More consumers are complaining the recall fix did not fix their sudden acceleration issues. So now the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Toyota say they’re investigating.
Here’s a look at some of the new complaints I found on the NHTSA web site:
A mother complained on February 26, 2010 that she was still having problems with her 2009 Toyota Matrix.
Here’s some of what she wrote:
“The Toyota dealer did recall work on my brakes and gas pedal on February 10th, 2010. On February 26th, I was driving about 5 mph in a parking area with my son. I put my foot on the brake and I felt the car push forward. I put my other foot on the brake as well. My son said, ‘It’s doing it again mom!’ I put it in neutral and we both heard the engine wind out like I had pushed the gas pedal to the floor. This obviously means the recall “fix” isn’t working!”
This is the scariest complaint I found about a car owner who got into an accident days after his car underwent the fix:
“On February 11, I took my 2009 Toyota Matrix… to have the car repaired… I picked the car up on February 13th. On February 24 at 7:45am I was driving westbound on I-90 in Westlake, Ohio; it was snowing and the roads were wet, unsalted. As I was round a corner near the Crocker Bassett exit, my car began to skid. I immediately began to pump the brakes and attempt to straighten my car out, but the brakes did not engage. I firmly pressed down on the brakes and nothing happened; I then tried to emergency brake and the car still did not slow down. I was unable to regain control of the vehicle and it began to spin out and to the left. I pumped the brakes as hard and fast as I could, but the brakes never engaged and my car hit the cement median at 55mph. Due to a buildup of snow and ice against the median, my car was propelled into the air and landed on its roof.”
Another 2009 RAV4 owner said their car would lunge or rapidly accelerate from a complete stop and that “The problem still occurred even after the repair was performed.”
Another 2009 RAV4 owner complains that the recall may not have involved enough cars. He said he experienced sudden acceleration both on the highway and at slower speeds, but “when I called about this, as I was afraid to continue driving the car, I learned that my car was not part of the recall because I had a Denso gas pedal. Toyota tried to minimize the incident and indicated I could continue driving it to a dealership about 25 miles away. I refused to do so and had the vehicle towed at the dealers expense.”
ABC news' Brian Ross has been the lead on this story. You can read more of his stories here.
