According to a database compiled by Safety Research & Strategies (SRS), a Massachusetts-based safety organization, Toyota owners are still reporting Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) incidents. SRS recently completed its latest review of the SUA data and confirmed that to be the case. The safety group said that the incidents included owners who had taken their vehicles in for the recall repairs. The database compiled by SRS consists of incidents from four sources:

• Consumer complaints to NHTSA through January 5, 2011;

• Toyota-submitted claims from several NHTSA investigations;

• Incidents reported by media organizations; and

• Incidents reported by consumers to SRS and others.

While there may be some duplication, SRS believes it is minimal. The database consists only of incidents reported from 1999 to Jan. 5, 2011, regardless of model year. SRS defines unintended acceleration as “any incident in which the complainant reported an engine acceleration that was unintended – regardless of whether the car was in gear.” The following is a breakdown of Toyota SUA incidents reported within the dates referred to above:

• Total incidents 6,496

• Crashes 2,483

• Injuries 1,156

• Deaths 54

SRS says that these numbers include only those that are in the public domain. Based on information supplied by Toyota to Congress last year, the number of incidents could be much higher. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce said there had been 37,900 customer contact reports identified by Toyota as “potentially related to sudden unintended acceleration.” SRS says further that its approach to compiling a database has been very conservative. Interestingly, the Camry models had the largest number of SUA incidents in the database, 415.

Source: SRS