Posted in the Star Telegram 2/24/2010
Recall may not be a total fix, Toyota tells lawmakers
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The president of Toyota's U.S. operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers Tuesday that the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally" solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
"We are vigilant, and we continue to look for potential causes," Toyota's Jim Lentz told a congressional panel. However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
He insisted that electronic systems connected to the gas pedal and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could not stop her runaway Lexus.
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith of Sevierville, Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second "shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of the sudden acceleration. Still, "we have not found a malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he said.
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But committee investigators said the testing studied only a small number of vehicles.
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one source, and they can come from inside or outside the car. Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage, where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no trace at all.
Pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it, Lentz replied: "Not totally."
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were "very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas pedal on almost all its new vehicles and a majority of its existing ones.
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6 million in the United States -- since last fall because of unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering concerns in Corollas.
Toyota owners have complained of their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
Meanwhile, Toyota President Akio Toyoda, who will testify before a separate panel today, said he took "full responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners.
"My name is on every car," Toyoda said in prepared testimony. "You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers."
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited "fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel that his agency is looking into possible electronics problems. He said the company's recalls were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer every question."
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