Toyota cars running amok
Toyota is investigating nearly 2,000 cases of unintended acceleration but did not find any problem with its electronic system and claims that in some cases the driver is to blame for the errors.
This affirmation is based on the declaration of some drivers who said that their Toyotas or Lexuses escaped control and they might have pushed the accelerator when they meant to brake. 89 deaths because of car crashes were reported since 2000 and it is possible that they are linked to unintended acceleration problems in Toyota cars. There are conducted two separate studies to see if the electronics are to blame: one by space agency experts that look at the software-driven acceleration and there is an independent scientific panel expertise that studies the matter separately. Toyota blames unintended acceleration performed by the driver, floor mats that can jam the accelerator pedal or bad pedals that do not go back the way they are supposed to.
The equipment and the mechanical problems are to blame for the worldwide recall of about 8 million cars since October 2009. Complains for running amok cars and trucks might cost Toyota more than 10 billion dollars resulted from civil lawsuits. In spite of these problems, Toyota shares rose by 4.6 percent at the Tokyo share market. Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities, explains that this is because of the weaker yen.
