New reports this morning that Prius owners are reporting problems with their brakes. So Toyota can't make brakes or accelerator pedals? That's bad. The problem appears to be electrical. It's another blow to Toyota, who had the blockbuster hybrid as one of their few remaining untarnished products.
In other news, the Washington Post is reporting that federal regulators have known since 2007 that some Toyotas could accelerate suddenly. From the WaPo:
During a little-noticed 2007 inquiry, investigators found that at least three of every 100 Lexus ES 350 owners in Ohio reported experiencing unintended acceleration, an unacceptably high percentage given the potentially fatal consequences, industry experts said.
"Anything over 1 percent would raise a red flag, particularly for the manufacturer," said James C. Fell, who worked at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 30 years, and was chief of research for traffic safety programs.Okay, forget that I would be in favor of raising a red flag at anything over 0%, but three out of every 100? That's crazy. Apparently the investigators concluded it only affected a small number of cars, and couldn't figure out how to fix it, so decided to let it ride (so to speak). Listen, I understand we can't do a recall for every minor safety issue, but could there at least be some kind of federal website that lists these reports so that car buyers can be informed? I thought about buying a Toyota a few years back, and to me, three out of every 100 is a big enough deal that I would have been looking elsewhere.
I've been alarmed by this, too. I had always hoped to own a Toyota when I grew up, since they were always known for their reliability. Now I don't know... I really hope they get their act together before I have to buy a car.
ReplyDeleteIt gets worse, this article details federal investigators looking into a fatal "runaway accelerator" crash in 2004.
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