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From: Ed White on 16 Jul 2010 17:34
Toyota complaints fall as U.S. reviews intensify
July 16, 2010 - 12:46 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Complaints to U.S. regulators of unintended
acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles are down sharply as
separate government and expert reviews of the matter move forward.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents made
available to a National Academies of Science panel examining vehicle
electronics as a possible cause of unwanted acceleration industrywide
illustrate volatile complaint trends for Toyota and other automakers.

The quality of Toyota's cars -- once a benchmark for the industry --
has come under scrutiny since the world's top automaker recalled about
10.8 million vehicles globally since late last year, mostly for
problems of unintended acceleration.

Reduced complaints for Toyota this summer, which regulators believe is
partly due to ebbing publicity, do not alone substantiate the
automaker's contention that its electronic systems are sound. But the
drop could be an indicator that fixes for millions of recalled
vehicles worldwide for mechanical and equipment problems linked to
unwanted acceleration are working.

"We do feel our remedies have been effective," spokeswoman Cindy
Knight said.

Regulators, who review each complaint, say complaints generally fall
off when publicity eases even though Toyota has recalled thousands of
other vehicles this year for other problems -- including braking on
its signature Prius hybrid.

The unintended acceleration recalls in October 2009 and in January at
the core of Toyota's safety crisis involved floor mats that could jam
the accelerator pedal and pedals that did not spring back as designed.

Since 2000, electronic throttle control was cited in complaints
associated with 52 Toyota crashes that reportedly killed 62 people,
according to NHTSA's most recent figures. Regulators are reviewing
complaints alleging 31 additional deaths unrelated to electronic
throttle complaints.

Toyota is due to file an update soon with NHTSA on vehicles serviced
under the big recalls, which regulators analyze to see if remedies are
successful. The floor mat and "sticky pedal" recalls required design
changes or replacement products.

Toyota has so far made repairs and other fixes on 1.7 million
vehicles, or 78 percent of the recalled number, for "sticky pedals,"
and nearly 40 percent, or 2 million, of models recalled for loose
floor mats, it said. Certain Tundra pickups and Avalon and Camry
sedans had both problems.

Third of complaints

NHTSA received 9,600 acceleration complaints in the past 10 years and
Toyota represented about third, figures show.

Reports of alleged incidents to NHTSA about unwanted acceleration in
Toyota and Lexus vehicles for 2010 have so far reached 1,500, most
between January and March. February covered two-thirds of the total
when publicity, congressional investigations and lawsuits hit fever
pitch. There have been 400 related complaints against other
automakers.

There were an estimated 100 Toyota-related acceleration complaints
from April to June. The trend was heaviest in early spring. In June,
complaints fell to zero or very low single digits for key models, like
Camry, Prius and Lexus, according to a review of the most-recent
figures compiled by NHTSA.

At least two injuries were alleged. The 2007 Camry has accounted for
more than 270 complaints overall, but only two last month. Complaints
for other vehicles, including Corollas, Tacoma trucks, the hybrid
Prius and Lexus models, were scattered for June. A few complaints have
been noted in July.

Toyota, which maintains a complaint database, said it has also seen a
drop in acceleration reports. Its investigation of 2,000 related
complaints has turned up no potential cause beyond floor mats, faulty
pedals and possible driver error, Toyota said this week. It is also
testing its software-driven electronics for any glitches but says they
are sound.

Industrywide complaint trends

Other figures provided to NAS and separate documents reviewed by
Reuters also reveal that complaints industrywide for all problems have
topped the 38,000 reports received last year.

NHTSA is facilitating more recalls. The turnaround was driven by
criticism from safety advocates and some in Congress that NHTSA was
too easy on Toyota previously.

So far, more than 300 recalls through June covered more than 10
million vehicles, according to NHTSA figures. All carmakers have had
at least one recall. In 2009, there were 492 recalls covering 16.4
million vehicles.

Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of buyer resource Edmunds.com, said it
is reasonable to expect a drop in complaints as publicity eases and
recalled vehicles get fixed.

He said Toyota has loyal customers and can recover sales quickly
enough. But a challenge remains attracting buyers "that are on the
fence" over the jolt to the automaker's reputation for reliability and
safety. "That armor has a crack in it. That's the part that is hard to
rebuild," Anwyl said.

NHTSA has begun a new review of unintended acceleration with the U.S.
space agency, NASA. The NAS review is being conducted separately and
is in its early stages.

Toyota faces lawsuits alleging unintended acceleration. NHTSA fined
the automaker $16.4 million this year for failing to notify it in a
timely manner of flawed gas pedals in recalled models.


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