If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) believes there is a safety-related defect in a group of cars, it reserves the right to open an investigation.
These investigations are often sparked by warranty claims and consumer complaints online.
There's growing concern that some sort of electrical overstress is messing with airbag control units (ACU) in certain Toyota vehicles.
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I'm hoping that'll catch on. So far there have been 11 fire incidents stemming from an issue with electrical shorts in the B+ terminals of the SUV's 12-volt batteries.…
keep reading article "4th Generation RAV4 Under Investigation For Battery Fires"The crash involved a rented 2015 Toyota Yaris. The driver says she couldn't slow the car down after taking an exit off I-10 in California. The Yaris reached a speed of 100mph before slamming into a Toyota Solara, killing 5 people including the Yaris driver's 7-year old grandson. It's a terrible story, and one that Toyota is quite familiar with.…
keep reading article "Yaris Crash Blamed on Unintended Acceleration"And so, when Corolla owner Robert Ruginis petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate low-speed surging in the 2006-2010 Corolla, it seemed like a slam dunk, home run or <insert sports cliché here>. Go sports team! But instead NHTSA said no to the investigation. The agency said they analyzed data from an event recorder cited by Ruginis in his petition and came up with a completely different conclusion. Ruginis said his Corolla moved forward with the brake pedal pressed, NHTSA said it didn't. Ruginis said Corollas can move forward even with the brake pressed to the floor, NHTSA said they can't.
Instead, NHTSA placed the blame on Corolla drivers in most cases. They also said an investigation wasn't worth their time:…
keep reading article "NHTSA Says No to Unintended Acceleration Investigation"The best way to find out what's wrong with a vehicle is from the people who drive them. Not only do owner complaints help us rank vehicles by reliability, but they're often used to spark class-action lawsuits and warranty extensions. Plus, they're a great way to vent.