Toyota Agrees to $16.4 Million Government Fine - Toyota Given 30 Days To Pay Fine
source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=7392985
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- EthicalVegan
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Sunday, April 18, 2010
Toyota is expected to agree to a $16.4 million fine for its delay in telling the government about defective gas pedals. (KABC Photo)
WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million, the largest government penalty levied against an automaker, for a four-month delay in telling federal authorities about defective gas pedals on its vehicles, a Transportation Department official said Sunday.
Toyota faces a Monday deadline to accept or contest the $16.4 million fine over evidence it knew about sticking gas pedals in September but did not issue a recall until January.
The Transportation official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity. The official said Toyota is expected to pay the full amount of the assessed fine within 30 days as a means of avoiding going to court against the government.
The official said Toyota did not intend to accept liability explicitly. But from the government's viewpoint, the official said, the agreement to pay the full fine constituted an acceptance of responsibility for hiding the safety defect in violation of the law.
Toyota did not immediately comment on the fine. Under federal law, automakers are required to notify the government within five business days when they find a potential safety defect.
Toyota announced it would recall 2.3 million vehicles in January to address sticking pedals on popular vehicles such as the Camry and Corolla. The Japanese automaker has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius hybrid.
Concerns about sticking gas pedals and complaints from Toyota owners in the U.S. were rising at the end of 2009, according to chronologies of the investigation Toyota provided to the government.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said documents provided by Toyota showed the automaker had known about the sticky pedal defect at least since Sept. 29, 2009, when it issued repair procedures to distributors in 31 European countries to address complaints of sticking pedals, sudden increases in engine RPM and sudden vehicle acceleration.
The documents also showed that Toyota knew that owners in the United States had experienced the same problems.
The Japanese automaker has been weighing its options since the fine was announced in early April but analysts expected it to pay the penalty.
The company has been named in 138 potential class-action lawsuits over falling vehicle values and about 100 personal injury and wrongful death cases in federal courts. Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are conducting investigations related to the recalls.
"When you look at the toll it's taken on Toyota's reputation, when you look at the number of vehicles involved, when you look at the hardship it's placed on Toyota's customer base, it's only right for Toyota to take this fine," said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Transportation officials have not ruled out additional fines. The department is reviewing whether Toyota delayed for six weeks the late January recall of the 2009-2010 Venza in the United States to address floor mats that could entrap the accelerator pedal after making a similar recall in Canada.
Toyota recalled the Venza in Canada in December and reported to the U.S. government on Dec. 16 that the floor mats could move forward while the vehicle is in use and "may interfere with the accelerator pedal."
Toyota told U.S. authorities at the time that the floor mats in question were not imported into the U.S. but the Venza was added to the floor mat recall in late January.
http://digiads.com.au/car-news/images/2006/11/thumbs/lrg_article_8430-img_0.jpg
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pjacobs51
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This reminds me of a scene from Fight Club:
A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph.
The rear differential locks up.
The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside.Now, should we initiate a recall?
Take the number of vehicles in the field, A.
Multiply by the probable rate of failure, B.
Multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C.
A times B times C equals X.
If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
- 2 years ago
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pjacobs51
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hunzedog
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why dont the gubment fine glaxo smith klien for killing 85,000 people while the fda let them kill 500 people every fuggin month....what say you gubment chumps? whats wrong. cat got yur tounge/?
- 2 years ago
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hunzedog
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Incredulous
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this is such a bunch of manipulative government bullshit. Has anyone besides me noticed the way Chevy is bombarding us with advertising....they take our tax dollars to bail out their sorry asses, and then use our money to annoy the crap out of us with their bullshit advertising lies and crappy ass product. They are using my tax dollars to create an image for themselves that no one is buying, so next step is to discredit the competition.
sorry Chevy fans....but it really is a crap product, and I resent them using my tax dollars to try and prove otherwise with advertising. They should have built a better product, and Toyota did until it moved manufacturing plants to the US. Go figure, an endless stream of lies from corporate America, paid for with your bailout money. This reminds me of the cheerleader mom in Texas who tried to kill off her daughter's competition, or the infamous Tonya Harding scandal.
- 2 years ago
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Incredulous
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jesuswho
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America can't design a better car than Toyota. So our next option scare the hell out of Americans that are buying or have bought a Toyota. Don't forget Toyota has several plants and suppliers here on our soil! There are plenty more dangerous things out there. Is Smith and Wesson paying any fines? What about phfizer?
- 2 years ago
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jesuswho
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tommic
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If they agree the fine is not high enough
- 2 years ago
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tommic
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EthicalVegan
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/business/19toyota.html?src=busln
Toyota Is Expected to Pay $16.4 Million Fine
By NICK BUNKLEY and MICHELINE MAYNARDPublished: April 18, 2010
Toyota is expected to tell the Transportation Department on Monday that it will pay a $16.4 million fine, the largest government penalty ever against an automaker, for concealing information related to its sticking pedal recall.
MultimediaA senior Transportation Department official said late Sunday that legal documents were still being drafted, but Toyota executives were expected to sign them at the start of business Monday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because Toyota has not made its intentions public.
Toyota is not expected to admit wrongdoing, and the fine does not release Toyota from civil or criminal actions. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the carmaker, by crash victims and relatives of people killed in crashes, seeking billions of dollars.
Toyota’s actions are also under investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“By paying the full civil penalty, Toyota is accepting responsibility for hiding this safety defect,” the official said.
A Toyota spokesman, Mike Michels, declined to comment.
