Toyota to Pay $10 Million in Crash Suit

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Toyota Motor agreed to pay $10 million to the family of four people killed in a runaway Lexus crash that led to recalls of millions of the automaker’s vehicles, lawyers said Thursday.

John Gomez, a lawyer who represents the victims’ family, and Larry N. Willis, who represents the dealership that lent the Lexus to the family, confirmed the settlement amount.

Toyota, which did not admit or deny liability in the settlement, fought to keep the settlement amount confidential, but The Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press argued that the public’s interest in the case outweighed confidentiality concerns.

A Superior Court judge on Monday agreed, but imposed a gag order in case the family wanted to appeal. They did not appeal, allowing lawyers to release the amount.

Toyota said in a statement it was disappointed the amount had been made public.

“As is common in these cases, these parties agreed to keep the amount confidential, in part to protect the families from unwanted solicitations and to allow them to move on from this difficult period,” the automaker said.

A crash in August 2009 killed Mark Saylor, 45, an off-duty California highway patrol officer; his wife; their daughter; and Mr. Saylor’s brother-in-law Chris Lastrella. They were killed on a suburban San Diego freeway when their car reached speeds of more than 120 m.p.h., struck a sport utility vehicle, flew off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.

Investigators determined that a wrong-size floor mat had trapped the accelerator.

Toyota recalled millions of cars to replace floor mats that it said could cause the accelerator to jam. The carmaker later recalled millions more vehicles to replace gas pedals that it said could stick.

The case was considered the strongest of hundreds of lawsuits that have since been filed and consolidated before a federal judge in Orange County over claims stemming from sudden acceleration in several Toyota models and brake malfunctions with the company’s Prius hybrid.

A version of this article appeared in print on December 24, 2010, on

Complaints about auto defects increased sharply this year

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received more than 40,000 complaints through Dec. 14, four times the usual volume, a research firm said. Toyota's high-profile recalls helped trigger the increase.

Driver complaints to federal highway safety regulators soared this year, spurred by a slew of Toyota Motor Corp. recalls and a rush by other automakers to announce fix-it campaigns that focused the public's attention on auto defects.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received more than 40,000 complaints through Dec. 14, according to an analysis by automotive research firm Edmunds.com. That's four times the volume of recent years.

"People are now more aware that there is an agency called NHTSA and that you can complain to it. Complaints are a good thing," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety.

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Toyota, long considered one of the most reliable brands, was the subject of more than a quarter of the complaints. Its ratio of complaints to 100,000 vehicles sold jumped to nearly 87 so far in 2010 from 37 a year earlier. This week Toyota agreed to pay $32.4 million in fines for failing to promptly inform regulators of defects in its vehicles, instead allowing millions of potentially dangerous vehicles to remain on the nation's roads.

Nissan Motor Co. had the second-worst ratio, at nearly 62 complaints per 100,000 vehicles sold; Volkswagen was third at nearly 58. The industry average was 47 complaints per 100,000 vehicles sold, up from fewer than 30 in 2009.

NHTSA is hearing from people such as Mark Cox of Leesburg, Va. He filed a complaint after his 2003 Subaru Legacy sedan and his 2004 Nissan Quest minivan both failed routine state safety inspections because of clouded headlight lenses.

"They start to oxidize, and that reduces the amount of light that is transmitted out of your headlights. That is a safety and durability issue," Cox said, adding that he learned to file the complaints while reading about the Toyota auto defects issues.


"Maybe as more people bring these issues to light and NHTSA looks at them some of these problems will get fixed," Cox said.

He still hasn't heard back from the agency, though. Nor has Hisham Alam of Huntington Beach, who filed a complaint with NHTSA this year after the engine in his 2002 Toyota Highlander froze.

"The engine loosened from its bolts, breaking the head gasket and causing the oil and coolant to spill out," Alam said. "The dealer said it would cost $7,500 to fix."

He found similar Toyota complaints on the NHTSA site and decided to file his own in October. He wound up paying $2,500 to an independent mechanic to rebuild the engine.

