Toyota withheld information about safety technology on older models, and its outside research firm altered documents requested in a probe of unintended acceleration, congressional investigators charged Tuesday.
Democratic leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to Toyota President James Lentz asking him to get the company's research firm, Exponent, to cooperate with the committee and to spell out which Toyota models already have brake override systems.
These systems can slow vehicles down when brakes are pressed at the same time a gas pedal is engaged and may prevent unintended acceleration.
Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said outside technical experts told the panel the 2005 Toyota Camry and some older Toyotas may have brake override technology that's activated when a computer diagnostic trouble code is detected. But they charge that Toyota, which has said it will put brake overrides on new models and some older ones to improve "driver confidence," never told the committee it had the technology on some existing models.
In a statement, Toyota said it will "continue to cooperate with the congressional committee in response to their ongoing requests."
The letter also charged that Exponent, hired by Toyota for research on its problems, altered the "living document" that continuously charts the progress of its unintended-acceleration investigation and asked Lentz to submit previous versions.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-06-30-toyota30_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
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