The government has proof that Toyota knew about a safety problem involving sticking gas pedals for four months before it recalled vehicles, officials said Tuesday, and it will penalize the automaker the maximum $16.4 million for the delay. An automaker must tell the government about a safety defect and begin a recall within five business days after discovering the problem, according to the law. The Toyota fine would far surpass the previous high fine of $1 million against General Motors in 2004 for taking too long to fix potentially faulty windshield wipers. Toyota has 14 days to appeal to the Justice Department, agree to pay or offer more information that it hopes would change the decision of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Toyota said Monday it hadn’t decided what to do.Read more from USA Todayand the press release from theDepartment of Transportation.The Obama administration, meanwhile, said it will intensify its investigation into sudden acceleration complaints from Toyota vehicles, bringing in NASA scientists to examine how their electronic controls could be affected by electromagnetic radiation, software faults and cosmic rays.Read more in the Chicago Tribune.
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