Pat Dollard

Tweet

Financial Times:

A preliminary US government investigation has found no evidence of defects in Toyota’s electronic throttle control systems, pointing instead to driver error as the main cause of accidents blamed on unintended acceleration.

The findings, contained in a briefing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to members of Congress on Tuesday, seemed to support Toyota’s position on the electronic systems while dealing a blow to dozens of class-action lawsuits filed against the Japanese carmaker.

The NHTSA said that while the investigation was still at an early stage, “engineers have not identified any new safety defects in Toyotas, other than sticking gas [accelerator] pedals or pedal entrapment”.

In an analysis of data recorders in cars involved in 58 accidents, the NHTSA concluded that, in 35 cases, the brakes had not been applied at all. In nine cases, they had been applied late in the crash sequence. In one case, both brake and accelerator had been depressed.

One case involved a jammed pedal, but the NHTSA did not elaborate on the reason.

Toyota has acknowledged mechanical defects in accelerator pedals and has warned that out-of-place floor mats can cause pedals to jam. It recalled millions of vehicles in the US and other countries this year to correct these problems.

The company paid a $16.4m fine to the US government in April to settle claims that it had delayed reporting potentially dangerous defects to safety regulators.

Toyota has subsequentally acknowledged that the recalls exposed deep-seated shortcomings in its management culture.

Steve St Angelo, Toyota’s new quality chief for North America, told the Financial Times last week that, among other changes, head office in Japan would no longer make all decisions on vehicle recalls. Instead, regional safety executives must now reach a consensus.

After the recalls this year, the US National Research Council set up an independent committee to probe the causes of unintended acceleration. The committee is expected to complete its report in mid-2011.

The NHTSA said it was continuing to work with more than a dozen Nasa experts to identify possible causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles apart from the mechanical defects.

Members of Congress criticised the carmaker at hearings this year, with many giving less credibility to Toyota than to researchers who had questioned the reliability of its electronic throttle controls.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.