by brettb on September 2, 2010
Just when you thought it was safe to buy a car again.
Hyundai Sonata being investigated by NHTSA for product defect issues
Unless you have been under a rock for the last year or so, you will recall that Toyota has had there share of personal injury and product liability issues this year. Well it seems that they are not alone.
As reported by the AP, NHTSA has opened up an investigation into potential problems with the 2011 Hyundai Sonata.
The problem seems to be that the steering mechanism. There have been reports by consumers that a joint in the steering column can come lose due to a product defect causing a complete loss of steering and potentially devastating accidents and injuries.
According to reports, the investigation affects approximately 16,300 Sonatas.
by brettb on July 17, 2010
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, personal injury concerns and consumer safety issues have led to four major recalls of Johnson & Johnson products over the last year.
Popular Johnson & Johnson products Tylenol and Extra Strength Tylenol
Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec as well as 30 plus other children’s medications all were recalled due to safety concerns in April of this year.
In response to these issues the company announced this week that it has plans to revamp the Pennsylvania plant where quality control issues were discovered, which led to many of the recalls.
Unfortunately, as a result of this process 300 of the plant’s 400 positions will be eliminated.
Another of the company’s plants in Pennsylvania was closed recently when the FDA found unsuitable conditions for the production of medications.
The company has also announced recently that it has provided the FDA with an action plan that is comprehensive and will effectively deal with any quality control issues or problems with its factories or plants.
Johnson & Johnson is one of the premier brands in the country and until recently had a stellar reputation for safety and quality. The company has stated that it is committed to enhancing quality control and will utilize outside experts if necessary.
by brettb on July 6, 2010
Recently we reported on Toyota’s recall of certain Lexus models due to a product defect involving engine valve springs. As it turns out, according to company statements, Toyota knew of this problem but did not believe a recall was necessary until recently.
As reported by the Huffington Post, as long as two years ago Toyota knew they had a problem with the engines of certain Lexus models. They looked into it and realized issue was an important engine component called a valve spring. The springs were flawed due to a design defect.
And in 2008 Toyota even took steps to remedy the problem by simply replacing the springs with a new design. At that point, Toyota believed the problem was remedied but consumer complaints continued.
And it is important to remember that this is a company that has been highly criticized and even fined for not responding to consumer complaints in a timely manner. Toyota was fined $16.4 million for not responding fast enough to the company’s sudden acceleration problems that led to the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.
So far, according to the Post, Toyota has received about 200 consumer complaints regarding this issue. However, no injuries or accidents have been reported.
by brettb on July 5, 2010
Personal Injury concerns related to faulty engines in several Lexus vehicles has prompted Toyota to recall over 138,000 of its vehicles, according to NHTSA.
2006–2008 Lexus IS 250
We have written extensively about Toyota Recall Issues here at San Francisco Injury Law Answers – click here and here and here for recent Toyota recall articles.
Toyota stated on Friday that the product defect resides in the engine valve springs. The defect in the springs could cause the vehicle to stall while in motion thereby increasing the risk of a personal injury accident.
The recall will impact GS, IS and LS models years 2006-2008 that were equipped with 4.6 and 5.0 V8 engines as well as the 3.5 V6 engine.
According to the company, no injuries or accidents due to the defect has been reported.
