NHTSA closes book on Tacoma cases

Although Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have racked up 431 complaints of unintended acceleration in 2004 to 2008 model year Tacoma pickup trucks, the Federal investigation involving the incidents has officially been closed, with no cause found.

The NHTSA says its investigation failed to come up with a defect in any Tacoma pickup that would have resulted in unintended acceleration.

“For those vehicles where the throttle control system did not perform as the owner believes it should have, the information suggesting a possible defect related to motor vehicle safety is quite limited,” the NHTSA said in a statement. “Additional investigation is unlikely to result in a finding that a defect related to motor vehicle safety exists.”

51 of the 413 reports involved a crash, with 12 of those involving injuries. Although the NHTSA never found a physical defect in any of the trucks, the agency chalks up most of the crashes to driver error or incorrectly placed floor mats.