#ToyotaRecallNewsHub

A Prius driver claims his 2008 model Toyota accelerated uncontrollably at speeds of up to 90 mph on a San Diego freeway before California High Patrol officers helped him stop his runaway car. The driver, 61-year-old James Sikes, said the acceleration happened when he overtook another car on Interstate 8, after which the car accelerated uncontrollably for the next 20 minutes as he traveled over 30 miles.

With all of Toyota’s self-induced woes as of late, the biggest problem the company has faced in recent months might just be a report by ABC News in which an expert (Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University) produced an unintended acceleration using a Toyota product. Initially Toyota responded with concerns about the demonstration and now the automaker (and an independent engineering firm it has hired) has examined the process in more detail and have utterly refuted it.

In a statement Toyota has said that, “The analysis of Professor’s Gilbert’s demonstration establishes that he has reengineered and rewired the signals from the accelerator pedal. This rewired circuit is highly unlikely to occur naturally and can only be contrived in a laboratory. There is no evidence to suggest that this highly unlikely scenario has ever occurred in the real world. As shown in the Exponent and Toyota evaluations, with such artificial modifications, similar results can be obtained in other vehicles.”

Toyota has sent the results of its finding to both Professor Gilbert and to the Congressional Committees assigned to look into the matter.

Official release after the jump:

During questioning at the House Committee’s investigation into Toyota’s ongoing recall crisis, safety advocate group Safety Research & Strategies founder Sean Kane admitted that his group is hardly an unbiased participant. In fact, Kane admitted that a recent report outlining Toyota’s faults was funded by five different law firms, all of which are currently engaged in litigation with Toyota.

After ABC News aired a segment yesterday where an expert was able to recreate a case of unintended acceleration, Toyota has taken to the offensive and challenged the news outlet and its source. In a video segment (see below), David Gilbert, an automotive technology professor at Southern Illinois University, recreates the problem in a Toyota Avalon, by introducing a short circuit to the controls to show that in such a circumstance the ECU does not record a fault and does not go into a “limp-mode.” The “short circuit” that Mr. Gilbert has introduced is intended to replicate a similar situation caused by moisture or wear.

Toyota has said that it has already been in touch with Mr. Gilbert using a similar setup in a Toyota Tundra and that in that circumstance the introduction of a transistor to create the short circuit creates, “an abnormal connection between two otherwise independent signals coming from the accelerator pedal sensors.” In other words, Toyota is asserting some pretty basic science, that the introduction of a new variable pretty much negates the process.

In an effort to set the record straight, Toyota has said it would like to investigate Mr. Gilbert’s new method and the Avalon in question, inviting ABC News to come along.

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Get more Toyota Recall News at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub

See the ABC news video and Toyota’s response after the jump:

As hearings into Toyota’s recall woes begin today in Washington, the automaker has announced that it will install a new brake override feature on an expanded range of vehicles. The feature, initially announced for the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, and the 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350, 2006-2010 IS 350 and 2006-2010 IS 250 models, will also be installed on all 2005-10 Tacoma models, 2009-10 Venza models and 2008-10 Sequoia models.

The brake override feature will automatically reduce engine power when both the brake and accelerator pedal are pressed. While this is not a part of the recall, it will be performed when recall work is done. Toyota says that it is “an extra measure of confidence for Toyota owners.”

Toyota has also said this brake override feature will also be standard equipment on most new Toyota models in the future.

Additional info can be found at www.toyota.com/recall or by calling the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

Find additional recall information at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub here.

Official release after the jump:

Toyota has announced that it has received subpoenas from both the U.S. Grand Jury and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over documents related to “unintended acceleration” issues with millions or cars, as well as the braking system on the Prius.

Late last night Toyota held a press conference in Japan where company CEO and Akio Toyoda, grandson of the automaker’s founder, apologized for the recent recalls and safety concerns over Toyota products.

Toyota has now expanded its internal investigation over braking issues to cover all hybrid models says a report by the Wall Street Journal. Toyota has already admitted that there was a braking problem with its 2010 Prius model, and according to Japan’s Nikkei News, Toyota is preparing to issue a recall for 270,000 Prius models from the 2010 model year.

According to Japan’s Nikkei News, Toyota will recall 270,000 of its 2010 Prius models due to an issue with the car’s braking system. Unrelated to past Toyota recalls, the Prius uses a unique combination of traditional mechanical braking and sophisticated regenerative braking, which is used to recharge the car’s hybrid battery.

Only yesterday the AutoGuide team was discussing the fact that with all the recent Toyota recalls, the next thing to be recalled might be the automaker’s Prius iPhone App. Well, truth may be stranger than fiction as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has now said it will look into whether electronic interference from cell phones could be the cause of unintended acceleration issues with several Toyota models.

Toyota‘s popular Prius model is now officially under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for potentially faulty brakes. In a statement released by the NHTSA, it said it will launch a formal investigation into whether the popular hybrid has a brief loss of braking capability when traveling over bumpy or icy roads.

After pressure from the U.S. and Japanese governments, Toyota has admitted that there was an issue with the brakes on the all-new 2010 Prius hybrid. Over 100 complaints about braking related issues have been reported to the NHTSA and roughly a dozen such reports to the authorities in Japan.

Along with two major recalls, one for Floor Mat Entrapment and another for Sticking Accelerator Pedals, a Federal government committee will investigate whether other models, including the Toyota Tacoma and Prius, might be in need of recalls.

Amidst the continuing controversy and confusion surrounding the numerous Toyota recalls, we at AutoGuide.com have decided to launch the TOYOTA RECALL NEWS HUB. Featured on our home page and constantly updated through our news blog, we aim to bring you the very latest in recall-related news as well as list important information about what vehicles are recalled and what owners should be doing.

The Toyota Recall News Hub features two main sections, a CONSUMER section listing what owners of recalled Toyota owners need to know, as well as an INDUSTRY section reporting on all related stories, emerging news and the fallout from the ongoing crisis at Toyota that consumers and the general public want to know. The INDUSTRY section will also feature links to more salacious stories and breaking news alerts from AutoGuide affiliate TheTruthAboutCars.com, as well as from other major industry sources.

See complete Toyota Recall News after the jump: