More than one in 10 cars Coloradans bought through the Cash for Clunkers programs last summer have now been recalled as Toyota feverishly tries to fix problems with stuck accelerators that have caused deadly crashes.
As car buyers were receiving rebates of up to $4,500 for trading in older models to buy new, more efficient cars in the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program, Toyota and Washington were both aware of complaints about stuck accelerators in several Toyota models.
But according to The New York Times, it wasn’t until the crash of a Lexus in San Diego just as the Cash for Clunkers program ended that regulators and Toyota officials began to seriously focus on the possibility of a mechanical problem. Up to that point, Toyota had insisted that improperly installed floor mats were responsible for stuck accelerators, and the company maintains that posture with regard to the Lexus brand.
Toyotas — including many of the recalled models — were among the most popular cars purchased nationwide with federal help during Cash for Clunkers, and Colorado was no exception.
A Denver Post analysis of car sales through the Clunkers program found that 910 of the 8,538 purchased during that program, or more than one in 10, were Toyotas that now face emergency repairs.
Three of the now-recalled models ranked among the top 10 sold in Colorado through the program: the 2009 Rav4, the 2010 Corolla and the 2010 Camry.
Another 168 Toyotas that face a separate recall over floor mats and accelerator pedals also were sold in the state during the Clunkers program, the analysis found.
Nationally, 10.9 percent of the cars sold using federal funds through the Clunkers program are now part of the recall.
Later this month, the oversight subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which includes Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., will hold hearings on the recall.
Kristofer Eisenala, spokesman for DeGette, said the committee staff is in the midst of researching issues involving the problem.
The committee sent a letter Tuesday to Toyota asking when the company first learned of potential accelerator issues.
