Toyota faces new probe on Corolla steering
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Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda (R) and Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki bow at the end of a news conference in Tokyo February 17, 2010. Toyota said on Wednesday it would add a brake-override system, which cuts engine power when the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time, to all future vehicles worldwide. |
State Farm, the largest US auto insurer, said last week that it had warned NHTSA about a worrying trend of Toyota accidents in 2007.
Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on that committee, also sent a letter to Inaba asking him to answer a series of questions about when Toyota became aware of safety problems with its cars.
Issa also told Inaba to submit a written answer by Monday discussing whether there was a "disconnect" between the company's US operations and its Japan headquarters as critics have charged.
Specifically, he asked about a team of NHTSA officials dispatched to Toyota's headquarters in December to deliver the message that the automaker was not moving fast enough to address the US government's safety concerns.
"Why was it necessary for NHTSA officials to visit Japan in order for Toyota to recognize its obligations under US law?" Issa asked in his letter to Inaba.
Earlier on Wednesday, Toyota confirmed plans to install a brake override system on all new vehicles after global recalls for acceleration and braking problems that affect 8.5 million vehicles. The company had said in January that it would take that step to address concerns about unintended acceleration.
LOSS OF PUBLIC TRUST?
Former NHTSA chief Joan Claybrook, a vehicle safety advocate who is scheduled to testify before Congress, said Toyota should install brake override systems on vehicles it has already sold, not just new models.
"The American public has lost trust in Toyota and they need to regain that trust," Claybrook said.
Complaints about unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles in the United States have been rising since it began installing electronic throttle controls on its vehicles a decade ago.
Meanwhile, analyst doubts have been deepening about the pace of Toyota's earnings recovery. Only two weeks ago, the company estimated the recalls would reduce global sales by 100,000 units in the financial year to the end of March.
Toyoda said production cuts had been within expectations so far and he believed the company could stem further sales declines, although it was impossible to tell for sure.
Toyota executives have told dealers that they will roll out a package of incentives in March to keep customers from defecting to rival brands.
Toyota shares have fallen a fifth from a peak on January 21, wiping out more than $25 billion in market capitalization.
Shares ended down almost 2.5 percent at $74.15 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon.
