Archive for the 'NHTSA' Category

No Black Box Exoneration for Toyota

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

The Wall Street Journal made a splash yesterday when it reported that the US DOT had analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota vehicles in crashes blamed on unintended acceleration and found that the throttles were open and brakes were not applied.  These findings support Toyota’s position that SUA events are not caused by vehicle [...]

Goodyear G159 Tire Failures on RVs Finally Dragged Into the Public Eye

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Goodyear’s G159 and a Class-A Motor Home was always a bad match. The tire was designed for urban delivery vehicles and speed-rated for only 65 mile per hour continuous use.  Nonetheless, Goodyear had marketed the G159 to the RV industry for nearly a decade in the 1990s and 2000s, even though the tire design was [...]

EDR: Toyota’s Electronic Doubt Receptacle

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Earlier this week, police in Auburn, New York concluded that a fatal crash involving a 2010 Camry that plowed through a red light was caused by the driver, who suffered a medical condition. Law enforcement based this in part on the results of the Camry’s Event Data Recorder (EDR) – aka, “black box” – readout, [...]

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010: A Crisis Well Spent

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Congress has never been one to let a motor vehicle crisis go to waste, and the Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration debacle has been no exception. Hearings before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has revealed some distressing regulatory gaps – such as a federal motor vehicle safety standard for accelerator controls that was established [...]

Nothing to See Here Folks!

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Ah, to view the world through rose-colored Lentzes. Toyota’s ultra-sincere CEO of Toyota Motor Sales climbed back into the House Energy and Commerce Committee witness chair to utter those words, to which the company has accorded the power of a magical incantation: There’s nothing wrong with our electronics.

Toyota: Honesty is More Than Just a Word

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

When Toyota starts talking about honesty – as they did, while paying a $16.4 million fine for violating the recall regulations – we start patting down the data. An interesting snippet floated by yesterday. As our readers know, manufacturers are required to file Early Warning Reports every quarter – information about legal claims, warranty data, [...]

What You Can’t Deny, Delay and Minimize

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

A well-used weapon in the manufacturer’s arsenal is delay. When the guys and gals from the Office of Defects Investigation are pestering you with information requests and you have that sinking feeling that you are going to have to do something to get them off your back, the first order of business is to buy [...]

Manufacturing Doubt in Toyota Sudden Unintended Acceleration

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Doubt is Their Product: How Industry’s Assault on Science Threatens Your Health by David Michaels is on our nightstands right now, and we cannot shake the feeling of déjà vu. Michaels, recently confirmed as the new head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Assistant Secretary of Labor, writes about the attack, deny and [...]

How Many Recalls Does It Take to Fix a Toyota?

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

So far, Toyota has launched five recalls to address what it claims are the only causes of unintended acceleration: sticky accelerator pedals and floor mats. And yet, these “fixes” have failed to fix some vehicles. Since the recalls were announced in September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 97 complaints from owners who [...]

The Cracks in Toyota’s Recalls are Showing Again

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

The witness chairs in the House hearing chambers hadn’t even cooled, when Toyota owners who dutifully took their vehicles into the dealership for a pedal fix were reporting more sudden acceleration incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On February 24, the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda, raised his right hand before [...]