Litigation Strategies Discussed for Toyota Recall Lawsuits

A recent  Los Angeles Times article examined the beginning of Toyota's legal troubles. Many Toyota drivers are upset over the numerous recent recalls. Those drivers are contacting lawyers. Lawyers, in turn, are starting to form strategies to pursue legal action against Toyota. Here is a portion of the article:

"First came the reports of sudden acceleration, then the recalls. And now, inevitably, the lawyers. Lots of them.

With Toyota Motor Corp. already facing scores of lawsuits stemming from alleged sudden acceleration incidents, about 150 lawyers gathered Wednesday for an all-day event to discuss litigation strategy over claims of deaths and injuries in accidents as well as the loss of resale value of used Toyota vehicles."

These actions against Toyota are just warming up, and will likely continue for years to come.

Is This a Joke?

Toyota's most recent recall is purportedly for two (that's right 2) Toyota Tundra four-wheel-drive pickup trucks. Here is the story from Autoblog:

"The troubles keep mounting for Toyota as the company announced that the number of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles that have been recalled will be going up by two. No, not two million... just two. That means the company has now recalled 8,500,002 vehicles in the past several months. This most recent recall involves a pair of four-wheel-drive Toyota Tundra pickups that may have an improperly welded front propeller shaft.

No word on whether or not these two are also covered by the frame rust issue, but the weld at the point where the propeller shaft and yoke meet could separate, and if the shaft made contact with the ground while in motion, the Tundra could contend for the gold in pole vaulting at the 2012 London Olympics. If nothing else, Toyota might nab a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest and smallest recalls announced in a given year with this tiny callback."

Seriously? Sounds like a publicity stunt to me, 'in today's headlines, Toyota is so careful that it recalls two vehicles.' But hey, its working, you're reading about it, and I'm blogging about it.

Toyota Knew of Sliding Floor-Mats in 2003

According to an investigation by CBC, Toyota knew of the sliding floor-mat issue, the root of the recent mass recall, back in 2003. Here is an excerpt from their report:

"Toyota recalled cars in 2003 because of fears sliding floor mats would jam the accelerator pedal — almost seven years before a similar large-scale recall, a CBC News analysis shows.

Critics in Canada and the United States say the 2003 recall shows that sliding floor mats in Toyota vehicles have been a problem for some time and that the company should have been more vigilant.

In 2003, Toyota recalled 400 Celicas because of the 'potential' danger caused by the mats, an analysis of 12 years of Transport Canada vehicle recall data found.

The warning read in part: 'On certain Panasonic Edition vehicles, the driver's floor mat may slide along the interior floor carpet when pressure is applied to the mat by getting in or out of the vehicle. As a result the floor mat may come in contact and interfere with the accelerator pedal.'

Owners of the Celica were urged to have their dealer install new floor mats and clips to keep the carpets in place.

In 2009, drivers of Toyota models including the 2009 and 2010 Rav4 and Matrix were informed that 'on certain vehicles, if the specifically designed all-weather floor mat for that vehicle is not secured by the retaining clip or placed on top of an existing mat, the mat could move forward and may interfere with the accelerator pedal.'

The company urged owners to contact their dealer."

Toyota Shareholders Suing Alleging That Toyota Misled Them

Toyota shareholders are clearly upset with how the company handled recalls and disclosing problems to the shareholders and the public. They are upset enough that they are filing suit. According to the Detroit News:

"At least three class-action lawsuits alleging securities violations have been filed against the Japanese automaker in recent weeks. One suit, filed by the law firm Murray, Frank & Sailer in U.S. District Court in California-- is on behalf of shareholders who purchased stock between Dec. 22, 2009 and Feb. 2, 2010.

The suit charges that Toyota issued 'materially false and misleading statements' regarding Toyota's operations, business, and outlook.

Toyota 'failed to disclose ongoing safety issues and quality control problems with Toyota's automobiles, especially the fact that accelerator pedals installed in many of Toyota's cars were defective and could become stuck in the depressed position, leading to unintended acceleration,' says the suit.

Toyota won't comment on any of the suits because they are pending. Toyota's market capitalization has fallen by 12 percent-- or $15 billion-- since the company's stock hit $90.42 on Jan. 21-- the day Toyota announced it was recalling 2.3 million vehicles over sticky pedal concerns. Toyota's stock closed Friday at $79.56."

The full story is available here.

Toyota Tried to Delay and Limit the Scope of Recalls

According to newly disclosed facts from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into Toyota's unintended acceleration problem, Toyota appears to have actively tried to limit the scope of and delay all recalls. Here is the story from the Washington Post:

"As congressional investigators learned last month, Toyota Motor lobbyists claimed last year to have saved the company $100 million by fending off a 2007 federal investigation into unintended acceleration.

Toyota and agency officials dismissed the claim as an idle boast.

But a closer look at the 2007 investigation, revealed in agency records and internal Toyota e-mails, shows that after federal investigators at the time diagnosed a number of potential dangers in Toyota cars and trucks, the automaker resisted the findings and in the end escaped a broad recall that could have cost millions of dollars.

Investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Toyota in 2007 that the design of Toyota pedals or floor pans could allow floor mats to entrap the accelerator. They saw a problem in Camrys, Priuses, Avalons and Lexus ES350s. Moreover, they believed that any type of floor mat could pose a danger.

But the company, which had developed a 'game plan' for handling the inquiry, ignored NHTSA's broad findings and agreed only to a minor recall of a single type of floor mat.

The agency, which has the authority to order a recall, did not push for more.

With the recalls of millions of Toyotas in recent weeks, the agency has been faulted by critics for failing to wield its enforcement power and opting instead to cajole automakers to make cars safe.

