Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 4:53 pm

This week, Toyota has announced it will be recalling a limited number of Tacoma pickup trucks due to potential defects in the truck’s drive shaft.

Congressman Bart Gordon, who has raised questions about the Tacoma’s safety since 2007, continues to call for further investigation of the Tacoma by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), saying the recalls leave many questions unanswered.

“I raised concerns about the Toyota Tacoma in 2007, and have continued to call for thorough investigation of this vehicle. Like many drivers, I am concerned that the current recalls are too little, too late,” Gordon stated. “Three years, dozens of complaints and several unsatisfactory recalls later, many of the original issues with the Tacoma are still not being addressed.”

In October 2007, Gordon contacted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about problems with the Toyota Tacoma, following local media reports of drivers experiencing sudden acceleration and lurching issues.

Gordon urged the agency’s administrator to “conduct a swift and thorough investigation to ensure the safety of consumers in Tennessee and around the country.” NHTSA responded at the time it had tested a single vehicle, and had not found a pattern of defects in the Tacoma.

Toyota’s most recent recall affects just 8,000 vehicles. The recall does not address the pre-2010 Tacoma models whose problems Gordon flagged in 2007. 2005-2010 Tacoma models are included in a broader recall that blames the truck’s floor mat for entrapping its accelerator pedal, an explanation called into question by several accident reports, while other Toyota models with the similar issues have been recalled for mechanical “sticky pedal” problems. Still other reports have emerged citing electromagnetic interference and other complex electrical issues as a potential root cause.

Gordon has contacted NHTSA again urging the agency to revisit the Tacoma more comprehensively.

“It now appears that a serious examination of accelerator problems in the Tacoma two years ago may have allowed the problem to be addressed earlier, saving lives and reducing the number of vehicles recalled,” Gordon wrote. “I am disappointed that NHTSA underestimated the severity of the problem by conducting such a cursory investigation.”

Gordon is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which will be holding a hearing on the effectiveness of Toyota and NHTSA’s reactions to consumer complaints on February 23rd.