Toyota US president apologizes over slow-lane complaint action
- Source: Shanghai Daily
- [08:34 February 24 2010]
- Comments
The president of Toyota's United States operations is apologizing for the company's slow handling of sudden acceleration problems in its vehicles, as the firm tries to persuade skeptical lawmakers it cares about safety.
Toyota's James Lentz, certain to face hostile questioning at an imminent high-profile US congressional hearing, said in prepared testimony that Toyota had poor communications within the company, with government regulators and with its customers.
Also at the hearing will be drivers like Rhonda Smith, a Sevierville, Tennessee, woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly zoomed to 160 kilometers per hour as she tried to get it to stop - shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed down before she crashed.
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's investigative panel will be armed with preliminary staff findings that Toyota and the government failed to protect the public.
Toyota, which has recalled 8.5 million vehicles to fix acceleration problems in several models and braking issues in the 2010 hybrid Prius, is bringing apologies to the hearing.
"In recent months, we have not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," said Lentz in his testimony. "Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good-faith efforts."
Representative Bart Stupak, a Democrat and subcommittee chairman, wrote Toyota that the firm misled the public by failing to reveal that misplaced floor mats and sticking gas pedals accounted for only some acceleration woes.
He said the firm resisted the possibility that electronics problems were the cause.
Lentz was defiant on one point, asserting Toyota has "no problems exist with the electronic throttle control system in our vehicles."
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in prepared testimony, said his agency would ensure the safety of Toyota vehicles.
He said the department's investigation included the possibility that interference with electronics had a role in sudden acceleration.
Investigators have said the government was slow to respond to 2,600 complaints of sudden unintended acceleration.
LaHood said: "Every step of the way, NHTSA officials have pushed Toyota to take corrective action so that consumers would be safe."
