Well-known Regina lawyer Tony Merchant launched a massive class action suit Monday against car manufacturers Lexus and Toyota regarding alleged defects in a number of their vehicles.
The suit claims 13 Toyota and 13 Lexus vehicles failed to provide standard protection against "runaway acceleration" in all its car.
The problem allegedly lies in each of the cars ETCS-i system, or "throttle by wire" system. In cases where problems were reported, the car accelerated out of control despite "desperate" breaking efforts by the driver, the suit alleges.
Court documents say Toyota failed to provide the standard failsafe mechanism in its cars that allows the driver to regain control of the vehicle once the ETCS-i system is activated.
The suit claims the car makers failed to install a simple steel reinforcement bar, which would have solved the majority of the problems with the ETCS-i system.
"On a monetary basis, we’re suing for the decline in the value of people’s vehicles because you put this cloud over the product and the resale value," Mechant said. "I don’t know how much it’s gone down, but it’s gone down significantly."
"Many of our clients were personally endangered by runaway acceleration, and other Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners risk similar danger," Merchant said in a release.
The news comes at a bad time for Toyota, after it was forced to recall 270,000 vehicles due to the same issue. The car maker issued a full recall January 21.
In the U.S., 2.3 million cars were recalled for the same issue, as well as another 1.8 million in Europe and 75,000 in China. In addition, another 5.3 million Toyotas were recalled last year in the U.S. due to floor mats that could trap accelerator pedals.
Meanwhile, Toyota Canada Inc. says it expects sales of eight of its most popular vehicles affected by a massive recall could resume as early as this weekend.
Stephen Beatty, Toyota Canada managing director, said on a conference call Monday he expects a repair kit for the faulty gas pedals at the centre of the recall wlll be sent to dealerships by this Friday, and sales could resume then. Production of the vehicles could resume on Feb. 8, if all goes well.
“I would expect that the modifications will begin as of Friday,” Mr. Beatty said. “I would expect them to be in and out of the dealership in an hour."
Models in the lawsuit include:
“¢Toyota Camrys from 2002 through 2010
“¢Toyota Corollas from 2005 through 2010
“¢Toyota RAV-4’s from 2005 through 2010
“¢Toyota 4Runner SUV’s from 2001 to 2010
“¢Toyota Tacoma pickup trucks from 2003 through 2008
“¢Toyota Tundra pickup trucks from 2000 through 2010
“¢Toyota Matrix 2009 to 2010
“¢Toyota FJ Cruisers from 2007 through 2008
“¢Toyota Avalons from 2005 through 2010
“¢Toyota Land Cruisers from 2001 through 2010
“¢Toyota Siennas from 2004 through 2010
“¢Toyota Highlanders from 2004 through 2010
“¢Lexus models from model years 1998 through 2010
More to come…
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