Additional Information on Toyota Recalls and Investigations

Toyota to Pay $16.375 Million Civil Fine

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made the following statement after Toyota Motor Corporation agreed to pay a $16.375 million fine – the largest fine permitted by law – for failing to notify NHTSA of a dangerous pedal defect for almost four months: “By failing to report known safety problems as it is required to do under the law, Toyota put consumers at risk. I am pleased that Toyota has accepted responsibility for violating its legal obligations to report any defects promptly. We are continuing to investigate whether the company has lived up to all its disclosure obligations.” News Release

Secretary LaHood Announces DOT is Seeking Maximum Civil Penalty from Toyota

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that NHTSA is seeking the maximum civil penalty of $16.375 million against Toyota Motor Corporation for failing to notify the auto safety agency of the dangerous “sticky pedal” defect for at least four months, despite knowing of the potential risk to consumers. Approximately 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. were recalled in late January for the sticky pedal defect. The penalty being sought against Toyota would be the largest civil penalty ever assessed against an auto manufacturer by NHTSA. News Release

Major Investigations to Resolve Issue of Sudden Acceleration are Annouced

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced two major investigations designed to answer questions surrounding the issue of unintended vehicle acceleration. The National Academy of Sciences will examine the broad subject of unintended acceleration and electronic vehicle controls across the entire automotive industry. Separately, NHTSA has enlisted NASA engineers with expertise in areas such as computer controlled electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity to help tackle the issue of unintended vehicle acceleration in Toyotas. News Release

NHTSA Launches Probe into Timeliness of Three Toyota Recalls

NHTSA announced it is using its statutory authority to obtain documents from Toyota to determine if the automaker conducted three of its recent recalls in a timely manner.
News Release