"[55] Another investigation conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department found that three days before the crash another customer had complained to the dealership about the floor mat trapping the same loaner car's accelerator pedal while driving.

[102] On February 3, 2010, Toyota recalled approximately 153,000 vehicles from model years 2005 to 2011 for failing to comply with requirements of FMVSS 110, "Tire Selection and Rims", due to missing load-carrying capacity labels.

The Wall Street Journal reported, "Even when dealers and automakers suspect driver error, it is difficult for them to outright blame their customers for fear of alienating them or appearing insensitive",[20] which USA Today also suggested.

[128] On July 14, 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that NHTSA investigations of 75 accidents alleged to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles had found driver error as the primary cause in all but one case attributed to floor mats.

[47][133][134][135] "The jury is back, the verdict is in: There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas, period," Transportation Department Secretary Ray LaHood declared in the LA Times.

[47] Hiroko Tabuchi writing in The New York Times claims that problematic vehicles may have been accurately reported in Japan due to police correctly blaming driver error, as no verified unintended acceleration case exists.

On February 24, 2010, Toyota responded that it "has rigorously tested its solutions" and is "confident" with the recall repairs, but that it would continue to monitor other possible contributing factors for unintended acceleration, including mechanical, electronics, and driver error.

I would like to send my prayers again, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.In early 2010, the US government began considering requiring all vehicles sold in the US to have accelerator override built into their brake systems.

[141] Research groups have questioned whether Toyota would "get off easily" because of its large investment in lobbying in Washington, with close ties to the congressional representatives who will lead inquiries into the company's string of safety problems.

[142] Other publications noted that half the Democratic congressional members involved in the hearings had received campaign contributions from the United Auto Workers union, a major stockholder of Toyota's top U.S. rival, General Motors.

The North America vehicle production facilities affected were located in Cambridge and Woodstock, Ontario, Canada (where Corolla, Matrix, and RAV4 models are produced), Princeton, Indiana (Highlander and Sequoia), Georgetown, Kentucky (Avalon and Camry), and San Antonio, Texas (Tundra).

[158] In February 2010, a motion for retrial was submitted on behalf of a Minnesota man, Koua Fong Lee, who, in 2008, was sentenced to eight years in jail for rear-ending a car, killing three of the five occupants and injuring the other two.

[159][160][161] At least two of the jurors from the 2008 trial questioned the guilty verdict,[162] and one of the injured survivors filed suit against Toyota and the local dealership that sold the car, stating that he believed Lee should be set free.

[163][164] In June 2010, the Ramsey County Attorney and prosecutor Susan Gaertner opposed a new trial, stating that she saw no evidence that Koua's Camry experienced "sudden unintended acceleration", and a US District Court Judge was given until September 2010 to decide whether or not Lee should be re-tried.

Editorials criticizing alleged disproportionate coverage of the recalls ran in Automotive News,[170] AutoWeek,[171] BusinessWeek,[172] Car and Driver,[17] Motor Trend,[18] Popular Mechanics,[173] and the National Post.

[177] The incident received national news coverage, with initial reporting including inaccurate information about the event, such as the claim that a CHP car was used to physically block Sikes' vehicle.

[194][195] The Los Angeles Times reported that since Toyota and Lexus began installing electronic throttle control systems in 2001, complaints of unintended acceleration with vehicles from both those brands rose sharply.

[198] The initial study commissioned by Toyota beginning in December 2009 concluded "Exponent has so far been unable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, either unintended acceleration or behavior that might be a precursor to such an event, despite concerted efforts toward this goal."

In the segment, David W. Gilbert, a professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, was shown in a late-model Avalon with ABC News reporter Brian Ross.

Autoblog's analysis queried the test's real-world accuracy, noting that the short circuit method was not disclosed outside of wiring normally independent sensors together, the ECU could not be expected to detect unrealistic scenarios, and questioning ABC News' and Brian Ross's objectivity.

[219] In March 2010, Ward's Auto reported that user unfamiliarity with the faster response of laser- and radar-based cruise control systems was a likely factor according to AAA, NHTSA, and manufacturer findings.

"[20] Regarding the 2009-10 Toyota recalls, Ward's Auto noted that NHTSA investigations over past years have found that the majority of sudden unintended acceleration cases are due to driver error.

[14] On November 29, 2009, the Los Angeles Times quoted a motor skills consultant stating that the fault in sudden acceleration cases "almost always lies with drivers who step on the wrong pedal.

[222] In March 2010, Forbes Michael Fumento,[223] The Atlantic's Megan McArdle and attorney Ted Frank argued that the fact that most of the incidents of sudden acceleration in Toyota occur in elderly drivers strongly suggest that there is not an electronics problem as opposed to one of pedal misapplication.

[228] Also noted was that drivers with Type II diabetes (adult onset), which is more common among the elderly, are subject to reduced sensation in their lower extremities (peripheral neuropathy) with related impairment in positional knowledge of foot placement (proprioception).

[225] Analysis of alleged Toyota acceleration reports in The Atlantic and other sources have found the highest distribution of involved drivers between 70 and 80 years old, with the average age skewing over 55;[225][230] with elderly susceptibility to "neuronal misfiring" and pedal misapplication as a possible cause.

[14] In that case, a 1986 segment on CBS News' 60 Minutes accused the Audi 5000 sedan of unintended acceleration defects, which was followed by numerous reports of tragic accidents and media expert commentary.

[232] Consumers in the U.S. and Canada have filed numerous[234] class action lawsuits blaming the sudden acceleration problem on the electronic throttle control system (ETC) and alleging Toyota's negligence.

"[15] On December 26, 2012, Toyota announced it would spend more than US$1 billion to settle a class action lawsuit involving unintended acceleration by retrofitting vehicles with safety devices and compensated owners for lost resale value.

The penalty ended a four-year investigation in which the Justice Department concluded that Toyota had intentionally hidden information about safety defects from the public and had made deceptive statements to protect its brand image.