California prosecutors have announced a $16 million settlement in a suit against Toyota over the safety recall of over 14 million Toyota vehicles at risk for unintentional acceleration and braking issues in 2009 and 2010. The settlement covers Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles from model years 1998-2010 that were sold in the U.S. The vehicles include the popular Camry and Corolla.
In the suit, prosecutors claimed deceptive business practices, alleging that Toyota Motor Corp. deliberately hid safety issues related to its floor mats and “sticky gas pedal issues.” The suit sought $2,500 per violation under the state’s consumer protection laws. The Toyota unintended acceleration lawsuit settlement compensates owners for the loss in value of their vehicles when they sold them, among other remedies. However, the issue of alleged injuries from unintended acceleration is still unresolved and is likely to remain in the courts for years to come.
While Toyota continues to deny all claims made by the lawsuit, lawyers for both sides state that investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) were unable to link allegations of unintended acceleration to flaws in the electronic throttle. Instead, investigators blamed driver error or floor mat entrapment. "Reliable scientific evidence and multiple independent evaluations have confirmed the safety of Toyota's electronic throttle control systems," stated Christopher P. Reynolds, general counsel for Toyota Motor Sales USA. “However, we concluded that turning the page on this legacy legal issue through the positive steps we are taking is in the best interests of the company, our employees, our dealers and, most of all, our customers.”
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