"I am expecting that over time, a lot of people will file the same type of complaint and that there will be some lawsuit or something that will prompt Toyota to acknowledge the problem" and eventually recall the vehicle and reimburse people for their repair bills, Alam said.

NHTSA said it had received more than 64,000 complaints in 2010, compared with about 35,000 in recent years. (To arrive at its total, Edmunds tossed out duplicate complaints from the same individual and complaints that had other inconsistencies.)

The agency reviews every complaint, looking for patterns that might determine whether an investigation is warranted, NHTSA spokesman Eric Bolton said.

"Safety is the top priority of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and information from consumers is a vital tool the agency uses to identify defects," he said.

Bolton urged drivers experiencing problems with a vehicle to file a complaint, either online at http://www.nhtsa.gov or through the agency's auto safety hotline at (888) 327-4236.

Because of the volume of complaints, the agency contacts a driver only when more information is required, he said.

"This stuff just skyrocketed," said Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of Edmunds. "Toyota was the trigger, but consumers are more sensitive and have more knowledge about how to complain."

Although higher than in recent years, the volume of complaints is still tiny considering that there are about 250 million vehicles on U.S. roads, said Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety.

The volume of complaints was higher during President Carter's administration, Ditlow said, but subsequent administrations were less interested in auto safety, and the number of complaints declined as NHTSA's prominence faded.

"What we are seeing once again is an administration and agency that are saying, 'We welcome your complaints. Tell us what is wrong with your car.' And it is saying we will take action," he said.

The complaints to safety regulators rose as the number of vehicles affected by recall campaigns grew to 19 million, the highest level since nearly 30 million vehicles were recalled in the U.S. in 2004, according to the Edmunds data.

Anwyl said it made sense that Toyota complaints soared, given the millions of its autos that were recalled this year. Volkswagen also has had a spotty reliability record and has had a high volume of complaints for several years, he said.

"The one that pops out is Nissan," Anwyl said. An Edmunds review of comments about Nissan by participants in its online forums found that most had complaints about transmission problems.

Among large automakers, Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. had the lowest complaint ratios. General Motors Co. had the second-highest volume of complaints but ranked only sixth in its ratio of complaints to vehicles sold, according to Edmunds.

"Ford is statistically good," Anwyl said. "This is another data point that shows how domestics pulled even with the other manufacturers."

jerry.hirsch@latimes.com

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

Just two weeks left for best Toyota Prius deals ever

Best month ever to buy a Prius winding down

Earlier this month Wards reported that December could be the best month ever to buy a Toyota Prius, and I’ve been meaning to head out to a few Toyota dealerships – hopefully this weekend – to check out the action.

Regardless, minimally “2.9% financing and a very attractive lease” should be available for Prius buyers.

Anyone out there tasted the Prius waters this month?

Anyway, deals could be particularly great in Southern California, an area with the greatest oversupply of Prius hybrids according Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager-Toyota.

Toyota Tsusho to build rare earth plant in India

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Toyota Tsusho Corp (8015.T), a Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) group company, said on Wednesday it will build a rare earth processing plant in India and start shipping 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes a year of the minerals to Japan in 2012.

Japan's trading houses are scrambling to secure new sources of rare earths -- vital for making auto parts and high-tech products -- after shipments from dominant producer China stalled after it cut export quotas.

The plant, to be built in the state of Orissa by the end of 2011, will manufacture rare earths from by-products of the process of extracting uranium and thorium fuel from monazite minerals at Indian Rare Earth Ltd. The firm is a unit of the Nuclear Power Corp of India.

Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical Co (4063.T) will provide technical support.

Toyota Tsusho plans imports including cerium, neodymium and lanthanum, a company spokesman said.

Japan's third-biggest trading company Sumitomo Corp (8053.T) said this week it was in talks with Molycorp (MCP.N) of the United States on a rare earth supply deal.

Sojitz Corp (2768.T), the No.6 trader, last month reached a deal with Australian miner Lynas Corp (LYC.AX) to secure more than 9,000 tonnes of rare earths per year from early 2013.

(Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Michael Watson)

Toyota Reports November Sales

Auto Sales, Lexus, Scion, Toyota — By Toyota on December 4, 2010 at 5:06 pm

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported November sales of 129,317 units, a decrease of 7.3 percent from the same period last year, on a daily selling rate basis (DSR). On a raw volume basis, unadjusted for 24 selling days in November 2010, compared to 23 selling days in November 2009, TMS sales were down 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Toyota Division recorded sales of 111,077 vehicles, a decrease of 7.6 percent from the year-ago month, on a DSR basis. On a raw volume basis, Toyota Division sales were down 3.6 percent from last November. Lexus Division reported sales of 18,240 units for the month, down 5.5 percent from November 2009, on a DSR basis. Volume-wise, Lexus Division sales were down 1.4 percent compared to the year-ago month.

Toyota Division

Toyota Division passenger cars recorded sales of 58,701 units, a decrease of 21.5 percent from last November. Toyota sales were led by Camry and Camry Hybrid, which posted combined monthly sales of 20,737 units. Corolla recorded sales of 16,202 units for the month. The Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid reported sales of 10,224 units, up 1.9 percent over the year-ago month. Avalon posted sales of 2,186 units, up 7.8 percent over November 2009.

Toyota Division light trucks posted sales of 52,376 units in November, up 15.2 percent over the same period last year. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact SUV, which recorded monthly sales of 12,306 units, up 2.4 percent over November 2009. Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined sales of 9,156 units, up 41.2 percent over the year-ago month. 4Runner posted sales of 4,062 units for the month, up 130.5 percent over November 2009. The Tundra full-size pickup posted sales of 7,464 units, up 12.1 percent over last November. The Tacoma mid-size pickup recorded sales of 8,616 units, up 8.2 over the year-ago month. The Sienna minivan reported sales of 8,125, up 4.0 percent over the same period last year.

Scion posted November sales of 3,834 units. The all-new, redesigned tC sports coupe led the way with sales of 1,619 units, up 79.2 percent over last November. The xB posted November sales of 1,405 units. The xD reported sales of 810 units for the month.

Toyota Supplier to Resume Hiring for Miss. Plant

Oficials with Toyota Boshoku will resume hiring and installing equipment at its north Mississippi plant where it will manufacture seats and other interior materials for the 2012 Corolla.

The Corolla will be built at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi plant located near Blue Springs.

Toyota Boshoku plans to start producing seats, door panels and sun visors in the second half of 2011, Masaki Katsuragi, CEO of Toyota Boshoku America, said in a statement.

The announcement was made Friday at the site of the $46 million parts plant.

"We have begun and will continue to fulfill our promise to invest in the community and create new jobs in the region," Katsuragi said.

The 404,000 square foot facility is located off U.S. Highway 78 in Tishomingo County. Much of the equipment needed to begin production has been ordered and will be installed in December.

Katsuragi said the company expects to hire more than 60 workers by the end of year and 250 more by the time production starts in the fall of 2011.

Toyota Boshoku is one of eight suppliers lined up to provide parts and equipment for the Corolla.

When Toyota announced in December 2008 it was postponing the opening of the Blue Springs plant because of economic uncertainty, the suppliers also had to put their plans on hold.

Toyota announced in June it was restarting its Blue Springs plant. Company officials expect to have about 1,000 workers initially and 2,000 once it is fully operational. It has hired about 180 so far.

Suppliers are expected to employ another 1,500 to 2,000 people.

Toyota Boshoku America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Boshoku Corporation, based in Kariya City, Japan. Toyota Boshoku manufactures automotive interior systems which include seats, door trims, headliners, carpets and other equipment.

2011 Toyota Camry

The newly freshened Toyota Camry features a new 4-cylinder offering and six-speed transmission, as well as a hybrid model with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive (discussed in a separate report). The Camry's competitive set is comprised mostly of the archrival Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, and Chevy Malibu.

