Toyota Motor has decided to conduct another review of electronic throttle control systems that have been linked with unintended acceleration problems in its cars, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported on Monday.
The company told the US Congress last week it did not believe there were any problems with the electronic throttle control systems in its Toyota and Lexus models, a Reuters report noted
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But Toyota, reeling from separate recalls involving millions of vehicles, aimed to demonstrate that there were no problems with the systems with help from external experts, the Yomiuri said.
The US Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may join the review, the paper said.
Toyota was expected to announce plans for the review as early as 24 February when a congressional hearing on the series of safety problems is scheduled, the Yomiuri said.
A separate, earlier Reuters report, citing the Wall Street Journal, said a study funded by Toyota Motor supported the automaker’s assertion there was no evidence of problems in the electronics of Toyota and Lexus cars.
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By GlobalDataThe newspaper reportedly said it had obtained a copy of the study being carried out by the Menlo Park, California-based engineering firm, Expondent.
“Exponent has so far been unable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, either unintended acceleration or behaviuor that might be a precursor to such an event, despite concerted efforts toward this goal,” the Journal quoted the 4 February preliminary report as saying.
Toyota has been under fire for a series of safety lapses, including incidents of unwanted acceleration that could be caused by electronic failures.
On Saturday, a Toyota executive told Reuters that US executives would meet with the company’s top management in Japan over the next several days.
Yoshi Inaba, president of Toyota North America, and US sales chief Jim Lentz were on their way to Japan to brief senior executives before US congressional hearings scheduled for later this month, said Don Esmond, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales.
Esmond, speaking on the sidelines of the annual National Automobile Dealers Associations convention in Orlando, Florida, said he was “absolutely” confident that repairing accelerator pedals or replacing loose floormats was the right fix to address the risk of unintended acceleration, and said Toyota’s electronics system had been “thoroughly tested.”
“We have no indication that the electronic throttle is an issue. We are not the only ones with electronic throttles,” he told Reuters.
Toyota has recalled more than 8.5m vehicles globally due to the risk that sticky accelerator pedals or loose floormats may result in unintended acceleration.
