( CNN ) -- Toyota Motor Corp. has recently been in the hot seat after issuing massive recalls because of problems related to the accelerator pedal in several of its auto models . To date , 8.1 million vehicles worldwide have been recalled by the manufacturer , with the possibility of more to come after Thursday 's announcement by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration of a formal investigation into brake problems with the 2010 Prius . As the company 's woes continue to mount , there has been some speculation from critics such as Rep. Henry Waxman , D-California , as to whether Toyota 's recent problems with sudden unintended acceleration go beyond the problems already identified . Speaking on Wednesday to CNN 's Campbell Brown , Larry Webster of Popular Mechanics magazine spoke at length on the problem , saying that `` in the last decade , there have been tens of thousands of reports of sudden unintended acceleration in cars made by all the manufacturers . '' Is this true ? The CNN Fact Check Desk wondered : Which other car manufacturers have had a problem with sudden unintended acceleration ? • Sudden unintended acceleration occurs when a car continues to move forward , often at increasing speeds , without the driver pressing on the accelerator pedal . • While Toyota is basing its current recall on the possibility of floor mat entrapment and sticky accelerator pedals , many factors can contribute to the problem of sudden unintended acceleration in vehicles . Reports from the NHTSA have blamed it on many other factors , including frayed throttle cables and cracked cruise-control computers . • The top five manufacturers of cars driven in the United States are General Motors , Toyota , Ford , Honda and Chrysler . • The NHTSA 's online database indicates that every one of these five has received numerous consumer complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in more than one of its models . Each manufacturer has faced a formal investigation into these complaints by the NHTSA and as a result has had to recall vehicles to fix various conditions that led to the problem . • Recalls due to incidents of sudden unintended acceleration are not limited to the big five manufacturers . According to the NHTSA database , recalls have also been issued for vehicles made by Nissan , BMW , Volkswagen , Mitsubishi , Subaru , Mercedes-Benz , Kia , Mazda , Land Rover , Suzuki and Volvo . • In December 2009 , Consumer Reports published an article that said 41 percent of the sudden acceleration complaints received by the NHTSA in 2008 pertained to Toyota and its luxury brand , Lexus . Ford came in second behind Toyota with 28 percent of the complaints relating to U.S. models . • Bottom Line : Sudden unintended acceleration is not a problem limited to Toyota . Many car manufacturers , including the other four with the largest shares of the U.S. market , have had to recall vehicles because of this issue .
8.1 million vehicles worldwide have been recalled by Toyota . Popular Mechanics expert says thousands of cars have had similar problems . Score: 6