NHTSA Ups Toyota's Unintended Acceleration Death Toll to 89
Already overrun with legal issues relating to its unintended acceleration issues, Toyota‘s problems are about to get worse as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has just increased the number of deaths that may be related to the faulty pedal and floor mat recalls. A new NHTSA document now places the total number of deaths related to the problem at 89 – up significantly from the previous total of 57.
NHTSA says it has recorded more than 6,200 complains of unintended acceleration in Toyota models.
In response to those issues Toyota recalled over 8 million vehicles and has been fined $16.4 million by the U.S. government for failing to report the issue and make the recall in a timely manner.
Toyota claims it has found the solution to the faulty accelerator issue and insists the problem is mechanical, not electronic. It also says the vast majority of the 6,200 complaints lack sufficient information to determine what the cause of the unintended acceleration was.
To date, Toyota has fixed almost half of the vehicles recalled under the two unintended acceleration recalls relating to both floor mat entrapment and faulty accelerator pedals.
[Source: Washington Post]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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