Thursday, August 27, 2015

NHTSA: Always an excuse not to do its job! + 37,900 complaints ignored by Toyota





Senators urge NHTSA to speed early warning reforms



David Shepardson, Detroit News Washington Bureau

August 27, 2015


Washington — Two U.S. senators want the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to expand early warning reporting requirements for automakers in the wake of the agency's findings that several automakers have not complied with the rules.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., noted that as part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV record setting $105 million civil penalty for failing to properly carry out two dozens recalls it must provide the agency "with comprehensive reporting on each death or injury incident that is reportable to the agency."

The senators said "these steps are a substantial improvement over previous handling of safety recalls and reflect the direction the senators are calling on NHTSA to move in, but the lawmakers want NHTSA to go further by making such information public and applicable to all automakers, not just the one."

“The longer NHTSA waits to issue new requirements that automakers automatically submit all early warning documents related to potentially fatal defects and that NHTSA make this information available to the public one a user-friendly website, the higher the chance that the next fatal defect goes undetected,” the senators wrote to NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “It is time to recall our defective early warning reporting system and issue new rules to detect fatal defects.”

NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge declined to comment and referred questions to Rosekind's Senate testimony in June.

In June, the Transportation Department's Office of Inspector General said NHTSA must reform how automakers submit early warning data. NHTSA specifies 24 broad codes for categorizing early warning reporting data. But NHTSA says "an average vehicle may have over 15,000 components. Without detailed guidance, decisions regarding key aspects of early warning reporting data are left to the manufacturers’ discretion—resulting in inconsistent reporting and data that (NHTSA) and vehicle safety advocates consider to be of little use."

NHTSA: Always an excuse not to do its job! 



NHTSA said it plans to toughen early warning reporting rules by next June — unless it is required to write legally binding regulations, which could take longer,

The audit found that NHTSA's efforts for verifying that manufacturers submit complete and accurate early warning reporting data are lacking. NHTSA "does not follow standard statistical practices when analyzing early warning reporting data, such as establishing a base case for what statistical test results would look like in the absence of safety defects," the audit found. NHTSA doesn't ensure it is getting accurate information and the audit found generally relies on the "honor" system.

NHTSA has the authority to inspect manufacturers’ records for compliance with early warning reporting, but it has never used the authority. In one case, NHTSA knew a major recreational vehicle manufacturer was not complying but did not take action for nearly a decade.

Many of the audits 17 recommendations called for reforms, including developing "a method for assessing and improving the quality of early warning reporting data" and requiring automakers to develop procedures for complying with early warning reporting requirements; and require NHTSA to review these procedures at times.

NHTSA has vowed to comply with all of the recommendations by next year.

The senators introduced legislation earlier this year — the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act — that would require automobile and parts manufacturers to submit accident reports or other document that first alerted them to a fatality involving their vehicle or equipment to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database. NHTSA would then required to automatically make those documents public unless they are exempted from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

In January, NHTSA fined Honda Motor Co. $70 million for failing to disclose more than 1,700 reports of deaths, injuries and other "early warning" over more than a decade — then the largest auto safety fine in U.S. history.

The Japanese automaker initially admitted in November it violated two sections of a 2000 federal law that requires automakers to disclose reports to NHTSA. The company has agreed to pay the maximum $35 million fine allowable under each section as part of a consent agreement for failing to turn over different types of reports.

"We're talking about 11 years — 11 years of information we did not have — and it is egregious," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in January. He said it didn't matter why Honda failed to follow the law. "Good intentions don't help the automaker," Foxx said, saying NHTSA is taking a "very aggressive posture."

Foxx said NHTSA has asked all automakers to audit their early warning reporting systems to make sure they are in compliance with the reporting law. "We have to continue to do better on our end but we sure want to send a signal very clearly to the industry that they have an end to this responsibility to take on as well," Foxx said.

