For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Contact: Oversight and Government Reform Committee Press Office, (202) 225-5051

Chairman Towns Wants Clarification from Toyota on Acceleration Issue

WASHINGTON – As part of the Committee’s ongoing inquiry into Toyota Motor Corporation’s recall of millions of vehicles due to reports of unintended acceleration in various Toyota models, Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) is requesting additional information on this issue from Toyota President and CEO Yoshimi Inaba.  Last week Chairman Towns announced that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating Toyota’s recall and scheduled a hearing on February 10, 2010 titled, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public At Risk?” to better understand the Federal government’s response to the concerns related to the Toyota recall.

As part of the investigation, on February 2, 2010, officials from Toyota met with Committee staff to discuss a number of issues related to the ongoing concerns related to the unintended acceleration problem.  While Toyota executives provided a number of explanations that explained how Toyota first identified the acceleration issue and also how it is intends to address it, several questions were raised that require additional information.  Therefore, Chairman Towns is asking Mr. Inaba to provide additional clarity regarding several questions.

Chairman Towns writes, “Because I believe that many of these questions are central to the ongoing safety issues regarding Toyota's recent recalls, I would appreciate your response to these questions no later than the close of business on Monday, February 8, 2010.”

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Documents and Links

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Letter from Chairman Edolphus Towns to Mr. Yoshimi Inaba, President and CEO, Toyota North America