Saturday, 2 April 2011

Plaintiffs In Toyota Acceleration Case: NASA Study Flawed

Loose all-weather floor mat jams accelerator pedal. Photo: NHTSA

Loose all-weather floor mat jams accelerator pedal. Photo: NHTSA

Plaintiffs in the accelerator-related cases against Toyota are likely to challenge the NASA report conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this year, reports Bloomberg.

According to the plaintiffs, the NASA study only reviewed 280,000 out of the 8 million lines of code in Toyota's electronic systems. They also pointed to so-called Tin Whiskers as a potential cause, citing their role in the failure of three commercial satellites.

The NASA report, which was revealed on February 8, concluded that the accelerator-related issues encountered by Toyota drivers were caused by sticking pedals, floor-mat jams, or driver error. The report had focused on just nine vehicles over ten months, and on those it could find no defects.

The first of several so-called "bellwether" cases dealing with the acceleration issue will be set for trial in 2013, and a U.S. District Court judge recently posted that one of the first two trials would involve a Camry and Toyota's electronic throttle system.

For more details, and a step-by-step look back at the drama surrounding the recall, see our Toyota And Lexus Recall: Everything You Need To Know index.

[Bloomberg]



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