REPORT: Judge orders Toyota not to not destroy car crash information
According to Bloomberg, Toyota has been ordered by Texas Judge T. John Ward no to destroy any of its crash data, and research projects related to product liability or crashworthiness. The temporary restraining order, which is in effect until after a October 7 hearing (at which it will be determine if the order should be extended), stems from allegations from former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller that the Japanese automaker withheld evidence in over 300 rollover lawsuits. Ward wrote of his decision "The court finds an immediate threat of irreparable harm in that, under the allegations, a threat exists that evidence material to this case would be destroyed or altered."As is typical of most companies being sued for what could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, Toyota isn't commenting for the most part. Toyota spokesman Mike Michels only says that the company feels it acted appropriately in the lawsuits. While Biller's suit is big in its own right, there is a lot at stake if the former Toyota attorney wins the suit. Lawyers are already looking to reopen cases which were previously settled or rejected for lack of evidence. Dallas area lawyer Todd Tracey has asked Ward to reopen several cases which were either settled or rejected, and there are likely other lawyers and injury victims lining up to do the same.
[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Danimal 3:37PM (10/01/2009)
Yikes. This is a tough spot to be in.
Scariest line in the post (if your Toyota):
"Lawyers are already looking to reopen cases which were previously settled or rejected for lack of evidence."
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the4thheat 5:05PM (10/01/2009)
Yeah that's especially scary since they actually have to be legally responsible for the products they've made.
I suppose they could always just file for bankruptcy and leave people in the lurch like Chrysler and GM though.
MeiSooHaityu 3:45PM (10/01/2009)
Excessive frame rust, roll-over suit scandals, 3.8M vehicle recall....welcome to the big time Toyota. Now that it is a big car company, now it has to deal with the big problems.
I love seeing Toyota get the bad press for once, and before I get flamed or my comments ranked down, just remember you guys are the same people who loved to hate on the Detroit three for the same issues...don't be a hypocrite :)
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MKIV 4:18PM (10/01/2009)
Like they say... there is no cure for stupid.
m 4:29PM (10/01/2009)
Nope. I'm not the same guy that hated on Detroit for three years.
"I love seeing Toyota get the bad press for once"
I just don't get it. They build great cars. I've never seen them talk any trash about the Detroit manufacturers or deny that they have problems like every other car company. So why do people on autoblog get satisfaction for every negative thing said about the company? Toyota did not punt your puppy. Get over it dude.
Bloke 4:46PM (10/01/2009)
"I love seeing Toyota get the bad press for once,"
Some people on here are horrifically insecure. You speak for yourself - I'm a car enthusiast, I'll give anyone praise when it's due or criticism when it's due, regardless of where the company is domiciled or where the cars are developed.
Whether it be GM, Ford, Volkswagen, or Toyota - these companies are so large that severe detriment to any of them can have an adverse effect on the entire industry, not to mention the consumer faced with less choice. The real problem lies with the fact that the domestic v import brigade just don't have a clue.
Smokem 4:59PM (10/01/2009)
What big 3? It's more like Ford and GM now. Chrysler isn't American anymore.
the4thheat 4:59PM (10/01/2009)
Well it certainly is bad press but I think if anybody hated on the Big 3 for a recall as idiotic as this they'd be an idiot just like anybody who considers this a legitimate "recall".
And for the record everyone has had these unintended acceleration recalls:
http://www.safetyresearch.net/Library/SUARecallsTable.pdf
Eventually most of these turned out to be non issues but they were recalled anyway just in case. Toyota just went for the gold with the numbers by recalling every single model car they make at the same time even if there's no real complaints for it. Probably just so they could explain to people how to frickin' turn their own cars off *sigh*
Chris 7:16PM (10/01/2009)
I, also, love seeing Toyota get bad press!
MoonRover 9:37AM (10/03/2009)
@ m,
The main reason, for years Toyota got away with in house recalls while GM, Ford and Chrysler were having public recalls, giving the impression Toyota had sterling quality. When the government found out what was happening Toyota was ordered to start adhering to the rules of the road. Suddenly Toyota was found to be vulnerable like the rest of the industry, actually having a higher rate of recalls than both GM and Ford. Toyota has broken every rule in the book to get an advantage in this country, they have from the beginning. Now they are getting their deserved spoiled soup, and I hope it's on the menu for a long long time.
Joe 3:45PM (10/01/2009)
I spell blood in the water, just like there was with the Firestone tire issue on the Explorers, which Ford took the brunt of, at least on the PR side. This is going to hurt Toyota, big time. Maybe people will start to see Toyota for what it really is.
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mk15 3:47PM (10/01/2009)
Toyota should pay if they've been really misleading everyone by hiding evidence and the truth. People are putting an implicit trust in Toyota when they buy their products and they shouldn't be allowed to dishonour that trust, especially when it is putting lives at risk. This applies to all car makers.
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Taglane 3:47PM (10/01/2009)
Toyota just is getting man-handled lately.
lol...
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Dave 3:51PM (10/01/2009)
"Judge orders Toyota not to not destroy car crash information"
So, then they destroy them? :-)
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MoonRover 9:39AM (10/03/2009)
Bet they already have, that is their MO.
Steve 4:01PM (10/01/2009)
The floodgates for Toyota have finally opened and the PR nightmare is like a stuck accelerator that cannot be stopped by applying the brakes. Funny that reminds me of the unintentional sudden acceleration problems along with other problem too numerous to mention that Toyota now faces. Since the "floormat" theory has already been taken what is the excuse now?
Take a look @ http://autocoverup.com and the attached YouTube video.
At this point, Toyota can no longer avoid these recurring issues and needs to fess up, take responsibility and fix the problems. The time to stop sweeping it under the rug has ended. There is no more rug left!
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paul34 4:07PM (10/01/2009)
True, although these people could've always just shifted into neutral if they had a defective throttle. I guess one of the consequences of our slushie culture is that people don't think about what to do in an emergency, only to cover their face and curl up into the fetal position and hope some automatic system in their car will save them... instead of just popping the shifter into N.
Any stick driver would just stomp the clutch and/or go into neutral in that case, no problem.
EXP Jawa 4:15PM (10/01/2009)
Or switch the key off...
epilonious 4:17PM (10/01/2009)
"Or switch the key off..."
Or hit the brake and hit the power button which might not turn it off if the car is in Drive...
Stupid sexy push-button-start systems.
Steve 4:40PM (10/01/2009)
There have been too many reports of various models built by Toyota and Lexus of this sudden acceleration problem to just dismiss it as the inability of the driver to maintain control of the vehicle prior to and during such incidents. Read the experiences and watch and listen to the video. It seems strange to me that the problem occurs at various speeds from entering your private garage, a parking garage space, mergering on a highway or passing on a highway. The cruise control goes on mysteriously as well as brake lights. Reports state that people have tried turning off the car, putting the transmission into neutral and/or even park and trying to get off the highway and still took some several miles before finally being able to stop the car. Some customers have stated that they did not have a floormat at the time of the incident in the driver's footwell.
The most telling part is the Lexus technician who admits that he has the same problem with his own personal car and then backpedals (no pun intended) to claim that the "floormat" caused the problem.
There have been too many incidents to solely blame what is and can be a very serious issue of an engine management problem or a floormat and a driver's inability to know what to do when this issue happens.
I had a car that experienced a similar problem twice and it was not a Toyota product.
Once again Toyota needs to take responsibility if they want to live up to their reputation, that they constantly reinforce, that they make the best product. Fix the problem.