Toyota Recall Delay Comes Under Security
The time it took Toyota Motor Corp. and U.S. safety regulators to recall millions of Toyotas suspected of sudden-acceleration problems is coming in for scrutiny by a congressional panel that has demanded detailed information from both sides.
The lawmakers are focusing on why several years elapsed after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started to receive complaints about runaway Toyotas before the Japanese auto maker recalled several of its models to repair a defect that could cause their gas pedals to stick. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a Feb. 25 hearing on the matter.
Sudden-acceleration events in Toyota and Lexus vehicles have led to at least five deaths, 13 crashes and 17 injuries since 2006, NHTSA statistics show.
In recent months, there have been signs of tension between NHTSA and Toyota officials. On Nov. 4, the agency issued an unusual rebuke of Toyota, saying the company released misleading information about a plan to recall some 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to fix floor mats that the company said could interfere with the gas pedal and cause the vehicles to speed up even after the driver lifted his foot.
In its release, Toyota said NHTSA had found no defect in vehicles with properly installed floor mats, and added: “This is the sixth time in the past six years that NHTSA has undertaken such an exhaustive review of allegations of unintended acceleration on Toyota and Lexus vehicles and the sixth time the agency has found no vehicle-based cause for the unwanted acceleration allegations.”
Two days later NHTSA said Toyota’s statement that NHTSA had concluded no defect existed was “misleading and inaccurate,” and that the matter wasn’t resolved.
NHTSA officials also pressed Toyota earlier this week to stop selling models affected by the accelerator problems because the company didn’t have an approved solution in place. On Tuesday the company acted, as required by law under the circumstances, by suspending U.S. sales of eight vehicle models.
On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he had “no criticism of Toyota on this. They followed the law, and they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.”
“Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota’s recent recall announcements,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee. “Our hearing will help us better understand how quickly and effectively” Toyota and NHTSA responded, he added.
Toyota said in a statement that it planned “full cooperation” with the panel. A NHTSA spokeswoman said the agency will also cooperate.
This week Toyota said it was adding 1.1 million vehicles to its recalls. In all, Toyota is recalling about 5 million vehicles.
“Our expectation as an agency is that all manufacturers need to address automotive safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner. Our enforcement efforts and ongoing dialogue with Toyota helped to facilitate the expansion of this recall,” said David Strickland, NHTSA’s administrator, in a statement Thursday.
NHTSA first began getting complaints from consumers about runaway Toyota cars in 2004, according to agency records. In September 2007, NHTSA issued a “consumer advisory” to owners of certain Lexus and other Toyota vehicles, urging them to make sure driver-side “all-weather” floor mats were properly secured before driving. NHTSA cited a plan by Toyota to announce a recall of floor mats both said could slip forward and trap the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably. Although not part of the recall, NHTSA urged drivers of certain other Toyota models to check their mats too.
Two years later, in September 2009, NHTSA issued another advisory about problems similar to those in the previous recall, informing owners of certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles about conditions that could cause the accelerator to “get stuck open.”
NHTSA said Toyota had announced it would soon launch a safety recall of various model year vehicles to fix the problem. As an interim measure, NHTSA “strongly encouraged” owners of specific models to take out the removable driver’s side floor mats and not replace them. NHTSA warned consumers “a stuck accelerator may result in very high vehicle speeds and a crash, which could cause serious injury or death.” Toyota launched a similar consumer safety advisory the same day.
On Jan. 21, Toyota issued a formal recall notice covering 2.3 million vehicles “to correct sticking accelerator pedals.” That action was separate, the company said, from an earlier recall covering 4.2 million vehicles with potentially dangerous floor mats. About 1.7 million vehicles were covered by both actions.
On Tuesday, Toyota halted sales of vehicle lines accounting for more than half its sales in the U.S.