NHTSA, Toyota on Congress' Hot Seat This Week

WASHINGTON — During Congressional hearings on the safety of Toyota vehicles Tuesday and Wednesday, federal administrators responsible for automotive safety will be on the hot seat as much as Toyota executives will be. And new Edmunds.com data shows seemingly unexplainable inconsistencies in the government's vehicle investigation and recall process.

Amid accusations of foot-dragging and Toyota influence-peddling regarding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and its handling of consumer complaints and recalls, safety administrators likely will be grilled about what is standard operating procedure in dealing with consumers' complaints. The overarching question will be whether NHTSA was lax in holding Toyota's feet to the fire on vehicle problems.

Edmunds.com's analysis of NHTSA databases shows no clear pattern in terms of the number of consumer complaints that trigger an agency investigation. The analysis showed as few as five could trigger an investigation leading to a recall, while other investigations didn't start until 1,500 complaints had accumulated.

Edmunds data shows that the average time is 262 days between the time a complaint is launched and its conclusion, but the time between investigations and recalls varied widely from 10 days to six years.

Whether NHTSA's process works properly and quickly enough and whether it is transparent enough is highly questionable. Ultimately, this week's congressional hearings may uncover as many defects at NHTSA as at Toyota.

Inside Line says: Your government may not be watching over your automotive safety as closely as it might. — Michelle Krebs, Senior Analyst and Editor at Large