Toyota Pedal Recall Update #17: Electronic Throttle System Under Microscope

WASHINGTON — Although Toyota executives have expressly denied it, the theory that the automaker's electronic controls are at the root of unintended-acceleration issues with millions of vehicles continues to gain credence. The U.S. Department of Transportation says it is investigating whether the problem is based in Toyota vehicles' electronic throttle systems.

Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives, Henry Waxman of California and Bart Stupak of Michigan, wrote a joint letter to Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President Jim Lentz, saying: "Your public statements are different than the representations that Toyota officials made on January 27, 2010, when they met with staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce." According to the congressmen, Toyota told the committee that it was "very, very hard to identify" the source of unintended-acceleration problems, although the company has insisted to the public that the problems are related to a "sticky" accelerator pedal and the design of a floor mat. ABC News published their letter on its Web site.

The Los Angeles Times, which has been sharply critical of the Japanese automaker in an ongoing series of investigative stories, reported months ago that the introduction of electronic throttle systems coincided with a sharp rise in sudden-acceleration complaints among Toyota owners.

Toyota, however, has stated repeatedly that electronics are not behind the massive recalls now rolling out worldwide. Toyota quality Vice President Shinichi Sasaki was quoted by Automotive News late Tuesday saying the company has "not come across any case in which we have found a malfunction" related to electronics. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. spokesman John Hanson was quoted as saying the company has "investigated many times and found no evidence to point to."

Host Matt Lauer, on the NBC Today show on Monday, asked Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. chief Lentz to comment on the fact that "Some analysts have said this could in fact not be a physical problem with the accelerator...this could be an electronic sensor." Lentz replied: "We are convinced and we are confident that it is in fact a sticky accelerator and is the issue of the [floor mat] entrapment. In terms of the electronics, we have tested the electronics thoroughly, as have other independents. There are redundant fail-safe mechanisms within that electronic pedal."

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said Tuesday that the department is "not finished with Toyota and are continuing to review possible defects."

While the discussion swirls, in Canada a class-action lawsuit was filed against Toyota and accelerator-pedal supplier CTS Corporation with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The suit alleges "inherent design defects in the ETCS-I [electronic throttle control] system and its component parts that have been used in models of Toyota vehicles manufactured since 2001." The suit was filed by Rochon Genova LLP, according to a press release on PR Newswire this week.

Inside Line says: This important issue is very, very far from settled. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent