Toyota Tundra, Ford F-150 Pickup Trucks Under Investigation For Rust, Defective Airbag Issues
It's been a busy week for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
. The agency has launched separate investigations into vehicles from two of the country's biggest automakers, for separate and very serious defects that could pose a possible risk of accidents.The first investigation involves Toyota Tundra pickup trucks, and relates to complaints the agency has received that the frames of the trucks were damaged by rust. The second investigation concerns Ford F-150 pickup trucks, and a potentially defective side airbag.
Approximately 218,000 Toyota Tundras from 2000 and 2001 are included in the first investigation. According to the NHTSA, it has received 20 complaints, out of which 15 claim that the Tundra's spare tires separated because of the corroded frame. The other five complaints relate to broken or bent brake lines because of damage from rust. According to Toyota, the company has been investigating the frame corrosion complaints for several months now, and will soon turn over information to the government if the agency makes a request. The rust issue is a potentially serious one. According to safety experts, rust could cause the frame to disintegrate, causing a collapse of the vehicle. Motorists can lose control over the vehicle, leading to an accident.
This isn't the first time that Toyota vehicles have involved rust problems. Last year, about 1.4 million Toyota Tacomas were found to have rust issues. In that case, Toyota agreed to buy back the Tacoma pickups - that had severely rusted frames - dating from 1995 to 2000. It also agreed to provide corrosion treatment and to replace frames on Tacomas between 2001 & 2004.
The Tundra rust investigation comes on the heels of Toyota's massive recall of 3.8 million vehicles from the domestic market. That recall relates to improperly installed floor mats that could cause the car to accelerate suddenly and uncontrollably, by jamming the gas pedal. The problem came to light after the death of a Santee family in a car accident in San Diego in August. The accident was traced to a jammed accelerator pedal, and an investigation found pieces of the floor mat in the wreckage, indicating that the gas pedal had jammed before the crash. California personal injury lawyers urge readers to inform other Toyota users of this recall, considering the seriousness of the defect, and the fact that there have been earlier deaths related to this.
The second NHTSA investigation involves the Ford F-150, and potential problems with the driver's side airbag. According to the New York Times, the NHTSA has received 8 complaints relating to sudden deployment of the driver's side airbag. The complaints claim that the airbag deployed just seconds after starting the engine, or during ignition. The sudden and unexpected deployment left some motorists injured, while others suffered burns.
Besides these two potential problems, the NHTSA is also looking at approximately 40,000 Mazda RX-8s between 2004 and 2008 with manual transmissions. The agency has received 15 complaints that the bracket holding the clutch pedal failed while driving, leading to the motorist not being able to change gears.
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