NHTSA Says No to Unintended Acceleration Investigation

Toyota doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation when it comes to 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:

"Taking into account the allocation of agency resources, agency priorities, and the likelihood that an additional investigation would result in a finding that a defect related to motor vehicle safety exists, NHTSA has concluded that further investigation of the issues raised by the petition is not warranted."

If you think the agency needs to re-evaluate their priorities, add your Corolla complaint here.

Want to Learn More?

4 Million Vehicles Recalled for Unintended Acceleration

Toyota believes the problems are caused by stuck gas pedals or misplaced floor mats that trapped the gas pedals. Independent testing by NASA and other outside laboratories agreed with Toyota and concluded driver error was also a contributin