North Carolina Product Liability Blog : North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

From the Detroit Auto Show, big news:

DETROIT -- Toyota will install brake override systems on all Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles by year end as a way to prevent unintended acceleration.

The new system will be put in all vehicles globally, said Yoshi Inaba, president of Toyota North America Inc., in an interview at the Detroit auto show today. The initiative follows a recall last fall of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the United States to correct the problem.

This is excellent news.  If your accelerator and brake are depressed at the same time, this system automatically cuts the engine to idle.  Still no word why Toyota failed to provide this fix since about 2002 when reports of SUAs in Toyota's suddenly increased.  But at least they're acknowledging the solution and are going to make it standard.

As we've blogged before, if you get in a situation where you vehicle suddenly accelerates and the accelerator pedal will not return, do NOT pump your brakes.  Simply depress the brake firmly and hold it down until stopped.  Then switch the vehicle to neutral and once stopped, immediately power off.

If you've been injured or know someone who has been injured in a SUA event while operating a Toyota, please don't hesitate to contact the Law Office of D. Hardison Wood to speak with an attorney about sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.  1-877-829-7211.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Nissan announced that it is recalling approximately 10,586 Nissan Sentras from the 2009 model year which are equipped with Bosch master cylinders. Brake fluid may leak causing the brakes to function improperly.

NISSAN IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009 PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH BOSCH MASTER CYLINDERS. BRAKE FLUID MAY LEAK FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER. IF THE AMOUNT OF BRAKE FLUID IN THE MASTER CYLINDER RESERVOIR DECREASES TO BELOW THE MINIMUM LEVEL, THE BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING INDICATOR WILL ILLUMINATE AS DESIGNED AND THE BRAKES WILL NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY.

According to the listing on NHTSA's site, the brake circuit may fail and therefore increase the likelihood of a crash. If your vehicle is defective and you would like to discuss your situation with us, contact us immediately at 919-233-0520.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Trucks are involved in approximately 400,000 crashes each year according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. NHTSA announced that it is going to require tougher braking standards on large trucks. The standard will govern the distance within which a truck traveling at 60 mph must stop.

The new standard requires that a tractor-trailer traveling at 60 miles per hour come to a complete stop in 250 feet. The old standard required a complete stop within 355 feet.

The press release says this standard will begin with the 2012 model year vehicles.The newstandard will not apply to single unit trucks, trailers and buses but rather only to truck tractors.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck accident and you would like to discuss it further, please call us 1-877-829-7211.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks