1. Toyota Accelerator Pedal Recall Tyler Knott Alan Sana George Cornwell

2. Accelerator Pedal Recall Toyota’s automobiles from 2008 to 2010 had issues with the accelerator pedal staying depressing when released. This depression of the pedal causes the car to violently accelerate and cause harm to the public. This issue was noticed by Toyota before they released their unsafe models.

3. Should Toyota Come Clean About The Issue? Yes, Toyota should come clean about the issues about the accelerator pedal, because releasing an unsafe product is unethical and unprofessional.

4. NSPE Code of Ethics Breach Section: I Toyota breached the first section of the NSPE Code of Ethics by neglecting to recognize the issues with the accelerator pedals. This has a problem with the fundamental cannons, which cover public safety and conducting responsible, ethical, honorable, and lawful actions.

5. Toyota’s First Reaction When Toyota first heard of what was going on with their cars, they secretly contacted their gas pedal providers and told them about the issue at hand. Instead of doing a recall, Toyota secretly made plans to fix the issue without getting federal official’s attention.

6. Toyota’s Plan of Deception As the issues arose, Toyota started communicating changes about the pedals orally, so no paper trail could be found. Even after changing the design of the gas pedals, the issues kept reoccurring, so the executives decided to speak to federal regulators and issued a recall. After the recall, Toyota made an inaccurate timeline to create the illusion that they dealt with the issue quickly.

7. NSPE Code of Ethics Breach Section: II In the NSPE Code of Ethics, it states that engineers must be “objective and truthful in professional reports, statements, or testimonies which should bear the date indicating when it was current.” This statement conflicts with Toyota’s unethical decisions.

8. NSPE Code of Ethics Breach Section: II (cont.) The fact that Toyota lied and made fraudulent claims is extremely unethical and unprofessional, and even dangerously illegal. Toyota should have taken all responsibility once they saw the issue, and reported a recall with federal safety officials right away, to protect innocent civilians from a malfunctioning product.

9. Dishonesty About The Problem After the recall was issued to fix the accelerator pedals, Toyota lied to members of congress and the public by giving them false facts about the issue. Due to this dishonesty, congress forced Toyota into an agreement. If the company did not live up to the agreement, criminal charges would be pursued against the company.

10. NSPE Code of Ethics Breach Section III Section III of the NSPE Code of Ethics states that engineers shall advise their clients and employers if they believe the project will not be successful. If the engineers would have been forthcoming to the public about the issue, the lives that were lost may have been able to be saved.

11. Source If you want to check out the full story, here’s the website http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/econom y/toyota-reaches-12-billion-settlement-to-end- criminal-probe/2014/03/19/5738a3c4-af69-11e3- 9627-c65021d6d572_story.html