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Automotive Industry
AUTOS: NHTSA Safety Probes Questioned
Edmunds.com analyst's report note inconsistencies in the complaints that trigger probes and recalls.
SPEED Staff  |  Posted February 22, 2010   Santa Monica, CA.
It took more than 1,100 complaints about Chevy Cobalt's steering to initiate a NHTSA probe, according to an Edmunds.com report. (Photo: Chevrolet)
The automotive-industry watchers at Edmunds.com are questioning apparent inconsistencies in how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reacts to consumer complaints that trigger vehicle safety recalls.

A report by senior analyst Michelle Krebs notes in particular the inconsistencies between the safety probes of two compact cars, Chevrolet Cobalt and Toyota Corolla, which had similar steering issues but a vastly different number of complaints before NHTSA investigations were initiated.

“Edmunds.com’s analysis of NHTSA data shows no clear pattern in terms of the number of consumer complaints that trigger an agency investigation,” Krebs said in her report, NHTSA on the Hot Seat: What is Standard Operating Procedure? “As few as five complaints have triggered an investigation; other investigations haven’t started until 1,500 complaints had accumulated.”

The report points out that between 2005 and 2010, steering problems on Chevrolet Cobalt were the subject of 1,157 complaints while Toyota Corolla steering problems were the subject of 84 complaints.

According to Edmunds.com’s reading of the steering complaints on both vehicles, the complaints about the Cobalt’s steering are far more serious and more dangerous than are the complaints about the Corolla’s steering. NHTSA recently opened official investigations of both vehicles.

Edmunds.com’s analysis of NHTSA defects investigation data – from 1990 to the present – shows that once an investigation is launched, it takes an average of 262 days to conclude and result in a recall. However, the range has varied from an investigation that lasted a mere 10 days to another that languished for six years.

“Many of the complaints are actively discussed on Edmunds’ CarSpace.com, the auto industry’s most established online community, so neither the automaker nor NHTSA can claim ignorance of the issues that potentially make our roads less safe,” said Sylvia Marino, executive director of community for Edmunds.com.

The Corolla action comes as Toyota struggles with enormous and damaging recalls of more than five million vehicles for unintended-acceleration issues.

“Whether NHTSA’s process works properly and quickly enough and whether it is transparent enough is highly questionable,” Krebs said. “Ultimately, this week’s Congressional hearings may well reveal as many defects in NHTSA procedures as defects in Toyota vehicles.”

Read Michelle Krebs’ full report on AutoObserver.com.

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