Feds Probing Floormats In Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan

Doesn't matter what the brand, a poorly installed or wrong-sized floormat can trap accelerator pedals.

NHTSA says it's recieved three complaints that Ford's "All Weather" floormat can trap the gas pedal when laid on top of the standard floor mat.

Read the full consumer advisory here.

NHTSA: 89 Dead In Toyota Unintended Acceleration Incidents

NHTSA's keeping a body count on people killed in Toyotas that supposedly experienced unintended acceleration...and the number is now 89. That's from 2000 to 2009 and jumps from the 52 reported earleir this year.

No, they're not new deaths...again, the cutoff is 2009...they're deaths that the feds think maybe had something to do with Toyotas roaring off on their own.

The Washington Post has the full story, but the Cliff's Notes are these:

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  Toyota can't find an electronic problem causing the cars to accelerate.

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  The Feds are insisting that they do.

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  NHTSA wants desperately to look tough and on top of the issue. Or as Mel Brooks said in Blazing Saddles,

The elephant in the room...that NHTSA doesn't want to talk about for fear of looking less than agressive and Toyota's tip-toeing around because it's bad PR, even if it's the truth?

The vast majority of properly investigated cases of supposed unintended acceleration turn out to be drivers standing on the gas when they thought they were standing on the brake.

And, as my Memo From Michael April 17 shows, none of the highly publicized incidents this year have done anything to disprove that or to even suggest an electronics issue.

Between NHTSA's agenda above, Toyota's fear of insulting consumers (Audi told the truth in the mid-80s and it very nearly put them out of business in America) and the mainstream media's breathless acceptance of every every claim of  "my car tried to kill me" (followed by far less urgent follow-ups reporting driver error), it will be a a long time before most Americans figure out what's happening.

Double Jeopardy: Feds Won't Rule Out Second Fine For Toyota

Despite levying (and receiving) a record fine from Toyota for failing to promptly report issues with sticking gas pedals, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he won't rule out additional fines for the same offense.

LaHood made those comments in Japan, with Akio Toyoda standing next to him.

Toyota paid the $16.4 million without admitting to the government's accusation, and said it did so to avoid "a protracted dispute".

But that apparently put blood in the water for the feds to smell. LaHood says by paying the fine, Toyota accepted responsiblity for the violation.

Full details from Automotive News.

Feds Probe Dodge Caliber Gas Pedal Problem

NHTSA is looking into sticky accelerator pedals in as many as 161,000 Dodge Calibers. The supplier? The same one who supplied Toyota.

Full story from Automotive News.

Feds Probe October '09 Toyota Crash That Killed Four

Six months after a 2-car crash that killed four (including a Harvard professor), the NHTSA says it's launching an investigation.

The reason? The car that caused the crash by swerving into oncoming traffic was a Toyota Highlander. And while local authorities say they were unable to pinpoint the cause, the Feds say they want to see if a sticking gas pedal might be involved.

Full story from WBZ-TV, Boston.

Report: Lexus GX 460 Recall Imminent

Here's how stacked the deck is against Toyota. When it does respond, and respond quickly, the Feds leak it so they can say it first.

A "NHTSA official...who declined to be identified" says Toyota is about to issue a recall for the Lexus GX 460 after replicating the same stability issues that caused Consumer Reports to brand it a "safety risk" last week.

Full story from Automotive News.

UPDATE: Toyota, having no choice, has made it official. Details here.

NHTSA Investigating Lexus GX 460

Two days after Consumer Reports called the Lexus GX 460 a "safety risk" because it can go sideways in an emergency maneuver before the electronic stability control kicks in,  two days after Toyota imposed a halt on sales of the GX,  one day after Toyota announced it would test all of its SUVs, and (sources say) one day before Toyota announces a fix, NHTSA says it's launching an investigation into the matter.

Ever since NHTSA got raked over the coals in a Senate hearing last month, they've been trying too hard. Big talk, big fines....all designed to send a subtle-as-a-neon-sign message of  "We got this."

No, NHTSA...you don't. Consumer Reports did your work for you. Toyota took it seriously and the fix is hours away. But you'll whip up an investigation anyway...it will take months, it will cost millions (like your $3 million, 15 month investigation with NASA into unintended acceleration that's just now starting)...and we'll be astonished if it contributes anything that Consumer Reports and Toyota didn't in 72 hours.

NHTSA, Wisconsin State Patrol To Do Joint Inspection Of Alleged Runaway Toyota Camry

It's been almost two weeks since 76-year old Myrna Marsellie said her 2009 Toyota Camry accelerated on its own, crashing into the Sheboygan Falls YMCA.

So what happened? We don't know yet.

Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Steven Riffel tells me the car is still in his department's custody and there will be a joint NHTSA/Wisconsin State Patrol inspection of the vehicle and search of the car's databases sometime this week.

The department is also in the process of enhancing surveillance video (the police station is across the parking lot from the YMCA and its cameras are thought to have captured the crash).

What about Toyota, which usually gets inspectors on these things quickly (given that most cases of unintended acceleration upon investigation are proven to be driver error...standing on the gas instead of the brake)?

Well, the chief says Toyota's asking, but he's got a search warrant...and he doesn't want too many folks inside the vehicle. NHTSA and the state patrol get first dibs. And he tells me he'll be looking for NHTSA's input as to whether to release the vehicle to Toyota for its inspection, or back to Myrna.

