Articles Posted in Dangerous/Defective Products

On Thursday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of 1.7 million Maytag dishwashers due to a fire hazard. Whirlpool Corp. has received reports of 12 fire incidents caused by electrical failure in the dishwashers’ heating element. There have been no reported injuries from the defective product. The recall includes dishwashers sold from February 2006 through April 2010 of the following brands, Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Magic Chef, Admiral, Performa by Maytag and Crosley.

Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the dishwasher and disconnect the power supply by shutting off the fuse controlling power to the appliance. To determine if your dishwasher is included in the recall you can contact Maytag at 1-800-544-5513.

In last week’s blog I passed on Consumer Reports warnings concerning the new Lexus GX 460. Toyota initially responded to the report stating “We’re concerned with the results of Consumer Reports testing on the Lexus GX 460 and their suggested buyer recommendation. Our engineers conducted similar tests during the development of the new GX and had no issues…Please keep in mind that the 2010 GX 460 meets or exceeds all Federal Government test requirements.”

On Monday of this week, Toyota said they are recalling the Lexus GX 460 and they have a software update that will fix the problem. According to Consumer Reports, the vehicle is susceptible to serious rollover collisions due to a steering problem that the electronic stability control system fails to correct. If the software fix works, this is good news for consumers unfortunate enough to have purchased this vehicle. However, what puzzles me is how Toyota claims there was no problem on April 13th, then a few days later, on April 19th has a software update developed that will fix the problem. Based on this time line, it certainly appears that Toyota had a software fix waiting just in case anyone caught the safety issues with their new luxury SUV. If that is the case, then Toyota has been caught once again putting consumers at risk by failing to report known safety issues.

In our Marietta injury lawyer blog, we recently discussed the safety concerns with the new Lexus GX 460. Consumer Reports has also released some video of the problematic Lexus SUV being tested on their handling course in East Haddam Connecticut. The above video illustrates Consumer Reports’ concerns with this vehicle.

Toyota, the parent company of Lexus, got more bad news this week when Consumer Reports published the results of their safety testing on the Lexus GX460. Testing on a handling course indicated the SUV was a rollover risk in real-world driving situations. At the Consumer Report test track, during tight turns the rear of the Lexus GX would slide out until the vehicle was sideways before the electronic stability control system would kick in. This is significant, because If a motorist encountered a similar situation this could cause a rollover accident resulting in serious injury or death.

The test performed is called a lift-off oversteer, and it’s a test Consumer Reports does on every vehicle they evaluate. They have tested 95 various SUVs and no vehicle has done as poorly as the Lexus GX 460. Product liability lawyers and other consumer advocates are taking this report very seriously, as this is the first time Consumer Reports has designated a vehicle’s performance as not acceptable since August of 2001. Right now consumers are urged to refrain from buying this vehicle until this problem is fixed. Those that have already purchased the vehicle are being asked to use extreme caution while driving and to contact Lexus and/or Toyota to see if a fix has been developed.

When it comes to vehicles, there are some dangerous and defective products on the market right now. A good source of vehicle safety and recall information is the Consumer Reports car blog. Today Consumer Reports posted an informative piece on the latest recalls concerning the following vehicle: Acura, Chrysler, Dodge, Honda, Saab, and Toyota. If have one of these vehicles, or are considering buying a new or used car, it is worth a read.

Product Liability Lawyers, research groups, and the federal government have been closely following consumer complaints, injuries, and deaths resulting from Toyota unintended acceleration problems. Toyota claims the multiple recalls for floor mats and gas pedals will fix the problem. However, there is compelling data linking these acceleration incidents to the electronic throttle control systems. I anticipate there are more Toyota vehicle recalls in our future.