Toyota Faces More Lawsuits in Houston

HOUSTON - In Houston's growing Asian community, foreign-made cars are a favorite, but Toyota tops their list of worries.

"Each Vietnamese family owns two Toyotas,” Attorney Tammy Tran says. “Toyota is the dream of every Vietnamese."

Ordinarily that would be a ringing endorsement any car maker would love to hear. But the problem with that endorsement is there's more to it...

Tran says Toyota is a big disappointment.

Natalie Pham was in tears talking about her experience as a Toyota owner. The Houstonian says her daughter Anha was seriously injured while driving their 2008 Toyota Camry.

Natalie's daughter, who's in med school, survived but sustained injuries, according to her family. That's why the Phams are the first of at least 300 Vietnamese families in Houston to file a lawsuit against Toyota claiming acceleration problems.

"We've got very serious injuries to Natalie's daughter. Anha lives at risk because Toyota decided they would not tell people about the problem until what they perceived as an economical fix for Toyota," Attorney Mark Lanier says.

Lanier and Tran say this is a box full of clients who have had substantial problems driving their Toyotas. All are from the Houston area, and all are Vietnamese, which is what attorneys call a mass action suit.

In the meantime, the attorneys say many of the Toyotas that have been the pride and joy in Houston's Vietnamese community are sitting idle just like the one the Pham's used to drive.