Last time, we listed six potential car defects that you should watch out for and talked about how they might cause harm to you and your loved ones. Below you’ll find six more real defects that have happened in the past and could pop up in cars again at some point in the future.
Flawed gas pedal design. Behind GM’s ignition switch problems, this is the other big defect of the last several years: Toyota’s flawed gas pedals that sometimes caused “sudden acceleration.” That’s a very nice way of describing a problem that caused their cars to suddenly speed up, often in excess of 100 mph, and caused people to lose control of their vehicles and crash.
Power windows. Newer cars all have to use a safer open/close mechanism, but if you drive a car from the mid-2000s or earlier, it’s possible that the power windows are controlled by a “rocker” button. Courts ruled that these buttons are extremely dangerous after a number of children died by accidentally hitting them and strangling themselves when windows closed on their necks.
Seat belts. As with air bags, drivers are much safer with seat belts than without them. However, they can still sometimes pose problems. Sometimes poor design may make it easy to accidentally unlatch a belt at an inopportune time. Or a belt may stick after an accident, trapping you in your vehicle when you need to escape.
Tires. Firestone, Michelin, Cooper, and several other tire manufacturers have knowingly sold defective tires from time to time over the years. Often they continued doing this for several years before being caught and forced to recall their products, so you should always remain vigilant for bad tires.
Seats. A safety engineer once said that a number of car seats are “probably among the most egregious, widespread safety defects to be found.” Today’s seats are stronger and safer than ever before, but defects – and accidents – still happen, such as when a man’s seat snapped back in an accident and crushed his 5-year-old daughter.
Door latches. In the past, Ford and other companies have had issues with improperly designed door latches that accidentally opened sometimes during crashes. It would be nice to believe that this is an issue that won’t pop up again, but already it’s something that occurred both in the ‘70s and ‘80s and then again in the late ‘90s.
Any good auto accident attorney will tell you that this list is only the beginning. There are countless things that can go wrong during the design and manufacture of a car, and if you believe you got into a crash because something was wrong with your car, the best thing you can do is contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. Discover how to protect your rights in a car crash by reading our free eBook, Car and Truck Crashed 10 Secrets Victims Should Know to Protect Their Rights.
