All About Japan Autos

It looks like a lead foot might be the only thing causing your 2009 or 2010 Toyota to accelerate unexpectedly: The federal government deemed vehicles with suspected electronic throttle control issues safe to drive yesterday. “A 10-month investigation by the federal government into possible causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles found no flaw with the automaker’s electronic throttle control systems, the U.S. Department of Transportation said on Tuesday,” reports Edmunds.

That’s good news for Toyota and consumers who’ve been leery of Toyota vehicles because the slew of recalls last year labeled them unsafe. Toyota responded in a press release. “Toyota welcomes the findings of NASA and NHTSA regarding our Electronic Throttle Control System with intelligence (ETCS-i) and we appreciate the thoroughness of their review,” writes Toyota. “We believe this rigorous scientific analysis by some of America’s foremost engineers should further reinforce confidence in the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. We hope this important study will help put to rest unsupported speculation about Toyota’s ETCS-i, which is well-designed and well-tested to ensure that a real world, un-commanded acceleration of the vehicle cannot occur.”

But Toyota’s not the only automaker that will likely reap the benefits. “The government’s finding is good news for Toyota but also for the auto industry, which has embraced electronic technology as a means to improve vehicle performance,” says the Detroit News. “Other automakers also are dealing with complaints of unintended acceleration — through fewer than Toyota’s, according to NHTSA.”

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