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 Toyota Motor Corp claims that vehicle safety and regaining trust from its customers are the company’s main goals as they continue to resolve issues behind the recent recalls of 8.5 million vehicles due to sticky gas pedals and floor mat interference, which can cause sudden acceleration, steering column problems and brake problems. On March 5, 2010, a House committee questioned how thoroughly Toyota has tested its vehicles for sudden acceleration, and asked the Japanese automaker for more records on the safety issues, according to a recent Associated Press news report.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee told Toyota executive Jim Lentz in a letter that there is “an absence of documents” to show whether the company thoroughly investigated the possibility of unintended acceleration. The committee demanded to know who is involved with the testing and receive quarterly reports detailing allegations of the unwanted acceleration.

“We do not understand the basis for Toyota’s repeated assertions that it is ‘confident’ there are no electronic defects contributing to incidents of sudden unintended acceleration,” wrote Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.

Adding to the doubts, the government has received more than 60 complaints from Toyota owners who had their vehicles fixed following the recalls but say they’ve had more problems with their vehicles surging forward unintentionally. Toyota dealers have been fixing the accelerator pedals but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that if the remedy provided by Toyota is not addressing the issue, the government could order the company to provide a different solution.

Toyota hired a consulting firm to study whether electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The firm, Exponent Inc., released an interim report that has found no link between the two. But committee investigators have said the Exponent test was flawed because it studied only a small number of Toyota vehicles.

In the letter, Waxman and Stupak also request more details on brake override systems and “black box” information in Toyota vehicles.

Toyota plans to install brakes that can override the gas pedal in future models and many vehicles already on the road. The safety measure is meant to prevent the unintended acceleration that has caused some Toyota drivers to speed out of control.

The committee also wants to know what information is available in Toyota electronic data recorders. The “black box” information could help investigators learn more about what is happening in the vehicles before crashes. A review by the Associated Press found that Toyota has been inconsistent and sometimes even contradictory in revealing what the devices record and don’t record, such as critical data about whether brake or accelerator pedals were depressed at the time of a crash.

The NHTSA has linked 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by Toyota’s acceleration problems.

On March 3, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it is investigating recent complaints of sudden acceleration by Toyota owners whose vehicles have been repaired under two of Toyota Motor Corp.’s recent recalls, according to a recent Wall Street Journal news report. Over the past five months, Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles due to steering and brake problems and sudden acceleration of vehicles due to sticky gas pedals and floor mat interference.

“If Toyota owners are still experiencing sudden-acceleration incidents after taking their cars to the dealership, we want to know about it,” David Strickland, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said in an emailed statement.

The federal safety regulator, which is part of the DOT, began conducting interviews with consumers about the issue Tuesday. NHTSA wants “to make sure Toyota is doing everything possible to make its vehicles safe,” Mr. Strickland said.

The agency has received several unverified reports about sudden-acceleration issues in Toyota vehicles that have had their gas pedals fixed and floor mats removed under two recent recalls of six million vehicles. A DOT spokeswoman said none of the incidents has been confirmed.

Last week, Toyota came under the microscope at three separate congressional hearings on the auto maker’s sudden acceleration problems that have called into question the company’s reputation as a safety leader.

Consumer-safety advocates have questioned whether Toyota’s electronic throttle-control system is to blame. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the safety agency is conducting a full investigation into Toyota’s electronics. NHTSA has said that connected 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by Toyota’s acceleration problems.

The new alleged incidents of sudden acceleration are already concerning lawmakers. “I’m deeply concerned that NHTSA has received this many reports of possible sudden unintended acceleration after these vehicles have received Toyota’s recommended fix,” said Rep. Bruce Braley (D., Iowa). “It is critical that we get to the bottom of this problem as quickly as possible.”

In one recent complaint on NHTSA’s Web site, the 81-year-old owner of a 2010 Toyota Camry, which had undergone repairs on the gas pedal as part of the floor mat recall, said pulling into a parking spot at a CVS drugstore on February 16, the sedan “suddenly flew up forward over the cement curb and into the dirt and bushes,” which stopped the car.

Reports of the new cases of sudden acceleration in repaired Toyota vehicles were first reported by Safety Research & Strategies Inc. and the Los Angeles Times.

As Toyota honchos appeared in front of Congressional panels the previous two days to addresses questions regarding Toyota’s recent recalls of 8.5 million vehicles due to sticky gas pedals and floor mat interference, which can cause sudden vehicle acceleration, brake problems and steering column complaints, the FBI became involved in the investigation.

On February 24, 2010, the FBI said it raided the U.S. offices of three auto suppliers to Toyota and other manufacturers as part of an antitrust investigation, according to a recent Associated Press news report. The FBI’s Detroit office said agents raided the offices of Denso Corp, Yazaki North America and Tokai Rika. All the raids took place on the evening of February 23, 2010.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said the department is conducting an investigation of automotive electronics suppliers. It was unclear if other companies were involved in the investigation. “The antitrust division is investigating the possibility of anticompetitive cartel conduct,” Talamona said in a statement. “We are coordinating with the European Commission and other foreign competition authorities.”

A person familiar with the antitrust investigation said it involves possible discussions among the parts suppliers, not the safety of the parts themselves. This person spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to speak more fully about the matter.

Toyota is Denso’s biggest customer and is one of two suppliers of its gas pedals. While gas pedals from the other supplier, CTS Corp., were involved in Toyota’s sticky-accelerator recall, Denso’s have not been implicated.

Toyota said in a statement that it was aware of the raids but has little information about the investigation. Toyota said it has not been contacted by authorities.