Auto recall lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm announce Toyota’s latest recall, affecting about 369,000 Highlander Hybrids and Lexus RX 400h vehicles. The transmissions in these SUVs can overheat, which triggers a warning signal causing the vehicle to stop while in operation.
The affected Highlander Hybrid models were manufactured between 2006 and 2010, and the Lexus models between 2006 and 2008. Another recall recently announced by Toyota affects Lexus models IS 350, 350C and GS 350, produced between 2006 and 2011. These Lexus vehicles were made with defective bolts in the variable valve timing control. The bolts can easily loosen and cause the cars to unexpectedly stop while moving.
Owners driving recalled vehicles can expect to be notified via mail, including instructions on how to remedy the mechanical issues. The past year has been tough for Toyota – just a few months ago, in June 2013, the company recalled more than 240,000 Prius and Lexus hybrids due to problems with the brakes. Manufacturing defaults in these vehicles caused nitrogen gas to lead into the braking fluid, which reduced the effectiveness of the brakes.
In April 2013, the automaker recalled about 1.7 million vehicles, including some of its more popular models, such as the Corolla, Tundra, and Matrix. This recall was spurred by severe problems with the airbags, all produced by the same manufacturer.
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Toyota’s largest recall yet, in October 2012, affected over seven million vehicles (actually, over 7.43 million). During assembly, the grease on the driver’s side power windows was applied unevenly, posing a fire risk. Drivers with uneven grease applications on their vehicles noticed the window and window switches were more sticky than normal.
In somewhat related news, the Washington Post recently reported that drivers in the D.C. area are more than twice as likely to get into a traffic accident as the national average, solidifying Washington drivers as the worst in America. According to Allstate Insurance’s Best Drivers Report, drivers in the nation’s capital go an average of 4.8 years between accidents.
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The insurer’s report collects data from its internal claims reporting system every year, and this is the sixth year in a row D.C. drivers have fallen to the bottom of the list. A spokesperson for Allstate stated that this may be because D.C. drivers were much more likely to driver in general, as more Washington residents own cars than other city-dwellers, such as those in Chicago or New York.
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Baltimore drivers were ranked as the second-worst in the nation, with an average of one car accident every 5.4 years. This can be compared to the nation’s safest drivers, in Fort Collins, Colorado, who get in an accident about every 14 years. This is the third year Fort Collins has demonstrated the nation’s safest driving habits. The average American goes about ten years in between car accidents.
The collected Allstate data also showed that drivers in large cities were more likely to get in a crash than those in smaller towns, and drivers in Phoenix had fewer car accidents than any other metropolitan area larger than one million. Not surprisingly, drivers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles metro areas were among the most accident-prone in the country. Notably, drivers in South Dakota were the least likely to buckle up, with just two-thirds of drivers fastening their seat belts regularly.
Auto accident lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm have decades of experience advocating on behalf of those seriously injured in car, bus, truck and motorcycle crashes. If you or a loved one was involved in any type of motorized vehicle accident and suffered serious injuries, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills and property damage, and should contact a skilled car crash lawyer as soon as possible.
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