Faulty product claims and brake failure on Toyota models

After concerns over its accelerator pedals caused car giant Toyota to recall millions of cars in January 2010, the Japanese firm was met with more trouble less than a month later after faulty product claims were made on some of its Lexus and Prius models, two of Toyota's high-end cars.

Over 8 million cars worldwide were recalled in January 2010 because of 'sticky' accelerator pedals and a further 170,000 of the Prius and Lexus models were also recalled in February 2010 due to brake problems.

Although thought not to be as widespread a problem as the previous fault with the accelerator pedals, owners of the defective Prius and Lexus models have reported total brake failure, making the problem equally as serious as that of the accelerator. At the time of the recall, sources within Toyota, however, described the failure as a "phenomenon" and company president Akio Toyota insisted that Toyota cars were safe.

With serious problems discovered with both the accelerator and brakes on the cars, faith in overall safety of the cars was seriously undermined and many Toyota owners quite rightly raised concerns about whether other faults will arise with their cars and whether they were safe to drive on the roads.

Although the faulty cars were fixed following the product recall, voluntary compensation was not immediately offered to any of the owners for any loss of earnings they may have incurred during the time their car was being repaired.

Car manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure their cars meet the high safety standards consumers rightly expect. A faulty car is dangerous not just to the person driving it and the passengers inside, but to other road users as well.

If you suspect your car is faulty, you should take it back to the dealership were you bought it from so that a record of the fault can be made. If the fault is found to be due to a manufacturer error, you may be able to make a product liability claim for your car.

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