The Toyota sudden acceleration problem has been all over the news lately. Between the recalls, the public apologies, and the calls for Congressional investigations, a new narrative has emerged thanks to reports of sudden acceleration still occurring after undergoing Toyota’s repair and Southern Illinois University professor David W. Gilbert. The possibility that sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles may be an electrical problem instead of a mechanical problem has been repeatedly asserted in the news recently, and Toyota is aggressively attempting to debunk this story.
Gilbert is an associate professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. In late February, Gilbert claimed he was able to reproduce the sudden acceleration problem in Toyota vehicles using only electrical shorts. Gilbert testified to Congress that it only took him a few hours to reproduce the errors, which would cause unintended acceleration and produce no errors that would allow the braking system to override the throttle.
Toyota, for its part, contends that Gilbert’s electrical reproduction of the sudden acceleration problem is nearly impossible to occur in the real world and that any car, regardless of make or model, would exhibit the exact same behavior. This claim by Toyota was backed up by independent engineers and was aggressively marketed at news agencies in an attempt to counter Gilbert. Toyota believes that the current mechanical fix implemented on millions of Toyota is addressing the sudden acceleration issues.
With all the back and forth between Toyota, the U.S. Government, and other independent experts, it’s apparent that information about the Toyota sudden acceleration problem will continue to emerge. The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker and our nationally recognized team of automobile defect attorneys is continuing to monitor the current Toyota sudden acceleration recall and any additional recalls that may yet happen. If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death involving a Toyota vehicle, whether that vehicle was subject to the recalls or not, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Call us at (800) 333-0000 to schedule a free consultation.
