Toyota Denies Ignoring Warnings, Reveals Pedal Fixes

Toyota Motor Corp. rejected suggestions Monday that it had ignored or reacted slowly to numerous reports that its vehicles could accelerate uncontrollably, reported The Detroit News.

During a full day of briefings, radio and TV appearances, company officials said the remedies Toyota had outlined, including redesigned gas pedals, will prevent the frightening occurrences that have been linked to several fatal accidents in recent years.

Toyota ruled out an electronic cause for the problem after conducting what it called exhaustive tests. But executives were guarded in assurances the company had identified all potential causes of uncontrolled acceleration.

In the past four months, Toyota has recalled close to 9 million vehicles worldwide to fix defects that could lead to unintended acceleration.

According to U.S. government data, Toyota has generated more complaints about unintended acceleration than any other automaker in recent years, and at least 15 fatalities are linked to the reports.

Questions about the electronic systems crop up because Toyota, like many other automakers, switched to drive-by-wire acceleration. In such a system, pressure applied to the gas pedal actually sends an electronic signal to the throttle.

Toyota says it has carried out extensive tests of its systems in Japan. "The testing that these go under includes every magnetic force, and we have never been able to get our systems to fail through any of the tests that are done on them," said Bob Waltz, vice president of product quality and service support at Toyota Motor Sales.

Among steps Toyota is taking to reduce the risk of unintended acceleration is installation of a brake override system -- a failsafe that treats any pressure on the brake as the dominant command -- across all its vehicles.