Digital News Report – The Toyota Motor Corporation agreed to pay the maxium $16.375 million fine for failing to notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a timely matter regarding the brake pedal defect.
The NHTSA was supposed to be notified of any problems within five days, and according to the government agency’s investigation, Toyota failed to notify them for almost four months. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sought the maximum penalty for failure to comply with disclosure obligations.
This is the largest civil penalty the the NHTSA has sought from an auto manufacturer. The penalty was specifically for the sticky gas pedal and slow to return pedal defects. There was around 2.3 million vehicles that were included in this recall back in January.