Just days after he said he wouldn’t, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has accepted an invitation to testify before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, which will examine the automaker’s recent spate of recalls.

“I have received Congressman Towns’ invitation to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 24 and I accept,” said Toyoda in a statement issued by Toyota today. “I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the American people.”

At a press conference earlier this week, Toyoda announced his company’s plans to reform its safety standards, but at that time Toyoda declined to speak before Congress. Instead he planned to send Toyota North America president Yoshimi Inaba.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has made known his plans to get to the bottom of the Toyota recalls, announcing that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will use its statutory powers to obtain documents from Toyota and investigate how it learned of the defects in vehicles and when it knew about them.

Official release after the jump:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a probe to investigate if Toyota issued its recalls in a timely manner. The NHTSA will use its statutory powers to obtain documents from Toyota and investigate how it learned of the defects in vehicles and when it knew about them. Automakers are required by law to issue recalls in a timely manner, otherwise they can be penalized to the tune of $16.4 million. While the monetary amount may be trivial to a company like Toyota, the bad publicity surrounding it could cost billions.

The NHTSA will also examine if Toyota has any other potential recalls that it has not made public yet.

“Our top priority is safety and we expect that all manufacturers address automotive safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner,” said David Strickland, Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For its part, Toyota has said it will cooperate with the NHTSA, stating that, “Toyota takes its responsibility to advance vehicle safety seriously and to alert government officials of any safety issue in a timely manner.”

Get more Toyota recall information at AutoGuide’s Toyota Recall News Hub

Official release after the jump:

According to a spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Toyota may face yet another investigation, this time over steering-related issues with the 2009 and 2010 Corolla model. The NHTSA has recorded 83 power steering related complaints on the 2009-10 models, which use an electric power steering system. Toyota switched to electric power steering in  the Corolla for the ‘09 model year, with ‘09 model year Corollas first going on sale in February of 2008.

Complainants say the vehicle can veer to the left or right at over 40 mph. Over the 83 filed complaints, six accidents are associated with the alleged steering issue with 10 injuries reported.

Yesterday Toyota announced a worldwide recall of the 437,000 hybrid models, including the 2010 Prius hybrid after the NHTSA opened an investigation into electric braking problems with the car and the Lexus HS250h.

Toyota also has two other recalls out for over 8 million vehicles, one for “floor mat entrapment” and another for faulty brake pedals. Both of these recalls also include the 2009-10 Corolla.

The NHTSA is considering an investigation into the complains which could result in further analysis of the car by Toyota and (if deemed necessary) a recall. Currently the NHTSA is investigating 40 possible defects, three of which are for Toyotas.

See more Toyota recall news here: AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub

[Source: Automotive News]

As expected, Toyota has announced a recall for the 2010 Prius hybrid, as well as the 2010 Lexus HS250h model. The recall affects 133,000 Prius models as well as 14,500 HS250 models so that the automaker can update the car’s ABS software. The recall does not affect previous generation Prius models or any other Toyota, Lexus or Scion models.

The recall comes after over 100 complaints were registered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), by Prius owners who commented on a loss of brakes (or at least brake feel) under braking on icy or bumpy roads. The fix has already been made on all models produced since late January.

Toyota has said it will begin mailing recall notification letters to owners next week, with HS250h owners receiving their letter a few weeks after that.

In addition to this recall, Toyota has issues a separate recall on 7,300 Camry 4-cylinder models built for the 2010 model year, due to a steering hose that may touch the front brake tube, leading to a brake fluid leak.

Toyota owners with questions can find detailed information about these recalls and Toyota’s other recalls at www.toyota.com/recall or can contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

For more Toyota recall news visit the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub here

Official release after the jump:

With a brake-related recall for the 2010 Toyota Prius expected any day now, Toyota is now said to be investigating the Lexus HS250h hybrid, which is also sold as the Sai in Japan. Using plenty of similar equipment to the HS the Prius has received over 100 complaints registered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as Japanese authorities. The NHTSA lists 10 brake-realated complaints for the HS.

Prius owners say they experienced a brief loss of braking capability when traveling over bumpy or icy roads. Toyota has admitted it knew of a problem that caused a brief loss of braking during the transition from the car’s regenerative braking to its traditional friction braking. Toyota refers to this as “slight unresponsiveness” and says it usually lasts less than a second. The automaker has said the issue has been solved on all models produced since late January but no recall has been ordered for models built before that time.

Over the weekend, Toyota engineers were busy testing the Prius at the company’s Higashifuji proving grounds. Toyota representative Ririko Takeuchi commented that the two models, “have very similar braking systems and we are currently checking whether they have the same problem.”

In the U.S., Toyota sold 6,699 Lexus HS hybrids last year, as well as 139,682 2010 Prius models.

