Fixes discussed in giant recall

November 18, 2009

Detroit Free Press

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Federal regulators and Toyota Motor Corp. are discussing whether the automaker needs to fix gas pedals or floor pans in millions of recalled vehicles instead of blaming floor mats, which the automaker had maintained was the source of unintended acceleration cases.

The talks are the result of new evidence from safety tests and allegations in some lawsuits, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has received more than 400 complaints about acceleration problems that include several fatalities.

In September, Toyota — which built its reputation on quality — asked owners of 3.8 million Camry, Prius and other models to remove driver’s-side floor mats as part of the company’s largest-ever U.S. recall.

But now, the automaker is discussing the gas pedal and floor pan repairs, Karen Aldana, a NHTSA spokeswoman, said Tuesday.

Still, lawyers are pointing to other potential problems.

Attorneys for Guadalupe Alberto allege a malfunctioning electronic throttle control caused her 2005 Camry to surge from less than 25 m.p.h. to about 80 m.p.h. in 2008. She died after her car hit two trees, despite the brakes being pressed. The lawyers say the Camry had no driver’s-side mat in place.

Toyota continues to deny that electronic technology was a factor in any reported case of unintended acceleration, said spokesman Mike Michels. He said Toyota wants to fix any engineering or mechanical flaws that testing reveals.

Deaths blamed on sensors

Alberto’s case provides an ironic twist in the Japanese automaker’s effort to contain its largest-ever U.S. recall.

Alberto, a 77-year-old General Motors Co. retiree from Flint, died in April 2008 after her Camry sped and hit two trees although she “vigorously and desperately” applied her brakes, according to the lawsuit filed in Genesee County Circuit Court by Lilia Alberto, a representative of her estate.

The suit names as defendants Toyota and Denso International, a major supplier based in Southfield, which produced the electronic throttle control system that Alberto’s lawyers charge malfunctioned.

Specifically, the Alberto lawyers allege the accident was caused by “the vehicle’s propensity for confusion in the sensors and electronics processors” in the throttle control unit “as the result of transient signals.”

“Intermittent radio waves or electronic interference will lock down the cruise control and the brakes won’t override the system,” George Hilborn, a Birmingham lawyer and one of six lawyers for the Alberto estate, told the Free Press on Tuesday.

Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which have been investigating cases of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, say multiple tests that looked for problems in the electronic engine controls have not yet shown any defect or malfunction.

Earlier this month, Toyota mailed letters to owners of models being recalled asking that they make sure they have the correct driver-side floor mat for their model. If so, it must be fastened to hooks on the floor.

If not, Toyota said owners should remove it. Toyota also warns owners not to flip the floor mat over or place one mat on top of another.

But Alberto’s Camry had no floor mat on the driver’s side, the lawyers said in the lawsuit.

The letter also advised that owners who experience a sudden surge in speed should step on the brake with both feet, but do not pump, shift to neutral or turn the engine off while the car is in motion. For those models with a stop-start engine button, Toyota recommends pushing the button for three seconds.

Getting to the root cause of the problem is a core tenet of the Toyota manufacturing system. Some of the unintended acceleration cases, including several fatal accidents, have involved models from its Lexus luxury brand.

The automaker is committed to finding and fixing other possible contributing factors.

Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said the type of computer-controlled system in Toyota’s cruise control has multiple backup capabilities that would counteract something like the Alberto lawyers’ alleged radio wave interference.

But Toyota is not saying its request that owners of about 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles remove or replace driver-side floor mats is the ultimate fix.

“We don’t have a comment on a particular technical fix,” Michels said. “It will be a vehicle-based remedy. When that is developed, we will announce it.”

NHTSA spokeswoman Karen Aldana agreed with Michels that the throttle control system has not caused unwanted acceleration in extensive testing by the agency. NHTSA and Toyota are looking closely at adjustments to the gas pedal itself or to the floor pan beneath it, Aldana said.