Toyota
close to $1 billion deal to settle U.S. probe: WSJ
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[February 08, 2014]
(Reuters) — Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> is close to a deal to pay $1
billion to settle a U.S. criminal investigation into how it
disclosed customers' complaints about unintended acceleration years
ago, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing anonymous
sources.
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Toyota could reach a deal with U.S. authorities within weeks, the
Journal quoted the sources as saying, ending a four-year probe into
one of the Japanese automaker's most embarrassing international
episodes.
The deal under negotiation could still collapse, or the settlement
amount could change, the sources were cited as saying.
"Toyota continues to cooperate with the U.S. attorney's office in
this matter," spokeswoman Julie Hamp said in an emailed statement.
"And in the nearly four years since this inquiry began, we've made
fundamental changes to become more responsive and customer focused,
and we're committed to continue to improve."
Prosecutors in the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office are looking into
whether Toyota made false or incomplete disclosures to U.S.
regulators about possible car defects, the Journal cited people
familiar with the matter as saying. They are also looking into
possible mail and wire fraud violations connected to alleged false
disclosures, the Journal said without elaborating.
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Toyota is facing hundreds of lawsuits over acceleration issues,
which gained public attention after the deaths of a California
highway patrolman and his family that was reportedly caused by the
unintended acceleration of his Lexus.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Feb/08/images/ads/current/detailshop_lda011113.png)
That prompted the Japanese automaker to recall millions of vehicles
starting in 2009. At the time, the recall and resulting lawsuits
were a surprise for a company long associated with quality and
reliability.
Toyota has been hit with more than 200 proposed class action and 500
individual lawsuits alleging personal injuries or property damage
caused by the alleged acceleration problems.
The Japanese company has maintained the electronic throttle control
system was not at fault, blaming ill-fitting floor mats and sticky
gas pedals.
A study by federal safety officials at the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and NASA found no link between reports of
unintended acceleration and Toyota's electronic throttle control
system.
(Reporting by San Francisco newsroom;
editing by Lisa Shumaker and Ken Wills)
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