Toyota apparently did not turn over to lawyers at least one Japanese version of Toyota test documentation and according to recent investigations by CNN, there were several translations of documents which were provided to lawyers of which none said, “Sudden Unintended Acceleration occurred in tests.” So everyone, including the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration now wants to know if the more than 300 reports by Toyota owners and drivers of Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) did have bearing in fact.
At least one translated Toyota memorandum shows Sudden Unintended Acceleration concern and according to a March 1 article posted on CNN's website by Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick of CNN’s special investigations unit, “Toyota engineers found an electronic software problem that caused 'sudden unintended acceleration' in a test vehicle during pre-production trials, according to a company engineering document obtained by and translated for CNN.”
This finding resurrects the SUA issue in Toyotas, according to CNN's Anchor Anderson Cooper's TV reporting of March 1 (1:32 p.m.). According to CNN, “The 2006 document, marked "Confidential," recounted the results of an adaptive cruise-control software test in a model internally designated the 250L, a vehicle later sold as the Lexus 460 in Japan and Europe. The document also indicated a "fail-safe overhaul" would be needed for another model then in production which the Toyota said was later sold as a Toyota Tundra.
There is at least one telling statement in the test documentation verified by CNN: "The cruise control activates by itself at full throttle when the accelerator pedal position sensor is abnormal," states the document, written in Japanese, translated into English. Thus far, Toyota has not conceded that its cars have the sudden unintended acceleration problem, despite the many reports by owners and drivers. In addition, Toyota reportedly did not share some test documents with the NHTSA “because the test document had nothing to do with the problem of sudden unintended acceleration.” There is likely to be more to follow on this story, so stay tuned.
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