In November, Honda disclosed that since 2003 it had made a series of significant mistakes in failing to report more than 1,700 incidents. It came under harsh criticism in Congress. Honda blamed a faulty computer program and inadvertent data entry and coding errors as reasons for failing to report problems, but the automaker also said it didn't do enough to fix the problem. After reports first surfaced that Honda hadn't complied with reporting requirements, it commissioned an audit in September to determine how often and why it failed to comply with requirements.


+ 37,900 complaints ignored by Toyota



The reporting requirements are designed to help the auto safety agency spot safety trends earlier. They are required under the TREAD Act, which Congress approved after 270 reported deaths in Ford SUVs were linked to faulty Firestone tires.


http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2015/08/27/senators-urge-nhtsa-speed-early-warning-reforms/32482797/


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

How curious is this?: U.S. probes 408,000 Jeep SUVs for rollaway incidents



NHTSA refused to address TOYOTA SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION.....maybe because they lack the expertise.....maybe for other reasons......NHTSA and TOYOTA have ignored complaints about TOYOTA SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION......


Ahhhh....maybe the Jeep SUV rollaway is simple? 






Think about it! 

Is NHTSA really doing its job? Why is NHTSA protecting TOYOTA?  

NHTSA'S White Wash!


Toyota had received more than 37,900 complaints

 concerning the ETCS, which have been installed in 

Toyota-brand vehicles sold in the United States since 

1998.

+ 37,900 complaints ignored by Toyota



Automakers Are Companies and Don’t Care About You

Defining an industry that eschews safety...

NHTSA ignored 4,150 COMPLAINTS?

U.S. probes 408,000 Jeep SUVs for rollaway incidents



David Shepardson, Detroit News Washington Bureau

August 25, 2015

Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said late Monday it is opening a preliminary investigation into 408,000 new Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs for complaints that the vehicles rolled away after being shifted into park.
NHTSA said it has received 14 complaints, including five reports of crashes and three injuries. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV spokesman Eric Mayne said the automaker is cooperating. The investigation covers the 2014 and 2015 models that are equipped with an electronic gear selector or shift by wire system. The gear selection is made by pressing the shifter paddle forward or backward; the shifter does not move along a gate path as with conventional gear selectors.
Jeep Grand Cherokee sales were up 5 percent in July to 15,867 in the United States and are up 4 percent for the year to 108,947.
In June, an owner in Livonia said he put his 2015 Jeep SUV into park to go into a gas station.
“The vehicle then started to roll backwards while still in park and then collided into another parked vehicle. While the vehicle was rolling backwards, three other occupants proceeded to evacuate the vehicle before it collided with the other parked car,” the complaint said. “The evacuation of the vehicle left the doors open which, when the vehicles collided, left the doors of the rolling vehicle (the jeep) unable to be closed.”
The people who got out included two children and an adult. A child was injured exiting the vehicle as the vehicle collided with another parked vehicle and then continued on, rolling into a ditch. A bystander jumped into the vehicle to try to stop it and noticed the shift indicator was showing the vehicle was in park, the complaint said.
In another complaint filed in February, an owner in Morganton, North Carolina, said he was seriously injured when his 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee started moving after he parked it and the driver door struck him, knocking him to the ground “on my back.”
“The left front tire rolled over my pelvic area causing serious injury,” the complaint said. The SUV crashed into a fence and jack-knifed the trailer. He said Fiat Chrysler inspected the SUV but found no problems.
In one complaint filed last month, a driver in Austin, Texas, said a Jeep Grand Cherokee crashed into a metal pole after the SUV had been shifted into park. Another driver in Grand Rapids said the process to put the vehicle in park was not safe.
“The electronic shift does not have intuitive ... or positive gear positions. It requires specific, counter-intuitive movements that must be learned, carefully executed and tediously watched,” the driver said, saying twice he thought he had put the vehicle in park and in once case, the vehicle started to roll away. “I have never experienced anything as potentially dangerous in a modern vehicle.”
In a complaint filed in April 2014, an owner said his Jeep rolled 50 feet down and into a tree, causing $3,000 in damage. Fiat Chrysler conducted an inspection and found no problems. Another complaint came from a Bloomfield Hills owner in December who reported that the Jeep almost drove over his foot exiting; a Rochester Hills owner in June 2014 said he nearly hit another car when the SUV rolled, one of five separate incidents.
NHTSA has investigated vehicles rolling away in recent years. In 2012, Honda Motor Co. recalled 870,000 SUVs and minivans because they could roll away after the safety agency opened a preliminary investigation. NHTSA also opened an investigation into120,000 2002-07 BMW 7 Series vehicles over concerns the vehicles may roll away after being parked. In 2012, BMW recalled 45,000 2005-08 7 Series vehicles with the “Comfort Access option.”
Last year, Ford Motor Co. recalled 92,000 vehicles in North America, including 2013-14 models of the Taurus, Flex, Ford Police Interceptor, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT; 2012-14 Ford Edge; and 2014 Lincoln MKX.
Because of faulty assembly, Ford said the vehicles could roll away if the gearshift is placed in "park without the emergency brake being activated.” Ford said dealers will inspect the halfshaft and repair or replace as needed.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/chrysler/2015/08/25/us-probes-jeep-suvs-rollaway-incidents/32310549/






