Something we missed in our earlier post on the newest pain-in-Toyota's-wallet NHTSA recall investigation on the Toyota Corolla is that they're calling it "unexpected veering." Apparently it's when a driver thinks their Corolla can drive itself at 40MPH. Oy.
Automotive News found that the Corolla has been the subject of 83 power-steering complaints since April 2008, 76 of which have reported that the vehicle unexpectedly veers to the left or right at 40 miles an hour and up.
Complainants have compared the movement to being buffeted by strong winds, sliding on black ice, or hydroplaning. They said that after trying to straighten the car, it can overcorrect — requiring the driver to use a tight, persistent, two-handed grip on the wheel to travel in a straight line. Yes, that's right — keeping both hands on the wheel constantly will solve the problem.
"If you take your eye off the road for a second, the car will drift into another lane," said one driver who lodged an Oct. 18 complaint.
The complaints cite 10 injuries resulting from six accidents, which sometimes left the vehicle upside down, at the bottom of a cliff or in a ditch.
Seriously, we told you Toyota building beige cars would eventually come back to bite them in the ass. Sure enough, here's yet another example — people who don't realize that their car cannot self-drive and are forced to learn — the hard way — that concentration is key to driving.