Toyota acceleration cases need fuller review, NHTSA chief says

[DainBramaged]

Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in reports of unintended acceleration must be probed for all possible causes, the top U.S. auto-safety regulator said today.

“We must do everything possible to fully understand if there are vulnerabilities in these systems to cause this happening,” David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said today at the first meeting of a National Academy of Sciences panel reviewing the issue.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has attributed bursts of speed in its vehicles to accelerators that stuck or snagged on floor mats. The company has said there is no evidence of faults in electronic throttle controls, a contention questioned by a number of lawmakers and auto-safety advocates.

The phenomenon of unintended acceleration has been reported for “every major automaker,” Strickland said today.

The science academy's review follows record recalls by Toyota of more than 8 million cars and trucks globally. NASA, the U.S. space agency, is reviewing the matter separately at the request of NHTSA

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