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Toyota to pay $32.425 million in penalties after federal investigations

Toyota is facing stiff financial penalties as the result of two separate investigations into the way the auto giant handled various recall and safety issues over the last few years.  Over 2010 as a whole, Toyota is now up to $48.8 million in fines owed to the U.S. government for penalties.

The first of the most recent investigations involve the floor mat entrapment issue and the “sticky” accelerators – both commonly referred to as the “unintended acceleration” problem.  The way Toyota handled required notification to the NHTSA and the recalls earned them a $16.375 penalty – the maximum allowed by law.  By law, automakers are supposed to notify the NHTSA within 5 business days after a safety defect is discovered – and Toyota failed to do this in the unintended acceleration case.  They also failed to issue necessary recalls in a timely fashion.

The second investigation looked into steering control problems and how they were handled in various Toyota models.  Investigators found that Toyota first learned of a potential safety issue in 2004, but notification and a recall were not announced until 2005 in the United States, and it wasn’t until this year that the full extent of the issue was known.  This blunder earned Toyota a $16.050 million penalty – again, the maximum allowed under US law.

Now it is up to Toyota to pay up, and the US Treasury Department’s General Fund will be $48.8 million richer.  We hope this means that US drivers will be safer, now that these investigations have shown what awaits automakers who don’t take product defects seriously enough.

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