Sikes was thousands of dollars in debt, and even his 911 call (where he claimed the accelerator would not come back up, even while braking) was somewhat unconvincing. A police cruiser eventually pulled in front of Sike’s Prius (which he was quite behind on payments with) to bring him to a stop.

According to NHTSA documents, “While the release of today’s study indicates there is the possibility of pedal entrapment and sticky pedals (both previously known incidents), there’s no evidence of either situations occurring in the case of Mr. Sikes.”

“NHTSA Investigation 3/31/2010 Conclusion: Initial assessment does not indicate any physical evidence of pedal entrapment or sticky accelerator pedal… Test drive conducted, same route as Sikes incident. Could not simulate runaway situation.”

Further case studies of other “Runaway Prius” stories (including the NY maid crashing hers, pictured above) are also starting to look falsified. In addition, NHTSA officials are now saying upwards of 90% of these Prius incidents are caused by driver error. Either a person is not properly operating the vehicle, or they are lying. Either way, Toyota looks to (just about) be in the clear.

Source: Jalopnik

Toyota declined to say how much the settlement was for. The automaker recalled nearly 8 million vehicles for accelerator issues, covering both loose floormats and stuck pedals.

Much of it was due to a rebounding auto market in the United States where a fall in loan defaults and rising sales produced boyant numbers at Toyota’s financial services arm which accounted for 85 percent of its total North American operating profit.

There is more good news for Toyota, which took a hit on U.S. consumers’ view of the brand with the recalls. According to YouGov BrandIndex, a company that tracks consumers’ attitudes towards brands, Toyota is back to an overall positive image.

Source: WCF

it be that Toyota actually planted that story in the Wall Street Journal? Is Toyota in on a high level automotive conspiracy that even the WSJ isn’t immune from? Will they tell us whatever they chose, leading us to believe it’s fact instead of fiction? Where’s Mulder & Scully!?! And we need the real ones, not the Kimberly Kane adult movie spoof versions! (Although, she’s a really good Scully too).

According to Jalopnik, “An unnamed spokesperson at NHTSA, the U.S. agency responsible for examining Toyota unintended acceleration problems, claims last week’s Wall Street Journal story asserting “driver error” was the main cause, was planted by Toyota.” Though the blog and pretty much anyone else involved say that, even though the story was planted, it probably was indeed driver error.

You see, somewhere around 99% of these “Sudden Acceleration” accidents are caused by the driver, not the vehicle itself. So, Toyota might have jumped the gun, sending this bit of info to the Wall Street Journal, but that doesn’t mean it’s false – just in poor taste. This too, is how Toyota (and any other smart company) gets out of paying off a lot of wrongful death lawsuits.

Also from Jalopnik: “A Wall Street Journal article from this past week claimed that initial findings from the US Department of Transportation (DOT), of which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a part, stated that drivers have been to blame for the unintended acceleration by pressing the wrong pedals.”

However, NHTSA, the body responsible for examining the Toyota pedal problems in the US, has firmly rebutted claims the story came from the safety organization. An anonymous NHTSA spokeswoman even went so far as to claim “that story was planted by Toyota” to the publication just-auto. She went on,”Toyota is the source – yes we know that for definite. It is [the] Toyota PR machine. We knew they were going to put it out.”

Stay tuned folks, because like Mulder we all want to believe.

Source: Jalopnik

Toyota’s 4Runner, which is build on the same frame as GX 460, will have a special eye kept on it during testing. Although, during the same run, Consumer Reports did not find the same issues with 4Runner. This may be because 4Runner’s body is wider then it’s Lexus twin. This announcement follows a recall of 600,000 Toyota Minivans.

“Toyota said it is testing stability-control systems on all of its SUVs and that it has had no complaints from customers in regards to the problems stated by Consumer Reports. According to the magazine’s testers, the slow reaction of the vehicle’s electronic stability control system when a driver takes it around a corner while quickly lifting off the throttle can lead to a situation called “lift oversteer,” which in conjunction with the vehicle’s weight and tire specification can potentially lead to a rollover.”

Via: Motor Authority

Just a day after Mr. Sikes apparently lost control of his Toyota Prius in Southern California, a suburban New Yorker claimed they couldn’t brake and slammed a Toyota Prius into the side of a building. NHTSA states their computer data from the Toyota Prius shows at the time of the accident its throttle was open. Meaning: driver was not applying the brakes. Tisk tisk, crafty New Yorker.

So wait, Toyota’s rust? Yes, that was a bit of sarcasm – but it still doesn’t help that Toyota recalls are a dime a dozen these days. Next up on the list is over 110,000 Tundra’s – which have been recalled for dangerous rust issues on the vehicle’s undercarriage. As of today, March 10th 2010, the recall number is expected to rise. Oh boy…here’s the release:

“Toyota Announces Safety Recall on 2000 through 2003 Tundra Frame Rear Cross Member

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. will launch a Safety Recall involving approximately 110,000 Tundra vehicles sold in the United States.

