Toyota Agreed to Pay Record Fine over Failure to Report Product Defect on Time

It was revealed in recent news reports that the Japanese car manufacturing giant Toyota has agreed to pay a record fine of $17.35 million for failing to report a product safety defect to the U.S. government immediately.

The said monetary relief is the highest so far for not conducting a product recall in a timely manner.

The fine was imposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation after it sent a notice to the giant automaker regarding floor mat pedal entrapments in vehicles. Subsequently, the agency was surprised upon knowing that Toyota has been aware of the product defect a month earlier but failed to launch a recall. In fact, as per Toyota’s response to the safety agency’s notice, it claimed that it had actually received 63 reports related to the product defect. 

Under the federal law, automakers are required to notify agency within five business days upon receipt of such report regarding a product defect, as well as to conduct a product recall immediately.

In a statement released by the highway safety agency administrator, David Strickland, which a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles deemed true and correct, he said that every moment of delay has the possibility to lead to wrongful deaths or personal injuries on the country’s highways.

It can be remembered that back in 2010, Toyota likewise paid a total of $48.8 million in civil penalties following three separate investigations into the company’s handling of vehicle recalls.

Fortunately for the automaker, despite the series of product recall that it conducted and the imposed penalties against the company, its sale was not affected. It is merely because the decision-making of most consumers is based on productions in showrooms wherein Toyota is known to be very competitive.