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Toyota Agrees to Pay Record Fine, Denies Wrongdoing

With basically no choice left but to accept the $16.4 million fine (the largest in history given to a carmaker), Japanese carmaker Toyota said it will pay the penalty for failing to recall 2.3 million vehicles for a period of at least four months, implicitly admitting it knew about the problem but did not disclose it. The acceptance of the fine doesn't mean however the pressure is off.

"By failing to report known safety problems as it is required to do under the law, Toyota put consumers at risk," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said according to DetNews.

"I am pleased that Toyota has accepted responsibility for violating its legal obligations to report any defects promptly. We are continuing to investigate whether the company has lived up to all its disclosure obligations."

"NHTSA's $16.375 million civil penalty was firm, but fair given what we have discovered in our investigation of the Toyota recalls," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, the man in charge with a new Toyota hearing next month. "Toyota was wise not to contest the penalty and we will continue to monitor Toyota's response to consumer complaints."

The implicit acknowledgement of the blame is, however, just that. Toyota agreed to pay the fine and made a deal with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) which states that the latter will not make any "formal findings with respect to Toyota's violations." According to the documents made public by DetNews, Toyota denies any wrongdoing.

"We agreed to this settlement in order to avoid a protracted dispute and possible litigation," the manufacturer says. "We regret that NHTSA tentatively concluded that they should seek a civil penalty."
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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