Have Toyota's record recalls solved its sudden acceleration problem? Maybe not.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is contacting Toyota owners who have taken their cars to dealers to undergo the prescribed repair and so far, 10 consumers have reported the fix hasn't ended the problem.
NHTSA made it clear the reports have not been verified but said the agency would follow up. It also said it would continue to communicate with owners of affected Toyotas.
"If Toyota owners are still experiencing sudden acceleration incidents after taking their cars to the dealership, we want to know about it," said NHTSA administrator David Strickland.
Toyota's answer to the sudden acceleration problem in a number of its most popular models has been to modify the accelerator pedal, whose design, it determined, could cause it to stick. In the U.S., Toyota has recalled more than six million vehicles and, to date, says it has made the repair to more than one million.
Denies electronic cause
Originally the company blamed the problem on floor mats, which it said could slide up and depress the accelerator pedal. The company has adamantly insisted the problem is not caused by the electrical system, but suspicion from drivers and government officials alike has leaned in that direction.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced last month that NHTSA engineers were investigating the cars' electronics as a possible source of the problem.
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that several of the new complaints involved Camry Sedans. The paper said the owner of a 2009 Camry reported a sudden acceleration problem two days after the repair. A 2010 Camry owner reported the problem five days after the repair.
If more repaired Toyotas experience verified cases of sudden acceleration, the pressure will build on both the carmaker and government safety regulators to find the cause. NHTSA is already at work.
Test car
The agency announced that it has purchased the Toyota-made Lexus ES350 formerly owned by Rhonda and Eddie Smith, who testified before Congress last month about an unintended acceleration event that Rhonda Smith reported she experienced while driving the car in 2006.
The car was sold with 3,000 miles on it several years ago, and NHTSA has now acquired it with approximately 30,000 miles on the odometer. The Smiths' former car has been taken to NHTSA's Vehicle Research & Test Center in East Liberty, Ohio, where it is now being studied.
"Safety is our top priority," said LaHood. "NHTSA will thoroughly examine the Smiths' car as we work to get to the bottom of possible causes for sudden acceleration."
Toyota owners have complained to ConsumerAffairs.com about sudden acceleration for years, including in older models not covered in the current recall. The complaints continued this week.
"I have a 2004 Toyota 4-Runner. I have been watching and so far it is not on any recall list," Doreen, of Ellensburg, Wash., told ConsumerAffairs.com Wednesday. "My husband usually drives the car, but I myself know of three times that the accelerator has stuck even while hitting the brakes. I feel the car needs to be recalled."
Tip of the iceberg?
Is it possible that, not only have investigators not found the source of the problem, but the Toyota recall is just the tip of a safety iceberg. Consider this.
In December an analysis of NHTSA's complaint database showed that, of all the reports of sudden acceleration, 40 percent involved Toyota of Lexus models. While that's a lot, it means that 60 percent of the sudden acceleration complaints were about cars made by manufacturers other than Toyota.