Toyota quietly slipped the new four-cylinder, six-speed powertrain under the hood of its Camry sedan for 2010. Featuring the 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine that was introduced into the RAV4 for 2009, the '10 Camry also gains a choice of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, as well as modestly revised styling.

Power is up to 169-horsepower for the LE and XLE and 179-horsepower for the more sporting-oriented SE. A six-speed manual transmission takes the place of a five-speed manual on LE and SE and a six-speed automatic is now standard on the XLE, optional on the LE and SE.

Fuel economy is up to 22 mpg in town for either transmission and 32 mpg on the highway for the automatic or 33 mpg for the manual. Automatic transmission models still trail the Chevrolet Malibu by 1 mpg and the Ford Fusion by 2 mpg.
V6 and Hybrid models carry over mechanically.

All models, including the hybrid, gain new, larger projection headlamps, a larger grille and lower intake and restyled tail lamps and wheels.

Available in CE, LE, SE, and XLE models, the Camry offers a model for most new car buyers.

Entry-level buyers will find a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine which outputs 169 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 167 lb-ft of peak torque at 6,000 rpm. Buyers of the V6 package get the 3.5-liter engine with a power output of 268 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 248 lb-ft of torque.

Buyers of the four-cylinder engine will have a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions, while those who opt for the V6 will get the six-speed automatic with sequential mode to allow drivers to shift manually if they desire.

Safety does not suffer in this, the new generation of Camry. Dual-stage front, side-seat, side-curtain, and driver's knee airbags are standard throughout the Camry lineup. Stopping power is assisted with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) as well as Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) component. An optional Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) assists to reclaim traction in turns.

Camry CE offers the traditional ride that previous owners have come to expect. Macpherson struts in front and dual-link strut rear suspension are standard. Camry SE buyers are treated to a more firm, spirited feel, by way of chassis modifications to the springs, shock absorbers and bushings, as well as the addition of underbody stabilizing braces to increase torsional rigidity.

The Camry, LE, and XLE all ride on standard 16-inch steel or aluminum wheels while the sportier SE model is equipped with 17-inch, six-spoke aluminum wheels as standard.

Standard equipment includes air conditioning, power windows and door locks, color-keyed side mirrors, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, and a six-speaker 160-watt AM/FM/CD audio system with auxiliary audio jack. To make the ride even more entertaining, opt for the voice-activated navigation system with 440-watt JBL premium audio package.

Toyota Reports June and First-Half Sales

orrance, CA. - Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported June sales of 140,604 units. With equal selling days in June 2009 and June 2010, sales were up 6.8 percent over the year-ago month on a daily selling rate (DSR) and unadjusted raw volume basis.

The Toyota Division posted June sales of 123,272 units, an increase of 7.4 percent over the same period last year. The Lexus Division reported June sales of 17,332 units, an increase of 2.7 percent over the year-ago month.

For the first-half of the year, TMS reported sales of 846,542 units. With 151 selling days in the first-half of 2010, compared to 152 selling days during the first-half of 2009, sales were up 10.6 percent on a DSR basis over the same period last year. On a raw volume basis, unadjusted for one extra selling day in 2009, sales were up 9.9 percent during the first-half of the year.

"Toyota performed well during the first half of the year, despite a difficult economic environment," said Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "Although the entire automotive industry struggled in June as weakening consumer confidence weighed on sales, Toyota maintains its leadership position as the number one retail brand in the industry year-to-date."

Toyota Division
Toyota Division passenger cars recorded June sales of 73,811 units, a decrease of 2.2 percent from the year-ago month. Passenger car sales were led by Camry and Camry Hybrid which posted combined June sales of 28,435 units, up 7.7 percent over June 2009. Corolla recorded sales of 21,876 units, up 9.7 percent over the same period last year. The Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid reported sales of 10,998 units. The new Avalon sedan posted monthly sales of 2,833 units, up 32.8 percent over the year-ago month.

