MIAMI --- Toyota owners claiming massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet have filed at least 89 class-action lawsuits that could cost the Japanese auto giant $3 billion or more, according to an Associated Press review of cases, legal precedent and expert interviews.
Those estimates do not include potential payouts for wrongful death and injury lawsuits, which could reach in the tens of millions each. Still, the sheer volume of cases involving U.S. Toyota owners claiming lost value -- 6 million or more -- could prove far more costly, adding up to losses in the billions for the automaker.
Such class-action lawsuits "are more scary for Toyota than the cases where people actually got injured," said Tom Baker, a University of Pennsylvania law professor. "A super-big injury case would be $20 million. But you could have millions of individual car owners who could (each) be owed $1,000. If I were Toyota, I'd be more worried about those cases."
As Toyota continues to deal with recalls and wavering public confidence in its vehicle safety, its biggest financial fight might be in the courtroom. A key decision could come at a March 25 hearing in San Diego, where a panel of federal judges will consider whether to consolidate the mushrooming cases into a single jurisdiction.
After that, a judge will decide whether all claims filed by Toyota owners nationwide can be combined in a single legal action -- known as "certifying a class" -- and whether the claims have enough merit to move toward either trial or settlement.
Toyota owners suing the company contend their vehicles have dropped in value because of the recalls and that Toyota knew all along about safety problems but concealed them from buyers. They point to evidence such as Kelley Blue Book's decision this month to lower the resale value of recalled Toyotas an average of 3.5 percent.
WASHINGTON --- Toyota said Tuesday that it will expand a recall announced last year to fix Tundra pickup trucks with frames that could rust and lead to spare tires falling from the vehicle.
Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said the recall will cover Tundra pickups from the 2000-2003 model years in all 50 states. It would broaden a recall announced in November that covered 110,000 trucks in 20 "cold weather" states and the District of Columbia.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation on Tundra frames in October after receiving 20 complaints of "severe frame corrosion."
-- Associated Press
Incentives lure new customers
ERLANGER, Ky. --- A high-ranking Toyota executive says the auto company's North American sales spiked around 50 percent the first eight days of March as incentives helped lure customers after a series of embarrassing recalls.
Don Esmond, the senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales, said Tuesday that the early numbers surpassed expectations. Speaking at a conference for Toyota suppliers, he didn't elaborate.
-- Associated Press
Toyota does not seem to be doing enough to identify what the problem is with these vehicles. With today's sophisticated technology, all modern vehicles are basically computer controlled. So, why does Toyota not think this a computer problem? Recent news reports have demonstrated that by grounding out certain connections of the computer terminals, they are able to duplicate this problem. It may not be a problem of just reprogramming the on board computer, but the entire computer module may need replacing. It seems Toyota would take this approach and get the problem remedied, instead of keeping their heads in the sand.
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