JUST MY THOUGHTS AT THE MOMENT!

Henrico, VA: Crash of ? into daycare. NO call to police!


What kind of poor reporting is this?






Crash of ? into daycare. NO call to police! Parent of  injured 8 yo who attends daycare calls police 4 hours after incident when child tells dad what happened! Reporter won't answer questions but says she's on vacation and will take up there when she returns!

This CBS6 in Henrico, VA area will NOT tell is make & model!

Robert Hughes (@rhughes_cbs6)
vehicle located and processed, there is no need to broadcast a description. @charleneblake@interest1959 @HenricoPolice



VIDEO ON LINK

‘It felt like lightning stabbed me,’ child injured at Henrico daycare said

Friday, August 21, 2015

NHTSA'S White Wash!








NHTSA ignored 4,150 COMPLAINTS?


Toyota had received more than 37,900 complaints concerning the ETCS, which have been installed in Toyota-brand vehicles sold in the United States since 1998.

+ 37,900 complaints ignored by Toyota


TOYOTA: CHAIN REACTION


A RUNAWAY LEXUS KILLED THESE PEOPLE:



TOYOTA SETTLE WITH A CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT FOR $10 MILLION. 
Why do you think they would have settled? 

This man went to prison after his RUNAWAY TOYOTA KILLED OTHERS. 



WHEN A JURY UNANIMOUSLY AWARDED $$$, TOYOTA APPEALED THE VERDICT 
see details on right] 

TOYOTA settled the case below with a CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT. 
Why? Was it because there were survivors who could testify about a RUNAWAY TOYOTA? 




There are many others. 


NHTSA won’t probe into Toyota unintended acceleration
David Shepardson, Detroit News Washington Bureau August 21, 2015


Washington — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday it will not open a formal investigation into unintended acceleration claims in Lexus and Toyota vehicles.

The denial is the second time this year the safety agency has refused to open a probe into unintended acceleration.

The petition filed by a California man was based on his interpretation of Event Data Recorder data from a crash his wife experienced in a 2009 Lexus ES350 vehicle and from two other crashes involving a 2010 Toyota Corolla and a 2009 Toyota Camry. NHTSA found that the three crashes were likely the result of using the accelerator — rather than the brake pedal — rather than sudden unintended acceleration.

"The petitioner's allegations regarding the three crashes are based upon several misconceptions about the manner in which the EDR samples and records pre-crash data in the ES350, Corolla and Camry vehicles. In each of the three crashes, the vehicles accelerated as the drivers were attempting to park the vehicles. All three accelerations occurred as the vehicles were entering the intended parking spaces and in the times and positions where driver braking should be initiated to safely park the vehicles," NHTSA said. "No braking was recorded in two of the crash events until the EDR trigger point... and in the third crash no braking was recorded at all."