Toyota Division light trucks posted sales of 49,461 units in June, up 25.9 percent over June 2009. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact SUV, which recorded monthly sales of 12,573 units, up 25.1 percent over the same period last year. Highlander and Highlander Hybrid posted combined sales of 5,962 units for the month. The Tundra full-size pickup recorded sales of 7,717 units, up 48.8 percent over the same period last year. The Tacoma mid-size pickup posted sales of 8,247 units for the month. The all-new Sienna minivan reported sales of 9,357, up 71.9 percent over June 2009.

Scion posted June sales of 3,745 units. The xB urban utility vehicle led the way with sales of 1,775 units. The tC sports coupe posted June sales of 1,137 units. The xD reported sales of 833 units for the month.

Lexus Division
Lexus reported passenger car sales of 8,149 units, down 6.6 percent from the year-ago month. Lexus passenger car sales were led by the ES entry luxury sedan which posted sales of 3,366 units. The IS line-up reported combined sales of 2,863 units.

Lexus light trucks recorded sales of 9,183 units, up 12.7 percent over last June. Lexus Division sales were led by the RX 350 and RX 450h, which reported combined June sales of 7,796 units, up 6.0 percent over the year-ago month. With June sales of 1,120 units, GX luxury SUV posted a gain of 111.7 percent over the same period last year.

TMS Hybrids
TMS posted June sales of 14,639 hybrid vehicles. Toyota Division posted sales of 12,706 hybrids for the month. Lexus Division reported sales 1,933 hybrids in June.

There were 25 selling days this month and last June.

Toyota starts recall over engine flaw

Toyota has started recalling Lexus and Crown luxury vehicles in Japan over an engine defect, and says actions in overseas markets will follow soon.

Toyota Motor Corp said actions in overseas markets would follow soon.

The world's top automaker told the Japanese government on Monday it was recalling 91,903 vehicles in Japan for flaws in the valve springs.

The defect could make the vehicle stall while it is moving.

Toyota disclosed the problem last week and said it planned action. It affects some 270,000 vehicles around the world.

The company said it has received 220 complaints about the problem but no crashes had been reported.

Toyota starts recall in Japan over engine defect

TOKYO – Toyota has started recalling Lexus and Crown luxury vehicles in Japan over an engine defect in the latest setback for the automaker beset with quality problems.

Toyota Motor Corp. said actions in overseas markets will follow soon.

The world's top automaker told the government Monday it is recalling 91,903 vehicles in Japan for flaws in the valve springs. The defect could make the vehicle stall while it is moving.

Toyota disclosed the problem last week and said it planned action. It affects some 270,000 vehicles around the world. About 138,000 of the Lexus vehicles are in the U.S.

The company said it has received 220 complaints about the problem but no crashes have been reported.

Toyota to Produce Camry Hybrid in Australia

Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today at an Australian government-sponsored press conference in Nagoya, Japan, that it will begin producing the "Camry Hybrid" at the Altona Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd. (TMCA), as part of an effort to further popularize hybrid vehicles worldwide. "We decided to build the Camry Hybrid in Australia because Australians are keenly aware of environmental issues including global warming, and we are confident that the Camry Hybrid will be well received. Toyota intends to make further efforts toward popularizing hybrid vehicles", said TMC President Katsuaki Watanabe at the press conference attended by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Kim Carr, and Australian Ambassador to Japan Murray McLean. Also representing TMC were Executive Vice President Tokuichi Uranishi and Senior Managing Director Akira Okabe. Production of the Camry Hybrid at the Altona Plant (in the State of Victoria in southeastern Australia) will commence in early 2010, with an annual production target of 10,000 vehicles. After receiving TMC's decision officially today, Victorian Premier John Brumby will hold a press conference at the Altona Plant to be attended by TMCA President Masahide Yasuda. Ever since the introduction in 1997 of the Toyota Prius—the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle—TMC has been making a concerted effort to promote and popularize hybrid technology, as part of its high-priority environmental-management policy. Toyota aims to sell 1 million or more hybrid vehicles annually as early as possible in the 2010s and, taking market needs into consideration, is working to put in place an optimal hybrid vehicle production system worldwide.
Outline of TMCA Company name Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd. (TMCA) Location Melbourne, Victoria President Masahide Yasuda Equity participation TMC: 100% Plant name Altona Plant Annual production capacity 150,000 units Products Camry, Aurion 2007 production results 149,000 units Number of employees 4,500 (as of May 31)