Certain 2000 through 2003 model year Tundra vehicles operated in cold climate areas with high road salt use, may exhibit excessive corrosion on the frame rear cross- member. In the worst case, the spare tire stowed under the truck bed may become separated from the rear cross member. Spare tire separation will create a road hazard for following vehicles and increase the likelihood of a crash.

Eventually, excessive corrosion of the rear cross-member may also affect the functionality of the rear brake line at the proportioning valve. If this occurs, it can lead to the loss of the rear brake circuits which will increase vehicle stopping distances and the risk of a crash.

In addition to the District of Columbia, the involved cold climate states with high road salt usage are: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

Beginning in December 2009 through early 2010, owners of the involved vehicles will receive a Safety Recall notification via first class mail asking them to take their vehicles to a Toyota dealer for an initial inspection of the rear cross member. During this inspection, the rear cross-member including the surrounding components such as, the brake line at the proportioning valve (which is mounted on the cross-member assembly) will also be inspected. Based upon the inspection, Toyota will do one of the following at no charge:

Tundra

If there is no significant corrosion of the rear cross-member assembly or the rear brake line at the proportioning valve, owners will be notified of that fact and requested to subsequently bring their vehicle back to the dealership so that a corrosion-resistant compound can be applied to the rear cross-member. Toyota will notify the owner when the corrosion-resistant compound is available.

If significant corrosion is detected such that the rear cross-member can no longer safely support the spare tire and replacement components are available, the cross- member assembly will be replaced. In the event replacement components are not available, a temporary solution, such as the removal of the spare tire and securing it to the truck bed, will be performed until parts are available.

In those relatively rare cases where the rear cross-member is significantly corroded and can no longer safely support the spare tire, but the rear cross-member cannot be replaced due to excessive frame corrosion at the mounting location (e.g., if the side rails are too damaged), Toyota will develop an appropriate remedy for those vehicles on a case-by- case basis.

This inspection will take approximately 20 minutes depending on dealer scheduling.

Until your vehicle is inspected, you may minimize the risk of the spare tire separating from the rear cross-member by removing it. If you choose to do so, please be sure not to be under the rear cross-member or spare tire carrier during the lowering process. In addition, if placing the spare tire in the truck bed or other area of the vehicle, it should be secured when driving.

Customers with questions are asked to call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1 800 331-4331.”

Pic via Jalopnik

To keep things fair, Ross and the ABC team went back to redo the Toyota test – at least part of it. He took a shot of the tachometer from a different test-drive – then edited that footage back into the original piece. Now don’t get me wrong – this blogger once owned an early 2000′s Avalon and believe me, it had more than one unexplained revving/acceleration issue. But with all the dismay surrounding our favorite Japanese auto maker they shouldn’t need any help from their own personal devil, Brian Ross.

The video above is an ABC News online official feed, which now seems to have completely edited out all of the Tach Shots. Gawker Media talked to ABC rep Jeffrey Schneider and when they asked why different tachometer shots were used: he paused for at least five seconds. Then he said, “I don’t know how that would happen. The tachometer was surging during each test we did, and the video is an accurate portrayal of what happened in the car to the tachometer.”

No one (ie: Gawker or Toyotapedia.org) are accusing Ross, ABC or anyone else of faking the test. But we’d love to see a redo where the actual proposed experiment was carried out fully on video. I mean, it’s not like this story is going away anytime soon…unfortunately for Toyota .

It was June 10, 2006 in Lino Lakes, Minnesota. Koua Fong Lee was driving his 1996 Toyota Camry when it unexpectedly sped up an interstate ramp, slamming into the back of an Oldsmobile and killing three people. Lee insisted he did everything he could to stop the car. “I know 100 percent in my heart that I took my foot off the gas and that I was stepping on the brakes as hard as possible,” Lee said Wednesday in an interview at the state prison Minn. “When the brakes were looked at and we were told that nothing was wrong with the brakes, I was shocked.”

Javis Trice Adams, 33, and his 10-year-old son, Javis Adams Jr., died at the scene. Adams’ 6-year-old niece, Devyn Bolton, was paralyzed from the neck down, and died shortly after Lee was convicted.

A jury of his peers didn’t believe him, and Lee was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Now the new revelation of Toyota safety problems has Lee, lawyers and the families of those killed during that fateful night rethinking the case. Relatives are also planning to sue Toyota. “The prosecutor who sent Lee to prison said he thinks the case merits another look,” according to MSNBC.

“The uncertainty could wind up helping Lee and others. Attorneys for both the 32-year-old St. Paul man as well as the victims’ families say they’re encouraged by the evidence that the problems went beyond models that originally were recalled…If Lee’s car was defective, “We don’t want an innocent man sitting in prison,” said Phil Carruthers, who prosecuted the case for Ramsey County.”