NHTSA said the crashes "are all consistent with pedal misapplications by the driver mistaking the accelerator pedal for the brake when attempting to park the vehicle. In addition, contrary to the petitioner's assertion regarding previous studies by NHTSA and NASA, the issues raised in the petition are fully within the scope of prior studies which have carefully examined the subject of low-speed sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles equipped with electronic throttle control."

In May, NHTSA denied another petition that claims sudden unintended acceleration problems were occurring in up to 1.6 million Toyota Corollas.

NHTSA said it was closing its review without a full investigation of “low-speed surging” in 2006-2010 Corollas in which brakes fail to stop the car in time to prevent a crash.

The owner of a 2010 Corolla alleged that while parking, the Toyota collided with another parked car. The petition said a review of the NHTSA database found 163 reports in which drivers experienced low-speed power surges in the cars. NHTSA said it found no evidence the driver had applied the brakes.

NHTSA spent years investigating millions of Toyota vehicles for unintended acceleration issues linked to faulty floor mats and other issues. After four people were killed in a crash linked to an accelerator pedal that had been trapped by a floor mat, Toyota recalled more than 10 million vehicles worldwide because of the issue in 2009 and 2010. Several reviews have found no evidence that electronic glitches were to blame for unintended acceleration — but blamed the issues on mechanical interference like floor mats

In March 2014, Toyota paid a $1.2 billion fine to the Justice Department after it was charged with wire fraud. Toyota admitted it misled U.S. consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements to both consumers and regulators about the extent of sudden acceleration problems in 2009 and 2010, the Justice Department said, adding that Toyota minimized problems, misled regulators and provided inaccurate facts to Congress.  THIS REPORTER NEEDS TO READ THE SETTLEMENT! 



Toyota has radically revamped its safety practices since its recall crisis briefly forced the automaker to halt sales of nearly half of its vehicles and led to the company’s president, Akio Toyoda, to appear before Congress to apologize for the company’s handling of safety issues. The company’s safety reputation has dramatically rebounded and it has won high marks in recent quality surveys.




HAVE THEY? 

Toyota has settled numerous other suits connected to the problem, including a class-action settlement covering as many as 22 million current and former Toyota owners over sudden acceleration claims valued at as much as $1.63 billion.

NHTSA has been investigating other claims of unintended acceleration — an issue it has reviewed for 40 years, when it first opened an investigation into 60 million General Motors vehicles in 1978. The probe lasted eight years and was closed without finding a defect.

In June 2014, NHTSA said it was investigating 360,000 2012-2014 Nissan Versa cars after receiving four complaints in the U.S. that a trim panel had trapped the edge of the driver’s shoe. A fifth complaint was filed by a driver in a foreign country.

A complaint filed June 9 said a driver had to use their right hand to grab their leg and pull their foot free, almost causing a crash. The complainant included a photograph showing how the edge of the panel wedged itself in the driver’s work boot. That probe was upgraded to an engineering analysis in April.

In May 2014, Ford Motor Co. said it was recalling 82,500 driver’s side all-weather Ford floor mats that may be in 2006-11 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr and MKZ cars. If improperly installed, the mats may come in contact with the accelerator pedal. Owners were asked to return the mats for a new set.

NHTSA has been investigating the floor mat issue for four years. The agency said it had 52 reports of problems with floor mats in its investigation of 480,000 2008-10 Fusion, Milan and MKZ cars. After NHTSA told Ford it was recommending a recall, Ford opted to recall the vehicles.



http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2015/08/21/agency-probe-toyota-unintended-acceleration/32111075/



