NHTSA Complaint #11075138 — 2010 TOYOTA YARIS

NOVEMBER 10, 2017 - I WAS T-BONED BY A MOTORIST (WHO RAN THE LIGHT) ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WHILE ATTEMPTING A LEFT HAND TURN THRU AN INTERSECTION. THE 2010 TOYOTA YARIS I WAS DRIVING WAS TOTALED BY THE COLLISION ($8,266.72 OF DAMAGE TO THE DRIVERS SIDE). THE YARIS SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE YARIS'S LEFT DRIVER SIDE DOOR WAS COLLAPSED INTO THE YARIS CABIN WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO BREAK MY SAMSUNG NOTE 4 PHONE DISPLAY & DAMAGE ITS INTERNAL SOLID STATE DRIVE. THE SAMSUNG NOTE 4 WAS ENCASED IN AN OTTER BOX AND ATTACHED TO MY LEFT HIP VIA OTTER BELT CLIP DURING THE TIME OF ACCIDENT. MY HEAD STRUCK A HARD SURFACE IN THE YARIS, RESULTING IN A LARGE HEMATOMA ON MY LEFT FRONTAL LOBE. TOYOTA INVESTIGATED AND FOUND THAT WITHIN THE SPAN OF 68 MILLISECONDS, THE LATERAL DELTA-V AIRBAG SENSOR WAS ACCELERATED FROM 0.0 MPH TO 11.1 MPH. YET THE SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. PER TOYOTA, SINCE THE SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR WAS DEEMED IN PROPER WORKING ORDER AND DID NOT DESIGNATE THE COLLISION WARRANTED DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAGS, EVERYTHING FUNCTIONED NORMALLY. WHEN QUERIED WHAT THRESHOLD WAS REQUIRED TO DEPLOY THE AIRBAGS (NOTING THE INSTANTANEOUS LATERAL ACCELERATION OF A 2300+ LBS VEHICLE FROM 0 MPH TO 11 MPH WAS INSUFFICIENT), TOYOTA INSISTED I HIRE MY OWN ENGINEERS TO RESEARCH. TOYOTA'S UNWILLINGNESS TO ASSIST LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THEY ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN COVERING UP A POTENTIAL FLAW IN THE SRS AIRBAG SYSTEM UTILIZED IN THE YARIS AND POTENTIALLY OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLE MODELS. TOYOTA'S CAVALIER REGARD FOR THE SAFETY OF TOYOTA CUSTOMERS POTENTIALLY PLACES MILLIONS OF TOYOTA CUSTOMERS AT RISK OF SEVERE INJURY OR EVEN DEATH.