• 05
  • February
    2010

San Diego personal injury attorneys are seeing a host of questions from concerned Toyota owners in light of the comments made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood earlier this week.  LaHood advised, in testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee this week, that owners of the recalled models of Toyota's cars should stop driving them. 

Indeed, his sentiment was echoed by personal injury attorneys.  In the UK, a leading lawyer urged owners of the recalled vehicles to stay off the road, or face possible legal liability if the product defect caused an accident. 

The recall, which was announced earlier this year, took 5.6 million vehicles off the road in the United States alone.  Toyota has been having issues with the brake systems and issued a recall last year, after a San Diego car accident resulted in the death of five people.   

Yesterday, Toyota announced that the brake problems in the recalled models was a problem with the software.  The brake override systems are being added to most Toyota models now, in response to the software problems.  Computerized acceleration control systems are used in the newer Toyota models, as opposed to cable systems in the older models.  The brake problem has taken Toyota's liability issues beyond mere personal injury lawsuits and is on the verge of potentially changing safety policy. 

San Diego area car dealerships are feeling the pressure, as they have been flooded with concerned Toyota owners.  In response, dealers ramped up their service, according to the San Diego Tribune.

Said one manager from a San Diego dealership: "We're going to be open as long as we have to."

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