GEOTALK • (August 21, 2015)
We have been telling our story for 3 years to no avail. But wrong is wrong and
unanticipated acceleration happens. After we reported the incident to our insurance
company, Toyota shut down everything. They sent a tech to the dealership, and no one
was allowed to talk to him. He drove the car around the parking lot and pronounced it
good. Our Prius (many others do this) would always "skip" a little when stopping at places
with loose gravel. In this case, we were sitting completely still in a parking lot waiting for
my sister-in-law to park her car, when our car took off and flew over two barriers and
dropped 17 inches to the ground below. My foot was never on the accelerator. IF it had
been on the accelerator and even if the accelerator had been "floored" it still would not
have flown that far that fast. We have photos and witnesses, but Toyota will not
acknowledge this problem exists. Blaming it on the driver makes me ashamed of a
company I once respected. I filed a report with the NTSB...what else could I do?
Someday, someone will be sitting at a crosswalk, the car will lurch forward, kill people,
and the driver will be blamed. We had no other option, but to trade the car into Toyota
after we received a letter from them saying that there was nothing wrong with the car!
Maybe if enough people tell their stories someone will believe them




GEOTALK, can you contact me using FB? I have some info re: your situation. I'd like to link you with similarly-affected vocal individuals! Thanks!
The TROLL below is here to CENSOR you! I took a screenshot of your comment to tweet on Twitter because Toyota-protectors will be reporting your comment and falsely flagging it as they have ALL of us vocal ones;)
Ignore the anonymous defamers & provocateurs sent to discredit you! They wish to control the dialogue about TOYOTA SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION and silence us!



Jeep vehicles are WELL-KNOWN in terms of sudden unintended acceleration. Ask ANY car wash business. As a matter of fact, the Car Wash Association has a formal LIST of most likely vehicles to do this. Jeeps often TAKE OFF while inside these car washes!
There's a BIG hidden secret in the auto industry...it's called ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration! I know...you thought that was just about FLOOR MATS and sticky pedals, or "driver error," right? That's certainly what TOYOTA would like you to continue to believe, BUT DON'T!
These ultra-complex new engines are completely computer driven. Software is needed to control the throttle system. You THINK you are giving gas when you press the accelerator, but you are only SUGGESTING this to the computer. In electronic SUA cases, the throttle software may be glitch-prone and NOT do as you wish.
What happens then? Well, the glitch may (and has for countless SUA victims) result in an OPEN THROTTLE situation. The brakes become INEFFECTIVE in these situations and crashes into storefronts, buildings, and homes have resulted.
What does the automaker say? They hook the vehicles up to the computer and declare NOTHING WRONG! They cite the EDR which has erroneous data and say YOU were NOT braking. They point the finger at you based on AGE, GENDER, MEDICAL history, prescription meds, etc. YOU name it, they've TRIED it!
Get the picture? And you THOUGHT the GM issue was big? Think again! This cover-up of ELECTRONIC SUA is scandalous and very well-orchestrated.
Why even a WHISTLEBLOWER has been legally harassed by Toyota as it does NOT want her Toyota internal docs posted online anymore. The automaker wants to intimidate and SILENCE her. It doesn't want the PUBLIC involved, for goodness sake!



