There are indications that Toyota may have known about its accelerator problems for years before Toyota went public with them.
An amended class action lawsuit filed again Toyota Motor Corp alleges that, in September 2006, Ernestine Montgomery’s 2005 Toyota Camry accelerated without warning, and caused her to crash into the wall of a grocery store (while her foot was still on the brake). She took her Camry in for servicing, and the Toyota dealer replaced her accelerator pedal.
According to State Farm Insurance Company, State Farm began warning federal safety regulators (NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) about the accelerator problem starting in 2007. State Farm had been compiling data from numerous collisions its insured drivers had been involved in. In addition to State Farm’s own data, there were a large number of direct consumer complaints. Statisticians recognize that such reported complaints usually only represent the tip of the iceberg.
According to some sources, after NHTSA learned of the Toyota accelerator problems, it sat on that information and failed to inform Toyota. Toyota, on the other hand, received direct complaints as well. Investigation is ongoing, but it appears that the defects were brought to Toyota’s attention at least one year before the initial recall. If incidents like Ms. Montgomery’s are included, Toyota’s knowledge of the accelerator problems may date back to 2006, 3 ½ years before the initial recalls.
It is likely that, had consumers known one, two, or three years ago about these defects, and had the vehicles been recalled at that earlier time, multiple deaths and serious injuries could have been avoided. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed by a suddenly accelerating Toyota vehicle, contact a lawyer to learn about your rights and options.
