Toyota is vowing to win back customers “at all costs” to reverse the tide of plummeting sales and an unprecedented series of safety recalls. Automotive News reports the automaker will offer the best extended new car warranty in the industry and offer a warranty for used vehicles as well. Customers will be offered cash to buy a Toyota vehicle and dealers will get help from Toyota on their overflow inventory and in dealing with repairs outside of those covered by the various recalls.
Toyota has already fallen to third behind Chevy and Ford among truck sales and 80,000 automobile sales will be lost this year.
Last fall, Toyota recalled more than five million Toyota and Lexus models following complaints of unintended acceleration caused by floor mats trapping accelerator pedals. In January, another 2.3 million cars were recalled because of unintended acceleration. This time though it was blamed on a sticky gas pedal. The more recent recalls have included the Prius hybrid and the Tacoma pickup, affecting about 8,000 four-wheel trucks that will be fixed for a defective front drive shaft.
Personal Injury Claims
We certainly hope that you or a loved one has not experienced a runaway Toyota. A few individuals have lived to tell about it and even experienced drivers who tried everything in their power to stop the vehicle, could not. As a result, there are individual lawsuits and class action lawsuits that have been filed against Toyota. Unfortunately, sometimes that is the only thing that will get the automakers ear and attention. While automakers typically try to block class actions, Toyota will not have much opportunity this time around. A suit has already been filed in federal court in Florida on behalf of over 5 million Toyota owners who have had their vehicles recalled. A lawsuit in Texas alleges a woman was killed in a December accident driving a 2009 Corolla.
It is very likely that Toyota will have to settle rather than try each case individually in open court. Expect charges of wrongful death, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment, unjust enrichment, and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. As more information comes forward about what Toyota knew and when it knew it, expect more accusations of a cover-up. Then the question arises, why leave other similar vehicles that do not have a brake over-ride system unrecalled?
If you own a Toyota, you would be well-advised to contact a Florida auto product liability attorney, even if you have not been involved in an accident, to stay up to date with your rights, the possible diminished value of your car, and the latest news on this huge defective product action.
