Over at Consumer Reports, Liza Barth takes a look at the year that has passed since the car crash that killed an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and his family in San Diego kicked off the long, often confusing saga of safety defects and Toyota and Lexus recalls. So what has the past year meant for Toyota, and the issue of safety recalls for the auto industry at large? According to Barth's post:
"Since last fall, Toyota dealers have serviced over half of all recalled vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is conducting investigations into Toyota safety and operations, having fined the company for failing to report problems in a timely fashion. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate grilled the company in a string of televised hearings that added more insights to the unfolding story. Even Consumers Union weighed in and spoke before Congress, calling for significant changes in automotive safety."Within a year's time, we've seen 4.8 million Toyota vehicles recalled in the U.S. alone -- worldwide, the number is closer to 9 million -- making the world's largest automaker also the record holder for largest number of recalled vehicles. Yet Toyota was hardly the only automaker with safety issues: Ford recalled more than 4.5 million vehicles in the States, meaning the two manufacturers combined accounted for more than half of all recalls last year. However, despite the high profile of recent recalls, back in 2004 there were more in total across all automakers -- more than 30 million vehicles recalled as the result of 600 separate notices. The media attention on the issue has had an impact, with automakers seeming to recall vehicles far more quickly. And, despite the various theories regarding faulty electronics or other woes, initial investigations into the Toyota unintended-acceleration issue seem to support Toyota's early assertions that the problem was a result of sticky accelerator pedals and improperly installed floor mats; driver error was also found to be a significant factor.
Toyota, NHTSA, and others including NASA and the National Academy of Sciences are not yet through with investigations, though, which means that, a year later, there's still more to learn.
Member: 5095 
Forum: 2322
News: 27
Blog: 16
Downloads: 18
Comments: 5