Toyota has agreed to pay the largest civil fine permitted for failing to notify the federal government about a dangerous pedal defect for almost four months. The fine – $16.375 million – is the largest ever assessed against an auto maker by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Toyota put consumers at risk with a failure to notify in a timely manner: “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.”
In February, NHTSA required Toyota to turn over more than 120,000 pages of company documents to determine if the company was dealing honestly with federal regulators investigating whether Toyota was following U.S. auto safety laws. It was through these documents that regulators determined Toyota knew it had a problem in September but did not issue a recall until late January.
It was the pedal problems that eventually led to Toyota and U.S. regulators recalling 2.3 million Toyota vehicles in the U.S. A sticky pedal problem in defective autos in Florida and throughout the nation is what led to sudden unexplained acceleration being linked to at least 100 deaths in the U.S.
Toyota could face additional fines. More than eight million Toyota vehicles worldwide have been recalled. Toyota could have contested the fine but opted to pay it.
