 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
By Jeff Green and Margaret Cronin Fisk
# F) x" c0 B. kMarch 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. National Highway Traffic
% w' B9 h& Q' f# v2 I+ | Y- hSafety Administration received four reports from drivers saying
7 A ]: R( j8 n+ j5 Ptheir Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles experienced sudden unintended- m- {6 u: s/ z- ?* P
acceleration after they were supposedly repaired in the
8 N' E3 L2 q6 [4 W/ ]2 xautomaker’s recalls., D. F+ U3 U/ m0 j, a& p
The reports were posted on the regulator’s Web site. A- w3 D/ B$ \ X% c) j' H
Transportation Department spokeswoman, Olivia Alair, said the
3 X) X# W$ V) sagency is looking into the complaints and hasn’t confirmed their: n' M- H$ E* P8 b' Q+ f: G D
validity.! I0 w/ [1 J( Q: N" _
The complaints were about a 2007 and 2010 Camry, 2009% e, D% W3 S5 X, r; }# r4 P
Matrix and a 2008 Avalon that owners said had been repaired at
; o+ V7 v* _ c% S3 ?; {0 ?% r8 ndealerships. Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles: x* H' I5 L: t. p( h2 k
globally to modify floor mats and accelerator pedals because of8 O9 x- x, } z0 E" d
previous complaints.# R1 M! Z" e F% L$ t! L% q
“We will continue to thoroughly investigate any complaints* j3 J+ `9 r) [% ~ w
involving unintended acceleration,” said Brian Lyons, a Toyota* |4 C: | `" v4 i6 j
spokesman.
! |, S* v: M# e1 R% ANHTSA said today that Toyota crashes possibly linked to) j) K9 u$ V$ [8 A1 `
unintended acceleration have caused 43 fatal crashes with 52
# `' s+ Y9 \. v! @$ i. Q: hdeaths and 38 injuries. About two-thirds of the incidents have
! ^% X3 ]5 ]4 H i4 G+ Nbeen reported since Toyota started recalling vehicles last year% t+ O$ e) y7 F3 G' L( v3 n
for unintended acceleration.
% E0 b8 f3 {1 @" g) a% V" N' [$ Y, I5 d! a' B
Reported Complaints
2 H. M- ?4 P! {% |' m8 V+ R" p. V) `( K7 Y. S8 Q- _
The owner of the 2010 Camry wrote in the complaint that the' ~% M' a" }1 t3 s
car was repaired Feb. 12 and accelerated unexpectedly for five
5 C! D: K/ `! y2 z8 vto six seconds as the driver entered a parking lot on Feb. 17.
: a# F! ?5 J: s! m& DThe owner of the Avalon and 2007 Camry said their vehicles were
% ^* x/ u8 Z% ` O4 ^: S, gat the dealership for review after having repeat accelerations6 A4 O# J9 h# I% Z
incidents that were supposed to have been repaired earlier.
. x2 S$ o* A* Q. g4 K: HThe owner of the 2009 Matrix said the recall work was- E& A' E- }; i( I4 G5 Z0 j( e9 w0 A
completed Feb. 10 and on Feb. 26 the car moved forward with the
`% I' Z7 P; V7 t. b8 y5 S% n- Sdriver’s foot on the brake in a parking lot.
5 u7 E0 g* e) y$ _“I put my other foot on the brake as well,” the
$ \, q+ g5 e8 Q. P- s2 V5 G3 `5 C0 qunidentified woman wrote in the complaint. “My son said ‘It’s
T& m9 J1 `6 K) U$ B- zdoing it again Mom!’ I put it in neutral, and we both heard the
* U$ u& A7 x% Z6 oengine wind out like I had pushed the gas pedal to the floor.# {( S! F4 F6 Y" `
This obviously means the recall ‘fix’ isn’t working!”3 ]! n u4 a4 j
Toyota’s American depositary receipts, each equal to two
Q. E1 k. b! m1 B. j2 d' Dordinary shares, rose 78 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $74.42 in New4 o8 ^; z K$ \. o) j0 C
York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have lost $34: {- o# o' l" R- ] g- V
billion in value since Toyota announced a recall on Jan. 21. |
|