The fine is the maximum amount allowed by law. If not for that cap, Toyota could have been ordered to pay $13.8 billion instead — $6,000 for each of 2.3 million vehicles sold with defective pedals — the agency’s chief counsel told the company in a letter this month. The letter also said the agency was considering a second $16.4 million fine against Toyota, based on evidence suggesting the pedals might have had two separate defects.
An investigation into the company’s November recall of 5.4 million vehicles, to fix pedals that could become trapped under floor mats, could also result in additional fines.
The regulators, which received more than 70,000 pages of documents from Toyota, said company officials either knew or should have known the pedals were problematic for at least several months before announcing a recall Jan. 21. By law, automakers have five days after discovering a safety defect to begin a recall.
Toyota issued repair procedures in 31 European countries on Sept. 29, but executives in the United States told Congress that they did not know of reports of sticking pedals until January.
In mid-January, five days before the sticking pedal recall began, an American Toyota executive sent an e-mail message to colleagues in Japan urging them to “come clean” about the defective pedals. The company issued a recall after meeting with federal regulators Jan. 19.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 19, 2010, on page B3 of the New York edition. - 2 years ago
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EthicalVegan
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EthicalVegan
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/18/AR2010041804076....
The Washington Post
Toyota agrees to pay $16.4 million fine for notification delay
By Peter Whoriskey
Monday, April 19, 2010Toyota has agreed to pay a $16.4 million government fine for waiting at least four months before notifying safety officials about vehicles with a "sticky pedal" defect, a senior Transportation Department official said Sunday night.
The sanction represents the largest financial penalty imposed by the U.S. government on an automaker.
"By paying the full civil penalty, Toyota is accepting responsibility for hiding this safety defect from NHTSA in violation of the law," the official said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced two weeks ago that it was seeking the fine against Toyota, and the automaker has until Monday to accept or contest the penalty.
The fine could increase if the government's ongoing investigation of runaway Toyotas turns up violations related to other defects, officials said. Regulators said they are still reviewing 70,000 pages of Toyota documents that they have received during the inquiry.
Although the cause of unintended acceleration is a matter of debate, the automaker and safety regulators agree that sticky pedals were behind at least some of the incidents.
The law limits the proposed fine, which is relatively small for an automaker that reported revenue of more than $200 billion last year, consumer advocates said. Among the proposed legislative reforms are measures that would raise the amount the government can fine automakers.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/02/09/timestopics/topics-toyota-pic/top...
- 2 years ago
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EthicalVegan
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EthicalVegan
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/18/AR2010041804076....
The Washington Post
Toyota agrees to pay $16.4 million fine for notification delay
By Peter Whoriskey
Monday, April 19, 2010Toyota has agreed to pay a $16.4 million government fine for waiting at least four months before notifying safety officials about vehicles with a "sticky pedal" defect, a senior Transportation Department official said Sunday night.
The sanction represents the largest financial penalty imposed by the U.S. government on an automaker.
"By paying the full civil penalty, Toyota is accepting responsibility for hiding this safety defect from NHTSA in violation of the law," the official said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced two weeks ago that it was seeking the fine against Toyota, and the automaker has until Monday to accept or contest the penalty.
The fine could increase if the government's ongoing investigation of runaway Toyotas turns up violations related to other defects, officials said. Regulators said they are still reviewing 70,000 pages of Toyota documents that they have received during the inquiry.
Although the cause of unintended acceleration is a matter of debate, the automaker and safety regulators agree that sticky pedals were behind at least some of the incidents.
The law limits the proposed fine, which is relatively small for an automaker that reported revenue of more than $200 billion last year, consumer advocates said. Among the proposed legislative reforms are measures that would raise the amount the government can fine automakers.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/02/09/timestopics/topics-toyota-pic/top...
- 2 years ago
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EthicalVegan
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EthicalVegan
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toyota-to-pay-164-million-sticky-pedal-fine-201...
April 18, 2010, 11:50 p.m. EDT · Recommend · Post:
Toyota to pay $16.4 million fine in 'sticky pedal' case
By MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Toyota Motor Corp. will pay a $16.4 million fine to the U.S. government because of delays in telling transport officials about problems with sticky gas pedals on some vehicles, according to reports.
Reuters
A Toyota showroom in Tokyo.The agreement, expected to be finalized Monday, is worded in such a way as to allow the Japanese car maker to avoid any legal admission that it knowingly hid defects from regulators.
Allowing Toyota /quotes/comstock/!7203 (JP:7203 3,695, -15.00, -0.40%) /quotes/comstock/13*!tm/quotes/nls/tm (TM 79.37, -0.69, -0.86%) to avoid such a formal admission to charges leveled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considered standard procedure in cases where such an admission could create problems civil lawsuits and criminal charges that may arise down the road, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a senior official with the U.S. Transportation Department
Toyota will have 30 days to pay the fine. Toyota's shares in Tokyo ended the morning session on 1.9% lower on Monday.
- 2 years ago
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EthicalVegan
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EthicalVegan
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/04/18/toyota.fine/index.html?hpt=T2
U.S. official: Toyota indicates it will pay $16.4 million fine
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 18, 2010 11:15 p.m. EDTWashington (CNN) -- The Toyota Motor Corp has indicated to the U.S. government it will pay a $16.4 million fine sought by the Department of Transportation for failing to notify the agency of a "sticky pedal" defect in its cars for at least four months, according to a senior Transportation Department official.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/eed/research/peater/links/toyota.jpg
- 2 years ago
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EthicalVegan
