Toyota settles for $1.2 billion in unintended acceleration case
The Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to pay a record US$1.2 billion to settle a criminal investigation after admitting that it mislead American motorists in regards to two unintended acceleration issues affecting its vehicles.
The settlement was made with the US Department of Justice and represents the conclusion of a four-year investigation by US authorities into the Japanese carmaker’s conduct related to the safety of its cars.
The problem first came into view in 2007 when an inquiry was opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into the Lexus ES350 following reports of unintended acceleration from owners.
The issue gained more public attention two years later when a family of four was killed in an ES350 that a dealer had fitted with an unsecured and incompatible rubber floor mat that entrapped the accelerator pedal at full throttle.
As a result of that crash, Toyota recalled millions of vehicles in 2009 but also admitted to misleading motorists by not recalling all models susceptible to the problem. Toyota also withheld information about the sticking accelerator pedal defect that would pose an unintended acceleration threat to millions of other cars.
In total Toyota recalled more than 10 million vehicles globally during 2009 and 2010 because of the unintended acceleration, making modifications to throttle pedals and floor mats as well as installing brake override software in the recalled cars and in all the new models.
According to Reuters the company is still facing hundreds of private lawsuits over the issues and is currently negotiating with hundreds more owner who claim various injuries as a result of the defects.
US Attorney General Eric Holder said that he hopes this type of settlement will prove to be a model for future similar cases, but he did decline to say anything about General Motors which is currently under fire for responding slowly to an ignition switch defect that has been linked to the death of no less than twelve people.
