Toyota Recall Lawsuit

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Millions of Toyota and Lexus vehicles have recently been recalled due to defective floor mats and unresponsive gas pedals that have led to sudden or unintended vehicle acceleration. The defects in the affected cars, trucks and SUV’s have led to two massive recalls.

Breaking News: Schmidt & Clark, LLP attorneys report that according to ABC News, some safety experts believe that although a number of these accidents may have been caused by defective floor mats or defective gas pedals and accelerators, an unknown number may have also of occurred because of possible electronic problems or on-board computer glitches (see below, “Is the electronics system to blame?”).

Sudden vehicle acceleration can and has lead to a number of devastating car accidents throughout the United States. Over the past 10 years, there have been nearly 3,000 accidents and at least 18 deaths caused by unintended Toyota vehicle acceleration.

If you or a loved one have been the victim of a car accident that may have been caused by an unresponsive or sticky gas pedal, defective floor mat or electronic system malfunction while driving a Toyota, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation and we can help.

What’s the problem?

The September 2009 Toyota recall includes approximately 4 million vehicles and was issued due to the risk of driver side floor mats causing the accelerator to stick, which could lead to unintended vehicle acceleration or unresponsiveness.

The January 2010 Toyota recall includes 2.3 million vehicles and was issued the day after ABC News informed the company that the latest in a long series of ABC News investigative reports into sudden unexplained acceleration in Toyota’s was about to air. In this recall, Toyota warns that the gas pedals can wear out over time and cause the accelerator to stick or grow unresponsive.

The seriousness of these recalls has not only led Toyota to recall millions of vehicles currently in use but has also prompted the company to halt production of new vehicles and stop the sales of existing Toyota dealership inventory.

Toyota Recall List: To view a complete list of vehicles included in both the Toyota floor mat recall and the Toyota gas pedal recall, please visit the following link: Toyota Recall List

As previously mentioned, there have been hundreds of accidents and a number of serious injuries and deaths reported.

A Massachusetts-based safety research firm has identified 2,274 incidents of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles causing 275 crashes and at least 18 fatalities since 1999.

In one such tragic accident, a family of four were driving a Lexus that soared off an embankment, rolled several times, and burned. All four occupants were killed. The vehicle was driven by an off-duty Highway Patrolman who dialed 911 while his vehicle was topping speeds of 120 miles per hour before the unfortunate accident.  Listen to the tragic 911 call by watching an Associated Press video by visiting our Toyota Recall Video Library.

In another unfortunate crash, the day after Christmas, four people died in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, when a 2008 Toyota sped off the road, through a fence and landed upside down in a pond. The car’s floor mats were found in the trunk of the car, where owners had been advised to put them as part of the recall.

Is the electronics system to blame?

In New Jersey, a Toyota owner was able to make it to a local dealer with his car racing out of control, even though his foot was not on the gas pedal, the car was shifted into neutral and the floor mats were not involved.

Upon arrival to the dealership, the cars brakes were smoking and the engine was racing. The owner summoned a manager at the local Toyota dealership to witness what was happening to his car. After consulting with Toyota, the local dealership ended up replacing not only the gas pedal and throttle but also the electronic sensors attached to them.

A vehicle safety expert with Safety Research & Strategies has stated, “The New Jersey [sic] case is a real breakthrough case. We now have that evidence right in front of Toyota, they’re witnessing it and they can’t walk away from it.”

ABC News has reported that dozens of other Toyota owners had made similar claims about electronic problems with their cars, unconnected to floor mats, over the last few years, but they were routinely dismissed by Toyota as unfounded.

Do I Have a Toyota Recall Lawsuit?

The Automotive Crashworthiness & Product Liability litigation groups at our law firm create and experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in vehicular defect lawsuits. We are pursuing individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new Toyota and Lexus recall cases in all 50 states.

Again, if you or a loved one have been the victim of a car accident that may have been caused by an unresponsive or sticky gas pedal, defective floor mat or electronic system malfunction while driving a Toyota, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation and we can help.