NHTSA Complaint #11010150 — 2017 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER

THE CAR (LIKE MANY OTHERS) ALLOWS PRESET SEATING POSITIONS TO BE STORED IN MEMORY. UP TO THREE PREFERENCES CAN BE STORED. NOTHING IN THE VEHICLE PREVENTS FULL RECLINE OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT FROM BEING PROGRAMMED AS A PREFERENCE. THE CONTROLS FOR THE PREFERENCES ARE ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR. THESE VEHICLES ARE OFTEN EQUIPPED WITH SEAT MOUNTED LCD SCREENS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF SECOND ROW PASSENGERS. THESE SCREENS PIVOT OUTWARD TO ALLOW FOR PASSENGERS OF DIFFERENT HEIGHTS. THIS COMBINATION OF FUNCTIONS ALLOWS (ESPECIALLY WHERE THE VEHICLE IS A RENTAL VEHICLE IN THE CASE I EXPERIENCED) FOR THE FOLLOWING ISSUE TO OCCUR: PREVIOUS DRIVER SETS A PRESET SEATING POSITION IN PARTIAL OR FULL RECLINE. NEXT DRIVER INSTALLS A REAR-FACING CHILD SEAT BEHIND DRIVERS'S SEAT. NEXT DRIVER EXITS THE VEHICLE AND TOUCHES PRESET BUTTON ON DRIVER'S DOOR AS THEY EXIT THE VEHICLE. THE SEATBACK WILL THEN BEGIN TO RECLINE AUTOMATICALLY. AN LCD SCREEN THAT IS TILTED UPWARDS WILL IMPACT THE NECK OF AN INFANT IN A REAR-FACING SEAT AND CRUSH THE INFANT'S THORAX. THE RECLINE FEATURE CONTAINS NO SENSOR TO DETECT AN OBSTRUCTION. THE FORCE OF THE RECLINE MOTOR EXCEEDS NORMAL HUMAN STRENGTH. THE INCIDENT I EXPERIENCED WAS WITH AN OLDER (FOUR-YEAR-OLD) CHILD IN A FORWARD-FACING SEAT. AS I EXITED THE VEHICLE I MUST HAVE TOUCHED ONE OF THE SEATING PRESETS. THE SEAT-BACK BEGAN TO RECLINE CRUSHING MY DAUGHTER'S LEGS. VEHICLE HAD TO BE REENTERED AND RESTARTED IN ORDER TO OVERRIDE THE RECLINE.