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Toyota settles first wrongful death suit related to unintended acceleration

Toyota's sales seem to have rebounded from the unintended acceleration issues from 2009 and 2010, but the automaker is far from done dealing with this situation. Following a settlement worth up to $1.4 billion for economic loss to affected vehicle owners, Toyota has settled rather than going to trial in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from an accident in Utah in 2010 that left two passengers dead. This isn't the first case in which Toyota has settled, but it was the first among a consolidated group of cases being held in Santa Ana, CA.
According to The Detroit News, this case was scheduled to take place next month, and it was for a November 2010 incident in which Paul Van Alfen and Charlene James Lloyd were killed in a Camry when, based on findings by the Utah Highway Patrol, the accelerator got stuck causing the car to speed out of control and hit a wall; the terms of the settlement were not announced.
The article says that while Toyota will settle on some cases, it doesn't plan on settling on all of them as it still wants to be able to "defend [its] product at trial." This will probably be the case in suits claiming that software for the drive-by-wire accelerator was the cause of an accident in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle. The question of whether or not the electronic accelerator played any role in this problem has been a hot-button topic since the beginning. Toyota has issued recalls in the past to attempt to prevent unintended acceleration caused by trapped floor mats and faulty accelerator pedals, but it also says driver error was to blame in some instances.

J.D. Power study sees new car dependability problems increase for first time since 1998

For the first time since 1998, J.D. Power and Associates says its data shows that the average number of problems per 100 cars has increased. The finding is the result of the firm's much-touted annual Vehicle Dependability Study, which charts incidents of problems in new vehicle purchases over three years from 41,000 respondents.
Looking at first-owner cars from the 2011 model year, the study found an average of 133 problems per 100 cars (PP100, for short), up 6 percent from 126 PP100 in last year's study, which covered 2010 model-year vehicles. Disturbingly, the bulk of the increase is being attributed to engine and transmission problems, with a 6 PP100 boost.
Interestingly, JDP notes that "the decline in quality is particularly acute for vehicles with four-cylinder engines, where problem levels increase by nearly 10 PP100." Its findings also noticed that large diesel engines also tended to be more problematic than most five- and six-cylinder engines.

2018 Lexus RX 450hL hybrid will start just over $50,000

Lexus has announced pricing on its 2018 RX 450hL, saying that its new three-row, all-wheel-drive hybrid crossover will carry a starting MSRP just $1,550 higher than the non-hybrid AWD RX 350L when it goes on sale starting in April. The RX 450hL will start at $51,615, positioning it right in-between luxury crossover competitors like the Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 and Infiniti QX60. The Luxury package, which adds features like semi-aniline trimmed seats, interior LED ambient lighting, laser-cut wood trim and 20-inch machine-finished alloy wheels, bumps the price up to $55,550. Prices include a $995 delivery, processing and handling fee. Lexus says the 450hL will get new features like second-row captain's chairs, leather-trimmed seats and complimentary Lexus Inform Safety Connect and Service Connect membership for the first 10 years of ownership. Standard safety features include a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assistance, intelligent high beam headlights and all-speed dynamic radar cruise control. The RX 450hL combines a 3.5-liter V6 engine with two high-torque electric drive motor-generators to produce 308 in combined horsepower, with an EV mode allowing it to run on pure electric power at lower speeds for short periods. Lexus hasn't yet released fuel-economy figures for the hybrid, but the conventional RX 450h is rated at a combined 30 mpg by fueleconomy.gov. Lexus has added 4.3 inches to the rear body length of the 450hL and added more room for third-row occupants by incorporating a steeper tailgate. We've previously covered the introduction of the three-row RX 450hL and the 2018 RX 350L, which is powered by a 290-hp 3.5-liter V6 and is available in both front- and all-wheel-drive. The latter starts at $48,665 and goes up to $55,080. The RX line has been Lexus' best-selling model, with sales of 108,307 units in 2017.Related Video: