Gordon Questions Transportation Chief On Toyota Recalls, Says Questions Remain

Press Release

On Tuesday, a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel held a hearing to question representatives from Toyota and the Department of Transportation about apparent missteps throughout Toyota's recent series of safety recalls.

Gordon, a senior member of the Committee, has taken leadership on efforts to get the facts on defects with the popular Toyota Tacoma pickup. Gordon posed questions about the Tacoma to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood prior to his testimony.

"In 2007, I contacted Department of Transportation investigators asking for a "swift and thorough' investigation into sudden acceleration in Toyota Tacomas," Gordon said. "Their investigation was swift, but recent events have shown it was far from thorough. I was glad to have the opportunity to speak with Secretary LaHood, but my concerns remain and I hope to learn more in coming weeks."

Gordon asked Secretary LaHood to comment on the investigation practices of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the consumer protection arm of the Department of Transportation. In 2007, NHTSA responded to Gordon's inquiries that it had tested a single Tacoma and had not been able to find a pattern of defects. LaHood confirmed the practice of testing a single vehicle was not an unusual response to complaints of that nature, contending that one vehicle should be enough to identify a problem that is widespread enough to affect a whole fleet of vehicles. NHTSA reaffirmed this level of scrutiny in a letter to Gordon on Monday night. However, third-party investigators testified in the hearing that after looking at a single vehicle, they had been able to detect serious electrical defects.

"I'm concerned that NHTSA is using faulty logic," Gordon said. "If NHTSA investigators found nothing by testing one truck, but third party investigators did by testing another, then either the policy is insufficient or the agency is not up to the challenge of protecting American drivers. Neither conclusion does much to restore public trust."

The Tacoma pickup has been excluded from some recent safety recalls, in spite of numerous complaints of unintended acceleration. While the Tacoma was included in an early recall that blamed a faulty floor mat for entrapping the accelerator pedal, Toyota has since acknowledged more serious mechanical and electronic defects and recalled a number of its other models. Notably, in internal documents which emerged over the weekend, Toyota boasted to shareholders that it had saved more than $100 million by negotiating a more limited recall.

"I still question the policy of testing a single vehicle for a problem as serious as this. The standard of proof must be higher when lives are at stake," Gordon said. "I am also especially troubled by the implication that the safety of American drivers is negotiable."

In addition to Secretary LaHood, witnesses at the hearing included representatives from Toyota North America, as well as third party automotive experts who testified that they had been able to identify serious electronic problems in Toyotas that had not been addressed by current recalls. A couple from Sevierville also shared their experiences with sudden acceleration in their vehicle.

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