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Ken Bensinger

Sudden acceleration study finds problems at auto safety agency

Last updated Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 3:27pm

LOS ANGELES -- The nation's top auto safety regulator is ill-equipped to detect problems with high-tech electronics commonplace in today's cars, a new government study has concluded.

Calling such shortcomings "troubling," the study called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to review its technical capabilities and appoint an advisory panel to help it handle potentially serious risks associated with systems such as adaptive cruise control and GPS navigation.

Business, Auto safety, Autos, Recall, Sudden acceleration, Toyota Read more Comments

Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT
In February of 2010, Toyota of Hollywood, California, team leader Erick Garcia examines his handywork after using several tools to shorten the gas pedal, which is part of the fix for several Toyota models that were being recalled due to reports of the pedal sticking. In a tactical shift, lawyers suing Toyota over sudden acceleration are building their cases around the automaker s resistance to installing a brake system that they claim would have prevented deaths and injuries.

Toyota sudden-acceleration lawsuits focus on lack of brake override

Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times, Ralph Vartabedian

Last updated Friday, January 7, 2011 - 4:21pm

LOS ANGELES -- In a tactical shift, lawyers suing Toyota Motor Corp. over sudden acceleration are building their cases around the automaker's resistance to installing a brake system that they say would have prevented deaths and injuries.

The emerging legal strategy is centered on Toyota's slow adoption of brake override systems, which attorneys say is the automaker's single biggest vulnerability as it defends itself against more than 100 lawsuits in state and federal courts.

Lawsuits, Toyota, National Read more Comments

Toyota sudden-acceleration settlement with family worth $10 million

Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times

Last updated Thursday, December 23, 2010 - 3:01pm

LOS ANGELES -- Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit over a fiery San Diego crash last year that claimed four lives and drew national attention to the issue of sudden acceleration in its vehicles.

The automaker's settlement with relatives of California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three of his family members was disclosed in September but the amount it paid was not released then.

Toyota and the families had moved to keep the amount secret, but that request was denied by a Superior Court judge Monday. The amount was confirmed Thursday by Larry Willis, an attorney for a Lexus dealership that also is a defendant in the case.

Business, Lawsuit, Sudden acceleration, Toyota Read more Comments