Study: Toyota receives most complaints about sudden acceleration, followed by Ford
Toyota was the target of 41% of all consumer complaints about the problem in 2008 cars, according to a Consumer Reports analysis. Ford received 28% of complaints.
By Ken Bensinger and Ralph Vartabedian
12:14 PM PST, December 7, 2009
Toyota registered far more complaints about sudden acceleration in its 2008 model-year vehicles than any other automaker, a new study has found.
Toyota and Lexus vehicles received 41% of all consumer complaints to a federal database about runaway acceleration, more than Chrysler, General Motors, Honda and Nissan combined, analysis by Consumer Reports found. Other than Toyota, the only automaker with double-digit rates of complaints was Ford, which was the subject of 28% of complaints.
Chrysler's 2008 model-year vehicles received 9% of complaints and GM's 5%; Honda had 4% of complaints and Nissan 2%, the study showed.
The analysis of acceleration complaints logged by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covered only the 2008 model year. Nonetheless, said Jeff Bartlett, deputy online automotive editor at Consumer Reports, "it says this is a very real problem."
Toyota's share of the U.S. market in 2007 and 2008, when 2008 model-year cars were sold, was roughly 16%.
Toyota could not immediately be reached for comment.
Toyota has been the subject of increasing scrutiny over sudden acceleration in the wake of an August accident in an an out-of-control Lexus ES outside of San Diego that took four lives, including that of an off-duty California Highway Patrolman.
That prompted Toyota to announce its largest-ever recall, of 4.26 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Starting in January, the automaker will modify or replace accelerator pedals in seven Toyota and Lexus models, alter carpeting in some models and install new safety software. The recall includes vehicles from the 2005 through 2010 model years.
Toyota has repeatedly blamed interaction between the gas pedal and floor mats that could cause the pedal to become entrapped in a full-throttle position. But investigations into a number of accidents, including the San Diego county crash, have not conclusively found that the floor mat was responsible.
A Times review found that 19 people had died in sudden-acceleration accidents involving Toyota vehicles since the 2002 model year, more than all other automakers combined. In addition, The Times found that complaints of sudden acceleration increased dramatically after the automaker began replacing mechanical throttles with electronic throttle systems in the 2002 model year.
On Friday, the San Diego sheriff released a report on its three-month investigation into the Aug. 28 wreck, finding that "additional factors causing a sudden acceleration event (re: electrical, mechanical or computer generated) should not be ruled out."
Consumer Reports limited its research to acceleration incidents that "could be a real dangerous safety issue," excluding low-speed events or ones where the vehicle movement was arrested before the problem became more serious, according to Bartlett.
In addition, Consumer Reports excluded incidents that were reported after the San Diego crash to eliminate any spikes in complaints that could have been caused by publicity.
The remaining data, Bartlett said, indicated that Toyota was not the only automaker to receive unintended-acceleration complaints, since Ford also registered a higher number. The Ford complaints, however, were mostly limited to one model, the F-150 pickup, while Toyota complaints fell across a wide spectrum of vehicles, including ones not in the current recall.
The F-150 complaints, Bartlett said, seemed focused on the distance between the brake and gas pedals, and many consumers acknowledged stepping on the wrong pedal.
A Ford spokesman could not be reached for comment.
But few, if any, consumers alleging acceleration in Toyota or Lexus vehicles blamed it on pedal entrapment.
"It looks like the problem may be beyond floor mats," Bartlett said.
[email protected]
Toyota was the target of 41% of all consumer complaints about the problem in 2008 cars, according to a Consumer Reports analysis. Ford received 28% of complaints.
By Ken Bensinger and Ralph Vartabedian
12:14 PM PST, December 7, 2009
Toyota registered far more complaints about sudden acceleration in its 2008 model-year vehicles than any other automaker, a new study has found.
Toyota and Lexus vehicles received 41% of all consumer complaints to a federal database about runaway acceleration, more than Chrysler, General Motors, Honda and Nissan combined, analysis by Consumer Reports found. Other than Toyota, the only automaker with double-digit rates of complaints was Ford, which was the subject of 28% of complaints.
Chrysler's 2008 model-year vehicles received 9% of complaints and GM's 5%; Honda had 4% of complaints and Nissan 2%, the study showed.
The analysis of acceleration complaints logged by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covered only the 2008 model year. Nonetheless, said Jeff Bartlett, deputy online automotive editor at Consumer Reports, "it says this is a very real problem."
Toyota's share of the U.S. market in 2007 and 2008, when 2008 model-year cars were sold, was roughly 16%.
Toyota could not immediately be reached for comment.
Toyota has been the subject of increasing scrutiny over sudden acceleration in the wake of an August accident in an an out-of-control Lexus ES outside of San Diego that took four lives, including that of an off-duty California Highway Patrolman.
That prompted Toyota to announce its largest-ever recall, of 4.26 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Starting in January, the automaker will modify or replace accelerator pedals in seven Toyota and Lexus models, alter carpeting in some models and install new safety software. The recall includes vehicles from the 2005 through 2010 model years.
Toyota has repeatedly blamed interaction between the gas pedal and floor mats that could cause the pedal to become entrapped in a full-throttle position. But investigations into a number of accidents, including the San Diego county crash, have not conclusively found that the floor mat was responsible.
A Times review found that 19 people had died in sudden-acceleration accidents involving Toyota vehicles since the 2002 model year, more than all other automakers combined. In addition, The Times found that complaints of sudden acceleration increased dramatically after the automaker began replacing mechanical throttles with electronic throttle systems in the 2002 model year.
On Friday, the San Diego sheriff released a report on its three-month investigation into the Aug. 28 wreck, finding that "additional factors causing a sudden acceleration event (re: electrical, mechanical or computer generated) should not be ruled out."
Consumer Reports limited its research to acceleration incidents that "could be a real dangerous safety issue," excluding low-speed events or ones where the vehicle movement was arrested before the problem became more serious, according to Bartlett.
In addition, Consumer Reports excluded incidents that were reported after the San Diego crash to eliminate any spikes in complaints that could have been caused by publicity.
The remaining data, Bartlett said, indicated that Toyota was not the only automaker to receive unintended-acceleration complaints, since Ford also registered a higher number. The Ford complaints, however, were mostly limited to one model, the F-150 pickup, while Toyota complaints fell across a wide spectrum of vehicles, including ones not in the current recall.
The F-150 complaints, Bartlett said, seemed focused on the distance between the brake and gas pedals, and many consumers acknowledged stepping on the wrong pedal.
A Ford spokesman could not be reached for comment.
But few, if any, consumers alleging acceleration in Toyota or Lexus vehicles blamed it on pedal entrapment.
"It looks like the problem may be beyond floor mats," Bartlett said.
[email protected]