Judge Delays Appointing Lead Counsel in Toyota Shareholder Litigation

A federal judge has delayed appointing the lead plaintiffs attorneys in the shareholder litigation against Toyota Motor Corp. until U.S. Supreme Court decides whether foreign purchasers of a company's U.S. stock have standing to sue in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer agreed on Monday to consolidate seven class actions pending in Los Angeles on behalf of Toyota shareholders whose holdings declined by tens of millions of dollars after the company announced a series of recalls associated with sudden unintended acceleration.

After two hours of sometimes-contentious arguments in a courtroom full of plaintiffs attorneys, some of whom brought representatives of their institutional clients to the hearing, she declined to appoint a lead plaintiff and lead counsel.

Rather, she told counsel to make fresh arguments 10 days after the Supreme Court rules in a case on point, Morrison v. National Australia Bank. The justices have heard oral arguments in the case, which addresses whether U.S. courts have jurisdiction over claims brought by foreign investors who purchased U.S. stock.

Fischer noted that the plaintiffs in the Toyota case include foreign purchasers of Toyota stock on U.S. and Tokyo exchanges.

Thomas A. Dubbs, a senior partner at New York's Labaton Sucharow who represents a foreign purchaser of Toyota stock, Skandia Life Insurance Company Ltd., argued for delay. Morrison, he said, could "help the court to shape the issues."

Gerald Silk, a partner at New York's Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman whose clients include foreign investors, noted that 85 percent of the class could end up being foreign purchasers of Toyota stock. "There is a large foreign component to this case," he said.

Jeffrey Block, a partner at Boston's Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo who represents the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Management Board, argued against appointing foreign investors, given the risk that they might get thrown out of the litigation.

Another battle involved whether a large group of investors, rather than individual pension funds, should be named lead plaintiffs. Silk, for example, is one of 13 lawyers representing five institutional investors comprising what they call the Institutional Investor Group.

Darren Robbins, a partner at San Diego's Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd who represents two pension and retirement funds, attacked such groupings as inherently inefficient. He noted that the Institutional Investor Group needed to draft a complex prosecution agreement just to pursue their claims.

"What we have here is layer upon layer of lawyers overseeing this litigation," he said, while his clients could "pick up the phone and talk to one another."

Silk denied that the lawyers on his team had purposely gathered such a large group of investors in order to present the greatest loss to the court -- a key factor in determining who should be lead plaintiff and lead counsel.

"We've made it clear this group was formed on its own initiative," he said. "This group was formed organically, without the lawyers."

Silk's clients include the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement.

Not all the arguments came from lawyers for institutional shareholders. One lawyer, Jeremy Lieberman, a partner at New York's Pomerantz Haudek Grossman & Gross, argued for co-lead plaintiff status for his client, a mutual fund that would represent note holders of Toyota Motor Credit Corp. He said it was "important there is representation for each and every security holder."

Another lawyer, Joe Kendall of the Kendall Law Group in Dallas, argued that individual shareholders -- whom he described as the "grandma in tennis shoes in Kansas City" -- should be represented. His client is an Alabama businessman who lost $23,000 on Toyota stock.

"Sometimes, the little guy investor doesn't get represented," he told Fischer.

Toyota denies faulty electronics are to blame for unintended acceleration

Toyota yesterday hit back at allegations that defective electronics are behind the recall of 8.5 million of its cars in recent weeks.

The world's biggest car maker re- iterated its claim that the issue with sticky accelerator pedals and mis-fitting floor mats was purely mechanical.

It said independent research from Stanford University showed that the malfunction can only be created by re-wiring the entire electronic control systems, which has the same effect of producing uncontrolled revving in other makes of car.

