After years of litigation, Toyota has announced that it will spend $1.1 billion to resolve lawsuits alleging "unintended acceleration" in the United States.
"This agreement marks a significant step forward for our company, one that will enable us to put more of our energy, time and resources into Toyota's central focus: making the best vehicles we can for our customers and doing everything we can to meet their needs," said Christopher Reynolds, Toyota's top North American legal officer. "In keeping with our core principles, we have structured this agreement in ways that work to put our customers first and demonstrate that they can count on Toyota to stand behind our vehicles."
The Japanese carmaker has agreed to install new braking override systems in some cars and reimburse owners who were affected financially by these issues. Up to 16 million cars are covered by the settlement and all components related to unintended acceleration will receive 3- to 10-year warranties. Plaintiffs' lawyers estimated that 3.25 million cars are eligible for the new brake-override devices.
"This was a difficult decision - especially since reliable scientific evidence and multiple independent evaluations have confirmed the safety of Toyota’s electronic throttle control systems," said Christopher Reynolds. "However, we concluded that turning the page on this legacy legal issue through the positive steps we are taking is in the best interests of the company, our employees, our dealers and, most of all, our customers."
Source: Automotive News
