New York, NY: According to CNNMoney yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has amassed more than 80 complaints with regard to steering problems in late-model Corollas. About half a million Corollas—one of the best-selling cars in the country and second in popularity behind the Toyota Camry—may be affected.
Those complaints range from drifting at high speeds to steering wheel vibration and exaggerated motions from small steering inputs.
The NHTSA says that 363,000 Corollas from model year 2009 and an additional 136,000 from 2010 could be affected.
The US government, already poised to begin hearings on sticking accelerator pedals and problems with anti-lock brakes, will today open an investigation into the latest Toyota problem.
Earlier this week the automaker announced that it was suspending production at two US plants. Two days ago the NHTSA requested documents from Toyota in an effort to determine if recalls were conducted in a timely manner.
The president of Toyota in Japan, Akio Toyoda, again faced media scrutiny for the third time in two weeks, pledging tighter safety controls and a return to the automaker's once-coveted safety record. However, he said he would not make the trip to the US to appear before Congressional hearings, unless required to do so.
At the press conference in Japan, according to the Associated Press, Toyota is weighing the options of a recall for Corolla, but has not yet made that determination.
Oklahoma City, OK: If the Honda airbag recall has a face, it is that of 18-year-old Ashley Parham, who died in a car accident just four days after graduating from Carl Albert High School in Oklahoma City.
On May 27, 2009, Ashley went to pick up her brother from football practice. Guiding her 2001 Honda Accord sedan along the length of the Carl Albert field house parking lot, she failed to yield to another car and crashed.
When the airbag deployed, shards of metal exploded from the airbag mechanism and tore into the young driver. One shard penetrated her neck and another projectile entered the right side of her chest, according to the state medical examiner. The projectile was recovered from her chest at hospital.
"The airbag deployed, shards of metal exploded from the airbag mechanism, and that's what penetrated her neck and caused her fatal injury," said Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes.
No one else was injured in the crash.
The young woman is so far the only fatality linked to the Honda airbag recall, which expanded last week to encompass an additional 378,000 vehicles in the US and Canada. According to the 2/11/10 edition of the Oklahoman, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that a potentially faulty airbag system in several Honda models has been linked to 11 injuries.
A Timeline
The airbag systems were installed primarily in 2001 and 2002 Accords, Civics, Odyssey minivans, CR-Vs and some Acura models. An initial recall of 4000 vehicles was rolled out in November of 2008, although Parham's Accord was not among the models listed. Two months after Parham's death, Honda expanded the recall to 440,000 vehicles, including the Accord.
The recall was further expanded last week.
The Oklahoman reported that the Parham family filed a lawsuit on August 6 in Oklahoma County District Court against Honda and Takata Corp. (the manufacturer of the seat belt and airbag system used in the car) as well as several of the companies' subsidiaries. A settlement of $5,000 was approved a day later. The money will be held in trust for Melton Parham Jr., the brother of the deceased, who witnessed his sister's death and, according to the lawsuit, was emotionally traumatized as a result.
Police did not pursue criminal charges. Both Honda and Takata denied fault.
It is not known if the Parham family pursued a lawsuit for the actual death of their daughter.
Those complaints range from drifting at high speeds to steering wheel vibration and exaggerated motions from small steering inputs.
The NHTSA says that 363,000 Corollas from model year 2009 and an additional 136,000 from 2010 could be affected.
The US government, already poised to begin hearings on sticking accelerator pedals and problems with anti-lock brakes, will today open an investigation into the latest Toyota problem.
Earlier this week the automaker announced that it was suspending production at two US plants. Two days ago the NHTSA requested documents from Toyota in an effort to determine if recalls were conducted in a timely manner.
The president of Toyota in Japan, Akio Toyoda, again faced media scrutiny for the third time in two weeks, pledging tighter safety controls and a return to the automaker's once-coveted safety record. However, he said he would not make the trip to the US to appear before Congressional hearings, unless required to do so.
At the press conference in Japan, according to the Associated Press, Toyota is weighing the options of a recall for Corolla, but has not yet made that determination.
Oklahoma City, OK: If the Honda airbag recall has a face, it is that of 18-year-old Ashley Parham, who died in a car accident just four days after graduating from Carl Albert High School in Oklahoma City.
On May 27, 2009, Ashley went to pick up her brother from football practice. Guiding her 2001 Honda Accord sedan along the length of the Carl Albert field house parking lot, she failed to yield to another car and crashed.When the airbag deployed, shards of metal exploded from the airbag mechanism and tore into the young driver. One shard penetrated her neck and another projectile entered the right side of her chest, according to the state medical examiner. The projectile was recovered from her chest at hospital.
"The airbag deployed, shards of metal exploded from the airbag mechanism, and that's what penetrated her neck and caused her fatal injury," said Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes.
No one else was injured in the crash.
The young woman is so far the only fatality linked to the Honda airbag recall, which expanded last week to encompass an additional 378,000 vehicles in the US and Canada. According to the 2/11/10 edition of the Oklahoman, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that a potentially faulty airbag system in several Honda models has been linked to 11 injuries.
A Timeline
The airbag systems were installed primarily in 2001 and 2002 Accords, Civics, Odyssey minivans, CR-Vs and some Acura models. An initial recall of 4000 vehicles was rolled out in November of 2008, although Parham's Accord was not among the models listed. Two months after Parham's death, Honda expanded the recall to 440,000 vehicles, including the Accord.
The recall was further expanded last week.
The Oklahoman reported that the Parham family filed a lawsuit on August 6 in Oklahoma County District Court against Honda and Takata Corp. (the manufacturer of the seat belt and airbag system used in the car) as well as several of the companies' subsidiaries. A settlement of $5,000 was approved a day later. The money will be held in trust for Melton Parham Jr., the brother of the deceased, who witnessed his sister's death and, according to the lawsuit, was emotionally traumatized as a result.
Police did not pursue criminal charges. Both Honda and Takata denied fault.
It is not known if the Parham family pursued a lawsuit for the actual death of their daughter.
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