NHTSA released some documents last month that are extremely damaging to Toyota’s claims that it has never hidden anything from the federal government concerning its safety issues. Letters sent by Toyota to NHTSA in 2004 and 2005 were made public. These letters raised questions from both federal investigators and victims’ lawyers about whether the company was hiding safety defects and misleading regulators.

NHTSA opened an investigation into whether Toyota gave the agency timely notification of steering problems with nearly 1 million 4Runner SUVs, T100 pickups and Toyota trucks before starting a September 2005 recall in the U.S. Toyota had received 41 complaints from U.S. customers about fatigue cracks in the steering relay rods before October 2004. That’s the month the company began its Japan recall of comparable Hilux and Hilux Surf vehicles for similar reasons. It’s evident that Toyota knew of several dozen U.S. complaints at least 10½ months before beginning a U.S. recall. Automakers are required by law to notify NHTSA within five business days of safety defects. Here is what Toyota (TMC) told NHTSA in its 2004-05 letters:

• Oct. 26, 2004: “Reason the affected vehicles sold in the U.S. are not involved in this recall: TMC has received field information from the Japanese market, but no similar information from the U.S. market has been received.”

• Sept. 6, 2005: “End of October 2004: TMC conducted a safety campaign for the steering relay rod on certain Toyota Hilux and Hilux Surf vehicles in Japan. TMC considered that problem was the result of the unique operating condition in Japan, i.e. frequent standing full lock turns, such as for narrow parking spaces and close-quarter maneuvering. Although TMC did not receive similar information from the U.S., TMC continued monitoring field information and started to recover subject parts from markets other than Japan.”

Both letters were signed by Toyota Motor North America Vice President Chris Tinto, who previously had worked for NHTSA. The Toyota letters were obtained in litigation against the automobile maker and turned over to NHTSA. A lawyer involved in a lawsuit against Toyota made a request to NHTSA, calling for an investigation into “the wide chronological gaps and apparent falsehoods Toyota has provided.” Now NHTSA’s document request to Toyota includes all consumer complaints, field reports, and crash reports before both recalls. No one should be surprised if Mr. Tinto and a number of his subordinates find themselves in front of a Congressional panel again before long. This company has a history of safety issues, and also it now appears to have a history of hiding what it had to know from NHTSA as well as from the public.

Source: Automotive News