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Attorney
General Mike DeWine
$29
Million Toyota Settlement over Unintended
Acceleration
Ohio to receive $1.7 Million
(COLUMBUS,
Ohio) – Attorney General Mike DeWine
today joined 29 other states in announcing a $29 million settlement
with Toyota
Motor Corporation and its related North American entities over
allegations
Toyota concealed safety issues related to unintended acceleration.
Ohio, a lead
state in the investigation, will receive just over $1.7 million as a
result of
this settlement.
"When
it comes to our vehicles, safety is
the most important factor," DeWine said. "This settlement will help
better protect those on Ohio's roads by ensuring greater communication
within
Toyota and more timely notification of the public if safety issues
arise with
its products."
Toyota
has agreed to pay $29 million to settle
consumer protection claims and to provide vehicle owners additional
restitution
and incentives to promote compliance with unintended acceleration
safety recalls.
Toyota will be restricted from advertising the safety of vehicles
without sound
engineering data to support such safety claims.
Ohio's
total payment of $1,704,111.58 will go
to the Consumer Protection Enforcement Fund to promote consumer
protection efforts
in the state. Ohio also will receive a Bosch Crash Data Retrieval (CDR)
System,
which provides pre-crash vehicle information from Toyota vehicles
involved in
crashes. Attorney General DeWine will provide the CDR system to the
Ohio
Department of Public Safety to help investigate accidents involving
Toyota
vehicles.
The
settlement has been presented to the
Franklin County Common Pleas Court for approval, along with a filed
complaint
in which the states allege Toyota engaged in unfair and deceptive
practices
when it failed to timely disclose known safety defects with accelerator
pedals.
The
investigating state Attorneys General
determined that poor communication between Toyota in Japan and Toyota's
U.S.
holdings was partially responsible for Toyota's failure to timely
report known
safety issues. During settlement negotiations, the States emphasized
changes in
the corporate culture and chain of command to enhance Toyota's
responsiveness
to regulatory agencies in the United States.
As
a result, Toyota has agreed to significantly
change the safety culture within the company's U.S. operations. Toyota
will
ensure that officials and officers of its U.S. operations have timely
access to
information and the authority to participate fully in all decisions
affecting
the safe operation of Toyota vehicles advertised and sold in the United
States.
The
requested changes also will improve
safety-related communication between Toyota's U.S. holdings and
Toyota's other
global holdings. The state Attorneys General believe the agreed changes
will
allow the company to address safety concerns with improved
responsiveness.
Under
the settlement, Toyota also is:
Prohibited
from reselling a vehicle it
reacquired with alleged safety defects without informing the purchaser
about
the alleged defect(s) and certifying that the reacquired vehicle has
been
repaired;
Prohibited
from misrepresenting the purpose of
an inspection or repair when directing consumers to bring their
vehicles to a
dealer for inspection or repair; and
Required
to exclude from the "Toyota
Certified Used Vehicles" or "Lexus Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles"
categories any vehicle acquired through lemon law proceedings or
voluntarily
repurchased by Toyota to ensure customer satisfaction.
Consumers
can call Toyota at 800-331-4331 and
Lexus at 800-255-3987 for more information.
In
addition to Ohio, participating in today's
settlement are the following states and U.S. territory: Alabama,
American
Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois,
Iowa, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska,
Nevada, New
Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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