The Heat is on for Toyota With Lawsuits Claiming Deceptive Tactics

The heat is on at Toyota, with a class action lawsuit underway in Charleston, West Virginia and numerous other venues. Hot on the heels of reports that Toyota will begin a massive campaign to fix its "runaway cars" problem due to faulty accelerators, the lawsuits in federal court allege that Toyota’s huge recall effort actually doesn’t include all known models to have that problem.

The United States recall of Toyota cars included 8 models, while the lawsuit alleges that there are 13 models with an electronic throttle-control system (ECTS) known to have a dangerous propensity for sudden acceleration. The problem has been in existence since the 2002 model Camry and 1998 Lexus vehicles.

Another lawsuit filed by a Tampa, Florida further as well as the West Virginia lawsuit allege that Toyota used deceptive tactics to keep the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from knowing about the full extent of the danger posed to American motorists.

Toyota has recalled the 2009-10 RAV4 crossover, the 2009-10 Corolla, the 2009-10 Matrix hatchback, the 2005-10 Avalon, the 2007-10 Camry, the 2010 Highlander crossover, the 2007-10 Tundra pickup and the 2008-10 Sequoia SUV.

In addition to those, the lawsuit alleges several other models and years are at risk: 2007-08 FJ Cruisers, 2003-08 Tacoma pickups, 2002-09 Camrys, 2000-09 Tundra pickups, 2001-09 4Runner SUVs, 2001-09 Land Cruisers, 2005-09 RAV4s, 2001-09 Sequoias, 2004-09 Siennas, 2005-09 Corollas, and 2004-09 Highlanders. "Lexus models" from 1998 to 2009 also are listed.