WASHINGTON - A House committee has begun investigating whether Toyota Motor Corp. and its top executives, as well as the Obama and Bush administrations, responded adequately to customer complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles, reported Automotive News.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a Feb. 4 hearing titled "Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?" to better understand the government's response to the recall of 2.3 million vehicles due to reports of malfunctioning gas pedals.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defended its actions in a statement Friday, reported The Detroit News.

"NHTSA wants to assure owners of Toyota vehicles that it has taken, and will continue to take, all steps necessary to ensure that Toyota appropriately addresses problems related to unintended acceleration in its vehicles," it said.

"NHTSA takes every allegation of safety problems seriously and that is why we read every consumer complaint within one business day of receipt. In recent years, NHTSA has conducted several investigations into possible causes of unwanted acceleration incidents experienced by owners of various Toyota models."