In the fall, after two years and 20 more deaths attributed to unintended acceleration, Toyota disclosed that, just as regulators had warned, accelerator pedals and some floor pans in 12 different models would need to be fixed to prevent the floor mats from entrapping the accelerator. They told consumers to remove any driver's-side floor mat in the cars.

Toyota declined to answer questions this week about its lobbyists' efforts in 2007 to limit the scope of the recall."

Toyota's Quality Control Training Lapsed

Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota, has recently stated on his Japanese blog that quality control training of its workers failed to keep pace with the company's growth. Here is a quote from the UKPA:

"Toyoda, grandson of the carmaker's founder, said the problem became especially acute after Toyota's global production and sales topped six million vehicles in its fiscal year 2002...

'It has been tough and frustrating emotionally for me, but we must accept it as an inevitable,' he told Japan's top business daily The Nikkei in a front-page interview published on Thursday...

Toyoda was widely criticised for being invisible when the quality problems surfaced last year. He has appeared since then at news conferences in Japan, and attended a US congressional hearing last month on Toyota's recalls...

Earlier this week, he wrote in his Japanese blog for the first time since the recall troubles hit, apologising to customers.

Writing under his handle Morizo, he said Toyota would 'Take seriously, accept humbly and respond sincerely' to criticism.

In the Nikkei interview, he promised to beef up quality controls, including promoting non-Japanese employees, to better respond to different customer needs, to become a 'small Toyota', instead of focusing on sales expansion."

There was no shortage of apologizing, hopefully we will see a similar amount of action.

Read the full story here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iUZtZvV9smQK0daANXWtAU1KLfPQ

Honda Recall of 400,000 Vehicles over Braking Concerns

In a move reminiscent of the recent Toyota recalls, Honda has issued a recall for over 400,000 vehicles including the Odyssey minivan and the Element SUV. Here is an excerpt from an AP article on the subject:

"The recall includes 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements from the 2007 and 2008 model years.

Honda said in a statement that over time, brake pedals can feel 'soft' and must be pressed closer to the floor to stop the vehicles. Left unrepaired, the problem could cause loss of braking power and possibly a crash, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.

'It's definitely not operating the way it should, and it's safety systems, so it brings it to the recall status,' he said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported three crashes due to the problem with minor injuries and no deaths, Martin said. Honda notified NHTSA of the recall on Monday, he said.

Honda has traced the problem to the device that powers the electronic stability control system, which selectively brakes each of the wheels to keep the vehicles upright during an emergency situation.

When the device, called a 'vehicle stability assist modulator,' tests itself when the vehicles are started, it allows a small amount of air into the hydraulic brake lines. Over time, an air bubble in the lines can cause a loss of braking power and require that the pedal be pushed farther toward the floor than normal to stop the vehicles, Martin said.

'Although not all vehicles being recalled are affected by this issue, we are recalling all possible units to assure all customers that their vehicles will perform correctly,' Honda said in a statement.

Under the recall, which Honda said it volunteered to do, Honda said that owners should wait to get a letter from the company before scheduling a repair because the parts are not yet available. Letters should go out toward the end of April.

Drivers who fear that they've lost braking power should have their dealer check the brakes sooner, Martin said. The dealer can 'bleed' air bubbles out of the hydraulic lines, which should fix the problem until the parts arrive for the final repair, he said."

Though no fatalities have yet been reported it is important that owners promptly address the issue whether as Honda directs when it sends out the recall letters in April or by having their dealer bleed the air from their brake system.

Read the whole article here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h22OUGToBiZobdDqpB-wk30xFiRwD9EFSEIG3

To determine if you vehicle is being recalled, visit:

http://www.recalls.honda.com/

Toyota Apologies End, Old Advertising Renews

Toyota had been running an advertisement campaign that highlighted its sorrow for failing to provide the quality that it had developed a reputation for, and vowing to regain peoples' trust. However, those ads have ended, and we are back to the standard no-apology advertisements. Some have already expressed that they believe this shift comes too soon, especially since the company is still embroiled in a mess of political controversy and agency investigations. If you would like to read more, here is the AP article discussing the shift.

Toyota Recall Fixes Reportedly not Fixing the Problem

According to NHTSA, some Toyota drivers are still experiencing unintended acceleration even after having recall measures implemented. NHTSA has received seven complaints in the past two weeks describing unintended acceleration after recall repairs were made. If these reports are true, we will likely see a whole new wave of recalls to fix the prior recalls. Hopefully they will actually fix the problem at some point.

NHTSA Under Fire

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, headed by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was intensely scrutinized today by a Congressional subcommittee for failures related to the Toyota recall. Senator Jay Rockefeller, for example, questioned whether NHTSA focussed on floor mats and sticky pedals instead of an electronic explanation due to not understanding the electronic systems. Senator Barbara Boxer asked why NHTSA had former Toyota employees who became NHTSA employees represent Toyota in the recall process. She characterized the scene as appearing to be a "cozy" relationship, and it said that it "smells bad." Senator Byron Dorgan noted apparent "credibility problems."

Secretary LaHood discussed the possibility of mandating an electronic override to prevent these sort of accidents. He further pledged to tighten rules regarding recalls and vehicle safety. It did not seem that the Senators were completely satisfied with NHTSA's response.

Toyoda Apologizes in Beijing

Toyota President Akio Toyoda spoke at a press conference today in Beijing to express the same story presented to Congress last week. He parroted his company's position that the emergence of safety issues with Toyota's vehicles were a result of the company's rapid expansion in North America. This position is one Toyota is fighting strenuously to maintain in the face of growing evidence that Toyota may have willfully ignored evidence of safety problems. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found last week that Toyota withheld evidence of safety problems in lawsuits filed against the company. How the public decides to reconcile to these conflicting stories will likely shape the outcome of company.