NHTSA, of course, is the agency alleging that Toyota hid dangerous defects and should pay record fines.

This is not Toyota's week for catching a break, it seems.

6 Million GM Light-Duty Trucks Under Fed Investigation: Rusty Brakes

The feds say they've had 110 complaints, 37 confirmed by dealer inspections. Full details from Automotive News (free registration required).

NASA To Help Investigate Unintended Acceleration

Gee, maybe it is rocket science.

Despite decades of experience and data indicating that the vast majority of unintended acceleration incidents fully investigated end up being cases of drivers standing on the gas instead of the brake, the Obama administration has decided to launch not one, but two investigations...one by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) with the help of The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and the other by The National Academy of Sciences...to get to the bottom of the unintended acceleration incidents that have been plaguing Toyota and other manufacturers.

How long? 15 months.

How much? $3 million.

Full story from The Detroit News.

CNN: 2002 Technical Service Bulletin Suggests Toyota Knew Of Electronic Acceleration Surges

The TSB from eight years ago was provided by attorneys for plainiffs in class action suits. They say it proves Toyota knew it had a problem, and knew it wasn't floor mats, at the beginning of the last decade.

Toyota calls them "baseless allegations" and "unfounded claims".

Subaru Recalls 2010 Tribeca: Doors Could Come Open When Raising Or Lowering Window

The NHTSA says Subaru is recalling a six-month run of 2010 Tribecas, built between September 4, 2009 and March 8, 2010, because of an improperly placed cable. It can catch in the door glass regulator and when you go to roll up or roll down the window, the driver or front passenger door could unlatch and come open "creating a risk that an occupant could be ejected as well as a risk that the driver may become distracted, leading to a crash."

Full recall notice here.

Harrison, NY Police To Announce "Runaway Prius" Findings This Afternoon

Yes, we know...in fact, we told you on Friday...the NHTSA says the 55-year old woman whose Prius crashed into a wall in the NYC suburb had her foot on the gas, not the brake.

But instead of saying..."yeah...what the feds say....", the Harrison PD plans to announce their own findings this afternoon. It should be interesting, given that the police chief started by ruling out driver error at the scene two weeks ago, then amended his position to a definite maybe last week, before the NHTSA announced the results of its investigation.

The PriusChat forums are talking about it here.

Memo From 2007 Details Toyota's "Game Plan" For Dealing With Feds About Floor Mat Issue

A three-year old document just released by a Congressional committee gives insight into Toyota officials and their self-described "game plan" for dealing with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's growing concerns over floor mats interfering with accelerator pedals.

Interesting reading, to say the least. Full story from The Detroit News here.

UPDATE: NY Prius Case Human Error

NHTSA says the Toyota Prius driven into a wall by a 55 year old woman in Harrison, New York last week did not experience sudden acceleration. Investigators say their technical analysis of the vehicle show the throttle was open and no brakes were being applied.

That's what's called human error...and as we reported last week, that's the most common finding once investigators dig into allegations of unintended acceleration.

So it's two down as Toyota battles back against sensational stories of Priuses that allegedly defied driver attempts to stop.

Full story from The Detroit News here and discussion on the Prius Chat forums here.

CHP Releases Report On Jim "Runaway Prius" Sikes Incident

The feds and Toyota say the physical evidence indicates what Jim Sikes said happened and what he did on a San Diego County freeway on March 8 don't match, but if you're expecting the California Highway Patrol, which was first on the scene of what Sikes says was an unintended acceleration incident with his 2008 Prius, to make it three for three, stop holding your breath.

The 7-page incident report (which does confirm that Sikes "appeared to be pumping the brakes") refuses to draw conclusions as to whether what Sikes told the CHP was true or not.  CHP spokesman Brian Pennings says the agency is not trying to settle the debate and has "no evidence...that will absolutely disprove Mr. Sikes' statement".

Discussion ongoing on the Prius Chat forums.

NY Police Chief Reverses Self; Says Driver Error "Possible" In Prius Incident

One day after the joint Toyota/federal examination of a Harrison, New York Prius alleged to have had an unintended acceleration incident, crashing into a wall, the Harrison Police Chief, who ruled out driver error last week, now says it's possible.

Full story from The New York Post, and discussion on the Prius Chat forums.

Toyota, Feds To Investigate New York Runaway Prius Claim Today

Toyota, fresh from tests that contradict the story of a "runaway Prius" driver in San Diego County, California, is in Harrison, New York today to inspect a Prius that, according to a 56 year old woman, sped up and rammed into a stone wall.

The company and federal investigators will be going over that car using the same methods as they did in San Diego...with a critical eye on how many times the driver hit the brakes and the accelerator.

Full story from the Associated Press here.

Prius owners are talking about it on the Prius Chat forums.

Unintended Acceleration: Does It Come From Outer Space?

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that NHTSA is looking into the possiblity that Toyota's sudden acceleration issues (assuming they have any apart from people standing on the wrong pedal) might be linked to cosmic rays.

Full article and a link to the .pdf of the anonymous tip to the Feds from "A concerned scientist" (really) here.

WATCH LIVE: NHTSA Testifies Before House Committee

Here comes another round of "What did you know and when did you know it?". And this time, it's the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in the hot seat.

Click here to watch live.

(If you're checking in later in the day and missed it live, C-SPAN should be archiving it for playback here.)