**The US car safety watchdog has ordered Toyota to hand over documents relating to its mass vehicle recalls, to see if the firm reacted quickly enough.**The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it wanted to find out if Toyota conducted the recent recalls “in a timely manner”.
It added that it was also studying whether their scope was too limited.
Toyota said it would “co-operate to provide all the information they have requested”.
TOYOTA RECALLS: STORY SO FAR
- September 2007, US: 55,000 Camry and Lexus cars in floormat recall
- October 2009, US: 3.8m Toyota and Lexus vehicles recalled due to floormat problem
- November 2009, US: floormat recall increased to 4.2m vehicles
- January 2010, US: 2.3m Toyota vehicles recalled due to accelerator pedal problems (of those, 2.1m already involved in floormat recall)
- January 2010, US: 1.1m Toyotas in floormat recall
- February 2010, Europe: 1.8m Toyota’s in pedal recall
- February 2010, Japan, US: 200 reports of brake faults in new Prius. Cars recalled
- February 2010, worldwide: 436,000 hybrid vehicles in brake recall. Also, 7,300 Camry vehicles recalled in the US over potential brake tube problems
- February 2010, US: 8,000 Tacoma pick-up trucks recalled over concerns about defective shafts
The NHTSA said was “requiring Toyota to provide documents showing when and how it learned of the defects affecting approximately six million vehicles in the US alone”.
Toyota is continuing to recall 8.5 million vehicles worldwide because of problems linked to faulty accelerator pedals, accelerator pedals getting stuck in floor mats, and weak braking systems.
Responding to the NHTSA, Toyota said it took responsibility for vehicle safety seriously and to alert government officials of any safety issue “in a timely manner”.
Toyota announced on 26 January that was suspending sales and production of eight models in the US, as it seeks to resolve its problems.
The NHTSA said federal law requires all carmakers to notify it within five days of discovering a safety recall, and to promptly conduct a recall.
“Investigators are also looking into whether Toyota discovered the problems during pre-production or post-production of the affected vehicles,” it added.