The investigation was launched after an engineer, who originally appeared on ABC News, told last month's US Congressional hearing that faulty electronic systems could be behind the unintentional acceleration problems that are blamed for 19 deaths.

Toyota hit back at ABC News yesterday, claiming that the report was "staged", and brought in its own experts to rebut both the engineering and the editing of the film.

Not only could such massive re-wiring not occur "naturally", but the ABC News film, which showed engineer David Gilbert from an Illinois University shorting the electronics and making the Toyota speed up, took place when the car dashboard lights show it was actually parked, claimed Toyota.

ABC says multiple demonstrations of the test were taped and the results of them were all "comparable".

Analysts are predicting the wave of recalls – affecting accelerator pedals in a range of models, and also a glitch in the anti-lock braking systems on its hybrid Prius – could cost Toyota as much as $5bn (£3.3bn) in lost business and litigation. Nearly 90 class-action law suits have already been filed in the US claiming lost value because of the recall, and alleging that Toyota made the problem worse by not acting swiftly.

Akio Toyoda, Toyota's embattled chief executive, has been on a charm offensive in recent weeks in an effort to repair the damage caused by both safety fears and the public perception that the company did not react fast enough to complaints. After an abject apology in the US Congress, he flew to Beijing the following week and has also addressed thousands of Toyota dealers and suppliers in his native Japan.

So far Toyota's sales have not fared as badly as feared. The group's market share in the US, where the worst of the problems surfaced, only slipped by 1.3 percentage points in January and the company is still on course to report an ¥80bn (£593m) profit for the financial year to March, compared with last year's ¥437bn loss, its first in nearly six decades. A recall cost of ¥180bn is already factored into the estimates.

Drive a Toyota? Head for the hills

*As Toyota tries to shore up its damaged reputation, drivers' lurid reports of high-speed malfunctions continue to surface.

San Diego resident James Sikes, 61, said his Prius took off at 90mph after the accelerator became stuck after overtaking another car on a California freeway. "I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny," Mr Sikes said. "It jumped and it just stuck there."

Mr Sikes only escaped unharmed after a police patrol shepherded him to a hill to help cut his speed, and then directed him to pump his brakes. Once the car's speed was down to a more manageable 50mph, Mr Sikes turned off the engine, and it eventually rolled to a stop.

"I was trying the brakes," Mr Sikes said of his experience. "But it wasn't stopping."

By Sarah Arnott

Toyota should have acted sooner: Japanese minister

Japan's transport minister on Tuesday publicly berated Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda for the auto giant's handling of safety problems, saying it should have been quicker to recall faulty vehicles.

"I would like you to respect the viewpoint of drivers and I wish you had taken measures earlier rather than simply saying it was not a major technical problem," Seiji Maehara told the Toyota family scion in front of reporters.

Earlier in the day Toyota announced that it would recall 437 000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles around the world to repair a flaw in the braking system, the latest in a series of quality problems to hit the Japanese maker.

The brake issue comes on top of accelerator pedal problems that have led to the worldwide recall of more than eight million Toyota vehicles.

"I told president Toyoda that the company might have taken the brake problem lightly at the beginning and lacked the perspective of customers," Maehara told reporters after his meeting with Toyoda.

"This might have led to its failure to take quick action. I told him not to let the same thing happen," he added, in a rare public rebuke from a government official of one of Japan's mightiest companies.
Toyota has come under fire after saying it had fixed the brake system flaw in production of the latest Prius model last month, without warning drivers of those vehicles already on the road.

Toyota has been strongly criticised in the United States for its handling of the recalls, raising fears that the wider image of Japan Inc. will suffer in the world's biggest economy.

Maehara, part of a new centre-left government that last year broke the conservatives' five-decade grip on power in Japan, said he would meet US ambassador John Roos on Wednesday on the safety issues.

He said they would "exchange views on protecting free markets and strengthening Japan-US relations".

"This problem must not affect the international free market," he added.