There's a HUGE push to show driver "pedal misapplication" and much reference to this being a problem with "elderly" drivers. Drivers own complaints (showing remarkable similarity if one compares notes among these types of accidents) are discounted. Worse, drivers are discredited...some say even targeted...by those who wish to keep the truth from surfacing.
Let's see...have we seen an automaker hide key safety-related information before? Have we seen any cases where the NHTSA has even covered for an automaker in such unconscionable actions? OK...you get the idea. THINK...why would an automaker wish to keep ELECTRONIC sudden unintended acceleration a secret? After all, isn't SUA history and just about pesky floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, or better-yet driver error? NO! That's just what the automaker would like you to believe...and there's a HUGE economic reason for that, isn't there?
Unfortunately, what you do not know about ELECTRONICALLY-induced SUA can be an issue as many of the current SUA victims are learning the hard way. An electronic sudden unintended acceleration event can result (and has!) in jail time for the driver. Why? Speculation of "pedal misapplication" is all that is left when the historically-unreliable EDR (black box) shows no braking even when the driver has two feet on the brake and incurs foot damage (see Tanya Spotts Lexus case). The Toyota electronic throttle control system software glitch has been found not to leave a fault code. The vehicle brakes which did NOT function at the time of the ETCS-i software glitch show no signs of a failure mode. The DRIVER is assumed GUILTY and the vehicle is found fault-free. It continues to happen DAILY.
Absence of proof is NOT proof of absence. This electronic SUA problem is one that every driver should be concerned about. Drivers should be asking some tough questions of the automaker, Toyota specifically.
Let's not forget that these engines are complex and computer-driven. Electronics will have glitches. The important factor is how these glitches are handled within and what safety standards have been applied. An electronic software glitch which renders a fail-safe ineffective is totally unacceptable. Don't make assumptions that strict safety standards have been applied when they have not!
Azar Hadi was blocked by ABC from posting this: 
Thank you for telling your story and you are right if everybody told their story, maybe maybe then NHTSA will do something. Believe me you are not alone and you are not imagining it like Toyota would want you to believe. I am a victim of Lexus unintended acceleration and I unfortunately was not able to stop the runaway car and I was also very lucky that I did not kill anyone. I end up hitting an SUV head on totaling both cars and crushing my legs. 24 surgeries, disable and Toyota is claiming PEDAL CONFUSION. Why would anyone get confused is beyond me. SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION is very real and it happens daily, killing, injuring and in some cases putting people in prison. No one seems to be able to stop is CRIMINAL corporation not even NHTSA.


This is AP's version of the White Wash: 


Agency Won't Open Probe Into Toyota Unintended Acceleration

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Chrysler Class Action Settlement & NHTSA Criticized by CAS




NHTSA was characterized as 'NO HELP TO SOLVE ANYTHING' by Beware of Toyota. Their next victim may be you...

Who is protecting the CONSUMER? It's NOT NHTSA! 





NHTSA is not even doing its job.



FROM CAS:

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

TIPM Class Action Settlement Approved With Rental Car & Full Repair Reimbursment

CAS Criticizes NHTSA for Violating Safety Act & Not Knowing Chrysler Misled Agency

On August 17, 2015, a California District Court approved a landmark settlement in Velasco v. Chrysler Group LLC that obtained full reimbursement for the $1,100 to $1,200 repair cost of a TIPM-7 module and for the cost of rental - far beyond the $100 to $200 replacement cost of a fuel relay in the safety recall.  The Settlement Agreement signed by Chrysler shows the settlement agreement was reached in January 2015 and was contingent on Chrysler doing a safety recall of 2012-13 Grand Cherokees and Durangos.  The class action forced the recall.  NHTSA never opened an investigation into stalling on 2011-13 Chrysler SUVs for stalling caused by a defective TIPM-7 module despite the part going on national backorder in 2013.

The Safety Act requires NHTSA to grant or deny a defect petition in 120 days. NHTSA took 337 days to deny CAS’ Defect Petition, failed to obtain a single document from Velasco including ones that showed Chrysler began an investigation more than a year earlier than it told NHTSA, and used the 337 days to construct a strawman denial of the CAS Petition.


Statement of Clarence Ditlow

Related Documents:

CAS Letter to NHTSA - 8/18/15

Click here to view the Petition for Defect Investigation - 8/21/14




Tuesday, August 18, 2015

TOYOTA'S Sudden Unintended Acceleration



NHTSA can't find the cause of TOYOTA SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION......





Full text of NHTSA's denial of Dr. Gopal Raghavan's defect petition for Toyota electronics-based sudden acceleration


Vacation season -- perfect time for NHTSA to deny Toyota sudden acceleration defect petition by electrical engineer Dr. Gopal Raghavan



Here's some food for thought: 







Wouldn't you think that TOYOTA would want to hire people who have identified potential solutions if they cared about their customers? 






JUST MY THOUGHTS AT THE MOMENT.....