Toyota's fine

TORRANCE, Calif., April 19 (UPI) -- Toyota Motor planned to pay the U.S. government more than $16 million in fines levied because the company allegedly didn't warn about potential safety issues.

A recall of Toyota minivans last week meant the company has ordered more than 9 million vehicles be returned to dealerships to address safety concerns. Those include vehicles that could have problems with an accelerator pedal sticking.

The U.S. Department of Transportation slapped a $16.4 million fine on Toyota for failing in a timely manner to inform the government of the problems. A department official told The New York Times the automaker was expected to formally agree Monday to pay the record fine.

The Times said the deal wouldn't protect Toyota from the myriad lawsuits that have been filed in relation to crashes suspected of having been caused by the vehicles' problems. The company is also facing an early May congressional hearing on the situation.