A Toyota Motor Corp. advisory panel recently issued a report detailing the company’s operations in connection to the auto recall in 2009 and 2010. In March 2010, Toyota President Akio Toyoda created the North American Quality Advisory Panel in response to the recall of millions of autos in the U.S. and abroad. The panel, led by former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, reviewed the company’s operations for more than a year before releasing a detailed report.

Bloomberg.com reported flaws linked to unintended acceleration, specifically, floor mates at risk of jamming accelerators and sticky gas pedals sparked the recall. Toyota paid $48.8 million in fines and the company president, along with other officials, was called before Congress. (more…)

For the third time in a row, Toyota is starting a new year out with a car recall. Toyota just announced a recall of 1.705 million vehicles including nearly 245,000 Lexus sedans in the U.S.

The U.S. Lexus recall includes the following models: 2006-07 GS 300 and GS 350, 2006-09 IS 250, and 2006-08 IS 350. According to Toyota, insufficient tightening of the fuel pressure sensor, which is connected to some engine fuel delivery pipes that have nickel-phosphorus plating, may cause the pressure sensor to loosen. This could cause fuel to leak past a gasket that’s used in the connection between the sensor and the fuel delivery pipe. It could also leak through the threaded part of the sensor. (more…)

A federal grand jury is looking into the way Toyota handled defective steering rods in some of its vehicles. The automaker revealed yesterday that its US subsidiaries had received subpoenas last month demanding documents about such defects.

The newly-revealed grand jury investigation is just the latest headache for Toyota this year. Since last November, Toyota has recalled about 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to resolve the floor-mat interference and sticking pedal problems that may lead to incidents of unintended acceleration. Some vehicles are subject to both recalls. Complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attribute 93 deaths to sudden acceleration of a Toyota vehicle. (more…)

Toyota is looking bad again. Federal regulators say the automaker planted a recent story in The Wall Street Journal that blamed driver error for accidents involving the unintended acceleration of some of its vehicles.

Since last November, Toyota has recalled about 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to resolve the floor-mat interference and sticking pedal problems that may lead to incidents of unintended acceleration. Some vehicles are subject to both recalls. Complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attribute 93 deaths to sudden acceleration of a Toyota vehicle. (more…)

The Department of Transportation is seeking the maximum penalty allowed by law from Toyota for failing to promptly notify the government about defective gas pedals.

The $16.375 million fine would be the largest civil penalty ever issued to an automaker by the government. Toyota has two weeks to contest the penalty. (more…)

Apparently, figuring out if Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems are related to electronics is rocket science. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administratio has tapped NASA scientists to help determine if Toyota electronic throttles are causing the problems.

According to a Reuters report, the (NHTSA) has worked with NASA in the past on studies of electronic stability control and airbags. Officials with the NHTSA said nine NASA scientists would bring expertise in electronics, eletromagnetic interference, software integrity and complex problem solving to the Toyota review. The agency expects the review to be completed by late summer, Reuters said. After that, the agency would then determine whether a formal investigation of Toyota throttles is warranted. If that happens, a recall could ultimately be issued.

The NHTSA has also tapped the National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council to lead a study of unintended acceleration across the auto industry. That review is expected to take 18 months.

Since last fall, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for problems involving sudden acceleration. Toyota and the NHTSA have blamed the speed control issues on defective floor mats and faulty accelerator pedals, but some experts suspect that problems with the vehicles’ electronic throttle control system could really be behind the problems. Such suspicions have increased recently, as dozens of Toyota owners whose vehicles underwent recall repairs have recently complained that their vehicles are still experiencing problems with unintended acceleration.

Was Toyota using “technical service bulletins” to avoid issuing recalls? Some critics think so.

Two years before Toyota issued a recall of defective floor mats implicated in incidents of sudden, unintended acceleration, the automaker warned its dealers of the dangers. Unfortunately, no one in the American driving public ever got this information. (more…)

Criminal charges could be on the horizon for Toyota if it is found that it withheld information about the sudden acceleration problems that led to the automaker’s recent recalls.

According to a report in USA Today, a federal law adopted in 2000 known as Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act. It makes individuals who intentionally mislead federal regulators about safety defects subject to possible criminal fines and even prison. (more…)

The Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has written to Yoshimi Inaba, President and CEO, Toyota North America asking him about some serious allegations. According to Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY), documents reviewed by his committee indicate Toyota withheld evidence in lawsuits filed by people injured in crashes that involved Toyota vehicles.

Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing into Toyota’s recent recalls and safety problems. Inaba, as well as Toyota president Akio Toyoda, both testified during the proceeding. (more…)

Some lawmakers have expressed skepticism that faulty floor mats and defective accelerator pedals are behind Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems, and have accused the automaker of making misleading statements regarding its latest recalls.

According to The Washington Post, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – one of three congressional committees investigating the Toyota debacle – faulted the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for conducting “cursory and ineffective” investigations of Toyota defects. (more…)