Toyota safety hearings begin

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Contrite Toyota executives were expected to apologize while skeptical lawmakers will probe what the company knew and when Toyota acted to fix safety problems as the first day of congressional hearings on the company’s safety problems began Tuesday.

There was a frantic air outside the hearing room as people jostled to get inside. More than a dozen television cameras were poised for the arrival of James Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. operations, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Both men are expected to face tough questions from the House Energy and Commerce Committee seeking an explanation for acceleration and braking problems that have led Toyota to recall some 10 million vehicles worldwide. LaHood will be questioned on how his agency investigated the manufacturer’s safety problems and whether the public was protected.

“Ever since I was sworn in as secretary of Transportation 13 months ago, I have said that safety is the department’s No. 1 priority,” LaHood is to tell lawmakers, according to his prepared remarks. “I would like to think that we have demonstrated that commitment time and again.”

But lawmakers were likely to take a tough approach in the highly publicized hearing, the first of two this week and a third in the Senate scheduled for next week. The panel will also hear from motorists who lost control of their vehicles, which suddenly accelerated to 100 mph because of problems with the gas pedal.

Committee investigators have found that the government was slow to respond to 2,600 complaints of sudden unintended acceleration from 2000 to 2010.

Toyota has ordered fixes for the acceleration problem in the recalled vehicles and for its 2010 hybrid Prius, which had a brake problem. Top officials have repeatedly apologized for the difficulties and will continue to do so Tuesday.

“In recent months, we have not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota,” said Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., in his prepared testimony. “Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good-faith efforts.”

Toyota said Monday that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the company’s safety problems.

The company has insisted that the acceleration problem was mechanical and had nothing to do with the electronic throttle system. Some critics have cited the electronics.

LaHood, in his prepared testimony, said his agency is investigating whether some interference with electronics had a role.

“Although we are not aware of any incident proven to be caused by such interference, NHTSA [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] is doing a thorough review of that subject to ensure safety,” the secretary said. “If NHTSA finds a problem, we will make sure it is resolved.”

On Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hear from company president Akio Toyoda.

--Ralph Vartabedian, reporting from Washington
Michael Muskal, reporting from Los Angeles