Toyoda for his part said he planned to travel to the United States to explain the safety troubles, but has no plan to attend a US congressional hearing on the issue on Wednesday.

Toyota's North America president, Yoshimi Inaba, is set to testify at Wednesday's hearing, part of a wider probe by US lawmakers. - AFP

February 9, 2010

Toyota denies electronic problems in recall

2/2/2010, 12:38 a.m. EST YURI KAGEYAMA The Associated Press

(AP) — NAGOYA, Japan - A Toyota executive said the damage to the company's sales from its global recall for a gas pedal problem may be greater than previous recalls because of the unprecedented scale.

Toyota Motor Corp. Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki, who oversees quality control at the world's No. 1 automaker, acknowledged a perception the company was slow in responding to the problem of accelerators that could stick in the depressed position.

But he said the Japanese automaker had made finding a fix a priority. Although the recalls were announced Jan. 21, it was not until Monday that a U.S. executive outlined details of what had to be fixed.

Sasaki said he didn't yet know how the recalls were going to hurt sales or earnings. He said, generally after a recall, sales drop about 20 percent in the first month and then gradually recover.

The damage from the latest recalls may be greater, he said. "This is unprecedented in having caused this huge problem for customers," Sasaki told a news conference at Toyota's Nagoya office.

According to numbers Toyota released Tuesday, the recall covered 4.45 million cars worldwide-2.48 million of them in North America, 1.71 million in Europe, some 80,000 in China and 180,000 in other regions, including the Middle East.

The recall spans some 2.3 million in the United States, including some of Toyota's best-selling models, such as the Camry and Corolla. It has recalled millions more because of floor mats that can catch the gas pedal.

The numbers are huge partly because of Toyota's stellar sales success around the world in recent years, but also because all automakers try to use the same part across many models to cut costs.

Sasaki said there were no electronic problems in the vehicles being recalled in the U.S. and the earlier recall for floor mats was "totally unrelated" to the pedal problem.

There was some fear among American consumers that the floor mat recall may have been related to the problem with gas pedals.

The company had investigated for electronic problems, and had "not found a single case" pointing to that, he said.

Some analysts have been critical of Toyota, saying it acted too slowly.

Masaaki Sato, who has written books on Japanese automakers, including Toyota, said the biggest mistake was not having President Akio Toyoda immediately give an explanation and squelch fears among owners.

"He should have rushed over to the U.S. or called a news conference in Tokyo," Sato told The Associated Press. "Toyota underestimated the seriousness of the problem."

Toyoda largely ignored media requests for comment on the recalls. He gave an apology to customers when approached by Japanese broadcaster NHK last week while he was in Davos, Switzerland, for a conference.

Toyota said a repair, which was set to begin within days, involves installing a steel shim a couple of millimeters thick in the pedal assembly, behind the top of the gas pedal, to eliminate the excess friction between two pieces of the accelerator mechanism.

In rare cases, Toyota says, that friction can cause the pedal to become stuck in the depressed position.

Toyota's approach was working hard to find a fix for the problem, and that had resulted in owners having to wait for an explanation, Sasaki said.

"We put our customers first," he said. "But what happened as a result may have been unfortunate. But we stuck to our view to the end."

Sasaki acknowledged it took some prodding from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for Toyota to decide to make the gas-pedal recall. He said officials recommended a recall late last year.

Sasaki said Toyota knew of problems with gas pedals in 2007 with the Tundra pickup and had changed the material of the pedal part to deal with that problem.

But the new material did not hold up to friction and had caused the pedal to stick in some cases, leading to the latest recall, he said.

Toshirou Yoshinaga, analyst at Aizawa Securities, said the problem wasn't the recall measures but the absence of a management voice to assuage the worries of owners.

"The top management should have gone public sooner to address the American public," he said. "The trust in Japanese quality, in Toyota, has been shaken."

Investors appeared to welcome Toyota's response. Toyota shares soared in Tokyo trading, gaining 4.5 percent to close at 3,605 yen ($40).

- Associated Press Writer Jay Alabaster in Tokyo contributed to this report.