Toyota has announced that it will pay the fine levied against it by U.S. regulators. Although Toyota does not agree with all that the automaker is accused of, the automaker is looking to protracting the incident further.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had sought the maximum $16.4 million fine against Toyota for failing to properly notify Toyota of its “sticky pedal” defect. The defect led to the automaker’s largest recall and significantly tarnished Toyota’s reputation.
“We believe we made a good faith effort to investigate this condition and develop an appropriate counter-measure. We have acknowledged that we could have done a better job of sharing relevant information within our global operations and outside the company, but we did not try to hide a defect to avoid dealing with a safety problem,” said Toyota in a statement.
By law automakers are required to report defects when they are discovered. According to the NHTSA, Toyota knew about the sticky pedal issue for months before reporting it to regulators.
Toyota’s decision to pay the fine was partly an attempt to put the issue behind the automaker, and avoid further public scrutiny. For months the automaker has been struggling to rebuild its image and has offered substantial incentives on its products to bolster sales.
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