Yes, actually it is quite common.

Toyota may have drawn the media spotlight, but they're not the only company who has been knowingly shipping vehicles with unintended acceleration problems, for instance.

Jumping to another field, there are plenty of medication commercials on television, ones that often mention death in their laundry lists of super fun possible side effects. So, not only is death acceptable as a possible side effect of a medication, it's such a minor concern to consumers that having it mentioned doesn't ruin the effectiveness of the ad.