Toyota Recall Timeline
The Toyota recall lawyers at the Kahn Law Firm have been following the sudden acceleration-related events at Toyota Motor Company as these began unfolding several months ago.
Here's a brief timeline of events as they have developed.
- On August 28, 2009, four people were killed in San Diego, California when the loaner Toyota Lexus they were in, accelerated to excessive speeds, and crashed.
- Just over a month later on 29 September 2009, Toyota announced a recall of 3.8 million vehicles in the US. Toyota said the recall was because of floor mats that could entrap the accelerator, causing it to stick. During this recall, Toyota insisted there was no “vehicle-based” cause for the sudden acceleration.
- On 25 November 2009, Toyota announced that it would redesign the shape of the gas pedal, and take other measures to deal with the sudden acceleration issue, including redesigning the floor mats and installing brake override systems in its vehicles.
- On the 25th of Jan 2010, Toyota announced that it was recalling more vehicles including the Toyota Camry, Corolla, RAV 4 and Highlander. By this time, the company was ready to admit that it was more than just floor mats that were causing the problem. This second Toyota recall, the company said, was due to a pedal defect that was causing the accelerator to jam.
- It became clear that the problem was much worse than Toyota recall lawyers had believed when the company stopped production and sales of several of its vehicles. That announcement came on 26 January 2010. Toyota said that it would temporally suspend production and sales of at least eight of its most popular models, including the Corolla and Camry, till engineers found a fix for the problem.
- The next in the defective Toyota recall series came on 27 January 2010. Toyota expanded the first recall to include more than 1 million more vehicles, including the Toyota Prius, the company’s star hybrid.
- On 3 February 2010, Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood gave a dire warning to Americans against driving the recalled Toyota cars, but later withdrew his statement. The damage had however, been done. It is extremely rare for a federal safety official to warn Americans against driving a particular model of car.
- On 5 February 2010, Toyota chief Akio Toyoda addressed the world at a press conference, and apologized for the recalls.
- On 9 February 2010, yet more recalls were announced by Toyota. This one involved more than 407,000 Toyota Prius cars. This recall was linked to brake problems. With this, the total number of recalled Toyota vehicles worldwide has touched 8.5 million.
- On 12 of February, 2010, Toyota recalled approximately 8,000 Tacoma pickup trucks for propeller shaft problems.
- On 24 February 2010, Toyota chief Akio Toyoda testified during congressional hearings into the recalls. Toyoda also used this opportunity to apologize for the recalls.
- On 6 April 2010, the Department of Transportation announced that it would seek the maximum penalties against Toyota. According to the Department of Transportation, Toyota knowingly concealed dangerous defects in its vehicles that placed the lives of motorists at risk. The company was fined $16.4 million. It may be peanuts for the automaker, but paying the fine would confirm what Toyota recall lawyers have known - that the company was aware of these dangerous defects all the while, but chose to play these down to protect its share of the automotive market.
The Toyota recall lawyers at our firm are investigating complaints of sudden acceleration in defective Toyota vehicles. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a vehicle included in the Toyota recall, you may be eligible to file a defective Toyota lawsuit. Contact a Toyota recall lawyer at our firm for a free initial consultation.
If you are the owner of a recalled Toyota vehicle, you may be eligible to file a Toyota consumer fraud claim against the company to compensate for the lost resale value of your recalled Toyota car or pickup truck. Contact a Toyota consumer fraud lawyer at the Kahn Law Firm for an evaluation of your case.
