Toyota Slapped With Max Fine Over Recalls

Company to pay $32.4M in addition to $16.4M already paid
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 21, 2010 9:22 AM CST
Toyota Slapped With Max Fine Over Recalls
A Toyota Camry is shown after it crashed off Interstate 80 in Wendover, Utah. Nov. 5, 2010. Police suspect problems with the Camry's accelerator or floor mat caused the crash, in which two died.   (AP Photo/Utah Highway Patrol)

Toyota has agreed to pay $32.4 million in fines for dragging its feet in recalling millions of defective vehicles, the maximum fine allowable by law. Together with the $16.4 million paid earlier this year, the fines amount to roughly $30 for every car the company sold in the US this year, the New York Times reports. The fines cover both recalls over faulty accelerators and fragile steering relay rods.

In the case of the steering rods, investigators found that Toyota waited a year after recalling the cars in Japan before doing the same in the US—well beyond the five-day limit automakers have to alert the feds to a defect. Despite agreeing to pay up, Toyota hasn’t officially admitted any wrongdoing. (More Toyota stories.)

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