US Government seeks $16 million from Toyota over “sticky gas pedal” issue

Toyota Facing record $16.4 million fine

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking to fine Toyota over $16 million dollars for failing to notify the administration of a known "defect" for over 4 months.  This would be the maximum penalty the government could impose on the auto maker.

The NHTSA discovered that Toyota became aware of the sticky gas pedals back in September of 2009 from documents submitted by Toyota to the agency.  Under federal regulations, an automaker has 5 days to inform the agency once it has determined that a safety defect exists on one of its vehicles.

The previous record fine was $1 million, which was paid by General Motors back in 2004 related to a windshield wiper issue.

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