The Lemon Law Blog

Even as Toyota struggles to find the source of sudden acceleration, the U.S. Department of Transportation is offering advice on what do to if sudden acceleration happens while you are driving. Until either the company or federal investigators discover what component is causing the problem, no advice is a sure thing. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has posted the following steps a driver might take to control the vehicle racing out of control.

Actions Consumers Can Take If They Cannot Stop Their Vehicles

Regardless of the cause, if a consumer is experiencing unintended acceleration intheir vehicle, they should take the following steps:
• Brake firmly and steadily – do not pump the brake pedal.
• Shift the transmission into Neutral (for vehicles with automatic transmissions and the sport option, familiarize yourself with where Neutral is – the diagram may be misleading).
• Steer to a safe location.
• Shut the engine off (for vehicles with keyless ignition, familiarize yourself with how to turn the vehicle off when it is moving – this may be a different action than turning the vehicle off when it is stationary).
• Call your dealer or repair shop to pick up the vehicle. Do not drive it.

You can find more information about sudden acceleration and other recalls here.

Ford Motor Credit Company ("FMCC") has settled a class action involving 15,877 vehicle repossessions. For details on this case and other similar cases, click on Class Actions. FMCC will stop collection of approximately $110,810,774 in outstanding deficiency balances. FMCC will also refund the full amount that qualified class members already paid toward their post-repossession deficiency. This class action settlement received final approval of the San Diego Superior Court at a duly noticed hearing on January 8, 2010. The case is entitled Ford Motor Credit Company v O'Neal (San Diego Superior Court Case No. 37-2007-00077225-CL-CL-SC). Bryan Kemnitzer and Nancy Barron of Kemnitzer Barron & Krieg in San Francisco, Alec Trueblood of Los Angeles, and Lilys McCoy of San Diego represented the class. Class members are invited to call 1-877-435-4072 for an update on this case.