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Toyota recalls

By United Press International
Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corp., attends a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on February 17, 2010. UPI/Keizo Mori
1 of 2 | Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corp., attends a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on February 17, 2010. UPI/Keizo Mori | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Toyota Motor, facing congressional hearings on its recent recalls, said it saved $100 million in a deal with regulators related to an earlier safety problem.

Toyota submitted documents Sunday to the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ahead of an appearance Wednesday by company President Akio Toyoda.

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Those documents, first reported by The Detroit News, include a July 2009 claim that the company "secured safety rulemaking favorable to Toyota" from a U.S. regulator looking into a recall in 2007 of Camry and Lexus ES 350 models, which allegedly experienced stuck accelerator issues.

By limiting the scope of the recall and not having a defect declared, Toyota saved $100 million by replacing certain floor mats rather than perform an accelerator pedal repair.

Toyota issued a statement about the documents, saying "Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong."

Other accelerator problems were reported ahead of the recall of the more than 8 million Toyota vehicles announced in recent months. Not all the cars had accelerator problems; some were recalled because of brake problems or floor mat issues. The Japanese automaker estimates the recalls will cost the company about $2 billion in repair and lost sales.

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