees unless a settlement is made on your behalf.

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