Technology Slice

Driver Error In Some Toyota Cases

Driver Error In Some Toyota Cases – In what could turn into a repeat of the infamous Audi 5000 case more than two decades ago, driver error, not the vehicle, appears to be the cause of a number of Toyota unintended acceleration cases.

A government analysis of vehicle data has found people were mashing the gas pedal and not the brake at the time, according to a person with knowledge of the data who did not want to be identified because the information is not yet public.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is doing the probe, had no comment.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the automaker hadn’t seen NHTSA’s data, but “certainly, pedal misapplication” is among issues the company has discovered in its own investigations of more than 3,000 reports of unintended acceleration.

It isn’t yet clear how many of the thousands of incidents involve pedal misapplication because NHTSA hasn’t analyzed them all. And however many, it will not clear Toyota of already known vehicle problems that created acceleration risks.

The automaker agrees it had a problem with ill-fitting floor mats that could trap poorly designed gas pedals. It also has acknowledged that gas pedals in some vehicles can stick open.

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Posted in Cars