Toyota Recall Blackbox Info Of Great Interest To Ford, GM And Others
By Ashley Jones on March 11, 2010, 6:00 am Posted in Business NewsThe Associated Press reported today, after reviewing lawsuits and conferring with auto crash experts, that Toyota has been inconsistent in revealing what their black boxes actually record.
What Is Toyota Hiding And Why Are They Hiding It
What is known is that each Toyota vehicle has a device much like an airplane’s black box; what is a mystery is what, exactly, they record. After the Associated Press reviewed information on specific lawsuits, they realized that Toyota’s disclosures of whether the brake or accelerator pedals were depressed at the time of a crash in each case have been contradictory. The AP also found that Toyota has blocked the release of data stored in those black boxes which could explain exactly what happened in each crash.
An attorney for a lawsuit in Texas stated in court documents that Toyota may have deliberately stopped allowing its black boxes, or event data recorders (EDRs), to collect critical information. This would protect Toyota from being forced to reveal that information in court cases.
Toyota released a statement on Thursday stating that the EDR system is an experimental device. They went on to state that it is not intended for accident reconstruction because it is not reliable. The only sources that can request that data are law enforcement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or a court order, according to the statement. It should be noted that the automaker announced earlier this week that they will provide U.S. safety regulators the tools to read the “black boxes”.
It should be noted that most other automakers allow open access to information from their EDRs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that this week 52 more people have died in crashes linked to accelerator problems causing massive amounts of lawsuits.
Related posts:
- Toyota Recall: Lawyers Could Be Busy With Gas Pedal Class Action Suits
- Congress Blasts DOT On Toyota Recall On Being Slow To React
- State Farm Goes After Toyota To Pay For Acceleration Lawsuits
- Toyota Exec Erv Miller Warned Mgmt “Need To Come Clean” About Recall
- Feds Looking Into Another Fine For Toyota For 2 Separate Problems
4 Responses to “Toyota Recall Blackbox Info Of Great Interest To Ford, GM And Others”
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Lies lies and more lies, when will Toyota stop with the lies and level with the American public. I will not now or ever, put my butt in the seat of a Toyota product.
There are some engineers in Toyota City, Japan who have some answers. But they will be fired and never work again if they come forward. And be ostracized in Japan. So Toyota continues its coverup and lying.
Let’s have the black box info and get to the bottom of the problem….
Imagine losing your only son who had just purchased his $35,000.00 Toyota Tundra 5.7 new from the dealer some 3-months prior.
The accident that claimed his life was at best described as catastrophic on a rural roadway unwitnessed. The only witness present was the EDR in the vehicle which Dad immediately removed.
For 2.5 years we have tried to encourage Toyota to download the EDR data. This towards better understand what transpired.
As parents we thought that this would be relatively simple,transparent in nature as almost all other manufacturers comply by providing software and assistance.
Our son was extremely responsible, and upon viewing the damage understood something teribble went wrong.
The engine was pushed through the firewall, taking out the large center console of the Tundra. The rear axle pushed off the mounts launching the under slung full size spare across the roadway a considerable distance.
After severely crushing on the tree while going Eastbound pitched violently and came to rest facing South on the roadway.
Upon receiving the Washington State Patrol master file many substantial inaccuracies we found disturbing.
From the beginning they reported the accident as a “Roll Over” mishap. In fact our sons vehicle had struck a tree some 12′ from the roadway.
Of four Washington State Patrol members in attendance all reported different posted speed limits for where the mishap occurred. The only law enforcement member to get it correct was a Whatcom County Sheriffs Deputy.
The Washington State Trooper who was the technical investigator at the scene suggested that our son had decided to commit suicide as the vehicle was new and a Toyota.
Further disturbing from the disclosure of this Mater File was he concluded that our son passed away several days after the accident, and not some 12 hours later the same day.
We challenged this so the Washington State Patrol had a Detective Trooper investigate this aspersion.
He concluded this not to be true and was totally unsubstantiated. Our son Christopher was some one mile from home.
As for the accuracy of the Medical Examiners report he documented an entirely different roadway on which the accident had occurred.
So yes as parents we have pursued the EDR download with Toyota for some time now.
They will try and put their “Spin Doctors” to work but the fact is they have hidden defects that have both injured and caused fatalities from the government agencies they are responsible to.
This far beyond the wilfully blind eye if you will, and I suggest criminal in nature.
Lets get to the facts, and who knew what when and hold them accountable.
Sorry Toyota this is not going away any time soon.
Ron & Lori Eves