Safety officials have investigated hundreds of Toyota complaints
U.S. safety regulators have looked into hundreds of reports of uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles over more than five years. The complaints vary from sudden engine bursts that can be controlled by applying the brakes, to unintended acceleration that persists despite the driver’s effort to slow the vehicle.
The reports are linked to 15 fatalities, including four people killed in a 2009 Lexus ES 350 that crashed on Aug. 28 after its driver was unable to slow the car, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.