Toyota complaints linked to 89 deaths

• Source: Global Times
• [00:50 May 27 2010]
• Comments

Some 89 deaths have been linked to public complaints of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, the US government said Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that, as of May 20, it had received complaints covering a total of 71 fatal incidents that allegedly involved unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

"These reports covering incidents dating back to 2000 include 89 fatalities and 57 injuries," a spokeswoman for the agency told AFP.

From 2000 to mid-May, NHTSA received more than 6,200 complaints concerning unintended acceleration involving Toyota vehicles.

In February, Toyota vehicles were linked to 34 deaths by consumers filing complaints with the US government over unexpected acceleration.

Toyota has pulled around 10 million vehicles worldwide since late last year for safety issues and has paid a record $16.4-million fine to settle claims it hid gas pedal defects blamed for more than 50 US deaths.

The beleaguered auto giant also faces a host of lawsuits over unintended acceleration issues.

The latest of Toyota's nightmares came Monday when the company announced that it had stopped the sales of 2009-10 high-end Lexus LS 460 and LS 600h sedans because of an electronics problem that can cause steering wheels to fall out of alignment.

Toyota has repeatedly denied that the sudden, deadly surges in speed stemmed from flaws in the electronic systems that govern acceleration and braking in modern vehicles.

Instead, the firm said many complaints in the NHTSA database lack sufficient detail that could help identify the cause of an accident, blamed jammed floor mats or "sticky" pedals, or driver error - and vowed to get to the bottom of charges that electronic flaws were an issue.

Agencies