Toyota’s Prius plague persists
In a Thursday memo to their North American dealers and factory authorized service centers, Japanese Toyota officials agreed to complete accelerator replacements for Prius customers who complain of persistent problems even after qualified mechanics perform the standard recall adjustments. Nationwide, well over 100 Prius owners have reported “unintended acceleration” incidents after certified maintenance personnel completed recall adjustments intended to prevent sudden and uncontrolled acceleration.
Toyota officials explained in the memo, which unidentified sources leaked to the press, they have no intention of advertising the extra recall procedures, but they will agree to supplemental repairs at no charge to customers. “A replacement pedal should only be offered to a customer after the reinforcement bar has been installed and the customer has expressed dissatisfaction with the operation and/or feel of the pedal,” the memo read
Toyota’s problems persisted even after a week of federal and independent investigators’ uncertain findings in two widely publicized incidents of alleged Prius runaways. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Administration released a preliminary report on a March 9 Prius accident, citing driver error as the cause of its high-speed crash into a stone wall. “Information retrieved from the vehicle’s on-board computer system indicated there was no application of the brakes and the throttle was fully open,” the NHTSA document said. At mid-week, investigations into a well-documented San Diego incident continued, but neither Toyota representatives nor independent forensic mechanics were able to recreate the accelerator problem which allegedly propelled the late-model Prius to speeds of nearly 100 mph.
Congressional and independent news service investigations also continue in the wake of widespread complaints against Toyota. Late in the week, a group of attorneys planning to bring a class-action lawsuit against the Japanese automotive giant, released sensitive documents to CNN. Citing the documents, the attorneys alleged that Toyota officials knew as early as 2002 that some of their vehicles had problems with electronically controlled acceleration. “Some 2002 model year Camry vehicles may exhibit a surging during light throttle input at speeds between 38-42 mph. The Engine Control Module calibration has been revised to correct this condition,” the internal Toyota bulletin states.