[Source: Automotive News]

Just as Toyota is facing a potential recall of its popular Prius hybrid for brake problems, Ford has today announced a recall of its own, affecting the Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan hybrid. The comparatively small recall affects 17,600 Fusion and Milan hybrids built on or before October 17, 2009.

Officially the move by Ford is a Technical Service Bulletin and not a full recall, as the brake issue is not a safety concern says Ford. The problem, says Ford, is due to a software glitch where the car’s regenerative braking (used to recharge the hybrid battery) does not engage or is late to engage, as a result there is a feeling of brake-pressure loss. The conventional brakes do still work fully, however, and so with full braking potential this is not a safety issue.

Only one complain has been recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but the TSB was announced after a Consumer Reports test driver experienced the brake delay.

[Source: Reuters]

Only yesterday the AutoGuide team was discussing the fact that with all the recent Toyota recalls, the next thing to be recalled might be the automaker’s Prius iPhone App. Well, truth may be stranger than fiction as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has now said it will look into whether electronic interference from cell phones could be the cause of unintended acceleration issues with several Toyota models.

Electromagnetic interference, or EMI, has become a concern as electronic gadgets have become a part of every day life. At the same time, cars have become increasingly reliant on electrical, rather than mechanical, components. It has been suggested that the issue over Toyota’s “unintended acceleration” problem could be due to electronic interference and not a mechanical fault as many modern vehicles use electronic throttle sensors, rather than a mechanical system where a pushing the gas pedal actuates a wire than opens the engine’s throttlebody.

Fear over electrical interference is what has prompted airlines to ask passengers to turn off electrical equipment.

Toyota currently has a recall out for 2.3 million vehicles due to what it calls a potentially faulty mechanical brake pedal. The recall includes the 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia.

See more Toyota recall news at the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Toyota’s popular Prius model is now officially under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for potentially faulty brakes. In a statement released by the NHTSA, it said it will launch a formal investigation into whether the popular hybrid has a brief loss of braking capability when traveling over bumpy or icy roads.

This announcement may, however, be a moot point as Toyota has already admitted to knowing there was a problem with the brakes on the 2010 Prius (a model previously unaffected by any of Toyota’s other recalls). Toyota has said it knew of a problem that caused a brief loss of braking during the transition from the car’s regenerative braking (which serves to power-up the car’s hybrid battery) to its traditional friction braking. Toyota refers to this as “slight unresponsiveness” and says it usually lasts less than a second.

The NHTSA has received over 100 complaints about the Prius’s brakes, including four where crashes resulted.

Toyota has said the issue has been solved on all models produced since late January but has yet to issue a recall for all 2010 models built and sold before that point. The NHTSA’s investigation is likely to ensure a recall.

See more Toyota recall news at the AutoGuide.com Toyota Recall News Hub.

[Source: Automotive News]

Jim Lentz, Toytoa president of U.S. sales, denied his company is covering up problems related to unintended acceleration.

On a media blitz to contain the damage after a nine million vehicle recall, Lentz denied Toyota was hiding anything after government documents revealed the company first received reports of “runaway Toyotas” in March 2007.

“There is no cover-up,” Lentz said to ABC News.

A document dated Jan. 21 submitted by Toyota to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  states Toyota received field reports in March 2007 of accelerator pedals  on the Tundra having “rough operation or being slow to return to the idle position”.

Toyota received further reports in from December 2008 to August 2009 about related issues in other models. An investigation was started in March 2009. Additional reports came in October and the manufacturer announced a recall in January 2010.

“It’s a lot of detail that goes into this,” said Lentz. “We’ve been upfront. We’re taking care of customers right now. What’s most important is that our customers know there is a fix. They’re going to be able to get their cars repaired this week.”

Lentz also denied the problem with unintended acceleration was an electronic issue.

[Source: ABCNews]

If you’ve been trying to decide whether or not to trade in your gas guzzler on a new fuel-efficient model and cash in on the government’s $4,500 CARS rebate, you’ve waited too long. The program, funded with 1 billion dollars of tax payers’ money is already running low – just six days after the Obama Administration officially launched it.

According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), by the end of the Wednesday work day dealers had submitted 22,782 claims for a total of $95.5 million. 

At that rate the program will run out of money long before the planned CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) expiration date of November 1st. Reuters cites Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association, who speculates the program will run out of funding before the date.

The Cash-for-Clunkers legislation had been criticized heavily before being passed for not being sufficiently funded. 

The good news out of this is that if the CARS rebate system is used up (early or not) it is expected to generate as many as 250,000 car sales – something which should help speed up an economy that already shows signs of recovering.

Reuters cites an unnamed inside government source for the tip, who says the CARS program wil be suspended shortly. There is no word on if there are plans to find additional funding and re-instate Cash-for-Clunkers at a later date.

[Source: Automotive News]