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From: Mike on 3 Aug 2010 08:32
The Tribune Newspaper are currently running this article

Document files in two new lawsuits against the automaker show it received
reports of a least sixteen incidents before massive recalls began last year.
Plaintiffs attorneys say that proves Toyota was aware of the defects

Toyota Motor Corp. was informed of sudden acceleration incidents, verifies
by its own technicians and dealers at least sixteen times dating back to
2003, according to two more documents filed Monday against the automaker

In one case, a Toyota technician reported taking a vehicle on a test drive
after a customer complained of unwanted acceleration. The car "began to
accelerate on its own," as engine speed increased to 5,500 rpm from 1,500
rpm, reported the technician, who was able to stop the vehicle by applying
the brakes, according to the filings.
The report was cited, along with several others, in new filings in federal
court in Santa Ana by attorneys for motorists who claimed they owned Toyota
and Lexus vehicles that had defects that could cause them to accelerate out
of control. The incidents were culled from more than 40,000 internal Toyota
documents reviewed by the attorneys.

Many of the documents were barred from public release because they contain
personal information about the automaker's customers, attorneys said


However, attorneys for the plaintiffs referred to the records in two new
civil complaints against Toyota. One seeks class-action status for vehicle
owners claiming the value of their cars has diminished because of alleged
defects; the other claims damages for motorists injured or killed in
accidents blamed on sudden acceleration.

"Toyota has identified two specific mechanical causes of potential
unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles and has moved decisively to
address these issues with effective and durable solutions," the statement
said. "Toyota rejects claims that plaintiffs suffered economic damages
because of the recent recalls."

The new complaints describe six incidents, between 2003 and 2010, of sudden
acceleration documented and verified by Toyota service technicians and
others. All of the records detailing those events have been barred from
public view to protect the personal data, because of the court restrictions,
and thus the complaints did not provide specific information such as the
date of the event or the model involved.

The new allegations form part of the argument that the automaker was aware
of defects that caused its vehicles to suddenly accelerate but that it
avoided acknowledging or correcting the problem until it became the focus of
investigations by regulators and Congress starting last fall.

"They had an absolute duty to disclose to consumers there were safety
issues," said Steve Berman, an attorney representing plaintiffs in the
economic damages lawsuit. "They should have immediately halted production or
done a recall so that there could be some fail-safe put on these vehicles."

The automaker, which has issued more than 12 million recall notices just
since last fall, has acknowledged that sticking gas pedals or floor mat
entrapment can cause sudden acceleration but has denied isolating any other
potential defects, including electronic or software problems. In April,
Toyota agreed to pay a record $16.4-million fine for delaying a recall of
vehicles with gas pedals that could stick.

Toyota has been targeted in hundreds of lawsuits from vehicle owners
alleging sudden acceleration. In April, many of those suits were
consolidated into two federal cases and assigned to U.S. District Court
Judge James Selna. The suits name several dozen plaintiffs, but attorneys in
the economic damages case said that as many as 40 million Toyota owners
could be members of the class.

In May, Selna ordered Toyota to give the plaintiffs' lawyers thousands of
documents it had already supplied to Congress.

In addition to the acceleration reports, the complaints cite records
indicating that Toyota executives went to great lengths to avoid public
disclosure of company concerns about the issue.

One, for example, quotes a February 2007 e-mail from a Toyota official
describing plans to exclude a knowledgeable Japanese engineer from meeting
with regulators from the NHTSA

"If the engineer who knows the failures well attends the meeting, NHTSA will
ask a bunch of questions about the [electronic control unit]" on the
vehicle, the e-mail, written by Michiteru Kato, said. "I want to avoid such
situations."

Elsewhere, the lawsuits cite examples of company officials' discussing
implementation of a brake override safety system like in many other brands
as early as 2006, even though Toyota did not begin adopting the technology
until late last year.

In addition, it alleges that Toyota pushed hard against NHTSA investigations
of sudden acceleration, and strove to ensure that no defects were identified
by the agency.


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