Every day developments in the area of product safety occur. Whether it be recalls, the launch of defect investigations by NHTSA, or national or regional news about advancements in automotive safety technologies, news and information in this area is constantly changing.
To assist consumers and attorneys, some of the more notable developments are noted herein for easy reference. If you have any questions about any of these topics or desire more information do not hesitate to call us.
April 28, 2010 -
Toyota Motor Corp. issued yet another recall Wednesday, this time announcing a program to upgrade the software in the vehicle stability control system on about 50,000 early-2003 Toyota Sequoia sport utility vehicles.
April 19, 2010 -
Toyota hurriedly ordered recalls of nearly 10,000 Lexus SUVs for possible rollover dangers Monday and agreed to a record $16.4 million fine for a slow response in its broader earlier recall, scrambling to fix safety worries that threaten the Japanese auto giant's reputation.
April 6, 2010 -
Suzuki has announced a recall of its 2010 Equator pickup, concerning a possible airbag defect, as well as a problem with the fasteners connecting the steering column to its positioning bracket, which could contribute to an accident.
March 19, 2010 -
A jury that decided a Texas A&M student was texting while driving and caused a deadly wreck ordered him to pay $22 million in damages.
March 15, 2010 -
U.S. regulators have tracked more deaths in vehicles made by Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and other companies combined than by Toyota Motor Corp. during three decades of unintended acceleration reviews that often blamed human error.
March 11, 2010 -
Congressional probes, mushrooming lawsuits and a federal probe into reporting of acceleration defects have raised the risk of criminal charges for Toyota.
March 8, 2010 -
The popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax, one in a class of drugs called bisphosphonates, is supposed to make bones stronger, and for many women, it is safe and effective. But now there's mounting evidence that, for some women, taking these medications for more than five years could cause spontaneous fractures.
February 25, 2010 -
Chrysler Group LLC asked the owners of more than 355,000 of its popular minivans to take them to dealers in a few months to replace crash sensors that help to control the air bags.
February 18, 2010 -
First it was gas pedals, then brakes. Now Toyota and the government are looking into complaints that the popular Corolla is difficult to steer straight, raising a new safety concern ahead of next week's congressional hearing about the automakers recalls.
February 10, 2010 -
Honda announced that it is voluntarily adding 437,763 vehicles to a previously announced recall to fix drivers-side air bags in 2001 and 2002 model year vehicles, bringing the total number of affected vehicles to 947,913 worldwide.
February 5, 2010 -
Safety is our number one priority at the Department of Transportation. We’re going to continue to hold Toyota accountable and continue to investigate every possible cause of these safety defects, to make sure there are no other problems. We’ll make sure Toyota is doing all it has promised to make its vehicles safe.
January 26, 2010 -
Toyota Motor Corp. has taken the unprecedented step of suspending sales and production of eight models.
January 19, 2010 -
About 635,000 cribs sold at major discounters nationwide have been recalled.
January 6, 2010 -
To the dismay of safety advocates already worried about driver distraction, automakers and high-tech companies have found a new place to put sophisticated Internet-connected computers: the front seat.
January 5, 2010 -
Car Buyers are starting to understand the safety benefits of ESP with latest sales figures showing a further uptake.
December 1, 2009 -
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed a new crash safety test with the intention of reducing passenger ejections through side windows.
November 24, 2009 -
In the $5 billion market for All Terrain Vehicles, the skyrocketing growth of Chinese imports is becoming the latest challenge for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is starting a global campaign to improve the safety of a product that kills more people — about 900 a year — than any of the 15,000 other products the commission regulates.
November 23, 2009 -
The federal agency in charge of product safety announced the recall of 2.1 million cribs recently, citing defective hardware that can cause toddlers and infants to suffocate. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said parents should immediately stop using Stork Craft drop-side cribs, which are made by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada. About 1.2 million of the cribs have been distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.
November 17, 2009 -
Mitsubishi is recalling model year 2008-2009 Lancer and Lancer Evolution vehicles originally sold in or currently registered in states where heavy road salt is used in the winter. Long term exposure to a mixture of melted snow with salt thrown up by the other vehicles on the road may cause a water-salt mixture to adhere to the front impact sensors, potentially causing corrosion of the sensor over time. In the event of an accident or collision, a damaged sensor may short-circuit and delay airbag deployment possibly causing driver or passenger injury.
November 16, 2009 -
Toyota Motor Corp. will soon offer to fix the accelerator pedals of up to 4 million vehicles in the United States that are subject to the company's largest ever safety recall, Kyodo News reported. Toyota is believed to have agreed with U.S. authorities to repair the accelerator pedals voluntarily, the Japanese news agency said today, citing sources familiar with the matter. It was unclear what the fix would involve.
November 8, 2009 -
Over 1,000 Toyota and Lexus owners have reported sudden, spontaneous acceleration of their vehicles since 2001, including crashes blamed for 19 deaths, far more than earlier disclosed, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration previously has said it had received reports of 100 such incidents, including 17 crashes and five fatalities. Toyota Motor Corp. announced in September that it would recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk of improper-fitting floormats jamming accelerator pedals in several models.
November 6, 2009 -
Honda Motor Co.’s recalls of 444,000 Accord and Civic vehicles for potentially lethal airbag defects are under investigation by federal safety regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it wants Honda and Takata Corp., the airbag supplier, to help explain why the automaker didn’t include vehicles from the second recall in the earlier one nearly eight months before.
November 5, 2009 -
The 2011 Ford Explorer will be launched with rear seat belts that include small built-in airbags. The inflatable belts will be optional on the Explorer, which is switching from a truck-based body-on-frame platform to a unibody or one-piece body and chassis. Ford safety officials today said the belts are designed to reduce head, neck and chest injuries in young children and the elderly.
September 29, 2009 -
Toyota has announced the biggest automotive recall in U.S. history. The accelerator pedals in some of the Toyota models are getting stuck beneath the floor mats and causing vehicles to speed up dangerously.
September 1, 2009 -
In a lawsuit, lawyer says Toyota repeatedly forced him to illegally withhold information from victims of hundreds of accidents that resulted in deaths and injuries.