Toyota to Pay Millions More

12/22/10

Despite the public relations nightmare, Toyota remains the number one manufacturer for automobiles in the United States. It's been a difficult two years. In November, 2009, recalls were made that totaled more than 11 million of several of its models. The international recall was the first step made to repair its reputation regarding safety issues. While the official announcement won't be made until later this week, spokespeople for the legal team said these fines only address the investigatory aspects and have no bearing on future civil and criminal cases. There is expected to be countless private lawsuits as well.

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The long term goal, said the Toyota Chief Quality Officer for North America, Steve St. Angelo, is to ''turn the page to an even more constructive relationship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)''. He reiterated the importance of the company's customers and expressed gratitude for the continued confidence in both the reliability and quality of Toyota vehicles.

Earlier this year, after legal negotiations, Toyota agreed to pay the maximum fines under U.S. law for a single case. That fine totaled $16.4 million. This addressed the carmaker's failure to notify regulators here in the states regarding potential safety problems associated with sticking accelerator pedals. Federal law dictates automakers must notify NHTSA within 72 hours of determining a safety defect exists and also requires an immediate recall, which Toyota failed to do. The company denied accusations of hiding these defects and said it agreed to the maximum fines in an effort to avoid costly and lengthy legal proceedings.

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After several deaths relating to the accelerator pedals and eventually steering relay rods, Toyota began its recall. After ''thousands of documents'' were released to U.S. investigators, it soon became clear there were major problems.

Currently, Toyota continues to address the safety problems while engineering new and improved features. Its legal teams are simultaneously handling the legal aspects while the automaker works to ensure its reputation is repaired.