By Tom Krisher

Toyota will pay $180 million to settle U.S. government allegations that it failed to report and fix pollution control defects in its vehicles for a decade.

The company also agreed in court to investigate future emissions-related defects quickly and report them to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a timely manner.

“Toyota's actions undermined the EPA's self-disclosure system and likely led to delayed or avoided emissions-related recalls,” Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. Attorney in Manhattan said Thursday in a prepared statement.

The Japanese automaker's actions from 2005 to 2015 brought financial benefits and excessive vehicle pollution, the statement said.

The company was accused in a government lawsuit of delays in filing 78 emissions defect reports as required by the Clean Air Act. The reports covered millions of vehicles, and some of them were as many as eight years late, the statement said.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday and settled on the same day, according to the statement.

In a statement, Toyota said it reported the problems to the EPA five years ago after finding a “process gap" that brought delays in filing the defect reports. “Within months of discovering this issue, we submitted all relevant delayed filings and put new robust reporting and compliance practices in place,” the company said.

The company said the reporting delays resulted in a “negligible” impact on emissions, contradicting the government's statement alleging excessive pollution. The company said that despite reporting delays, it notified customers and fixed vehicles that needed to have emissions recalls.

Automakers have to report to the EPA if there are 25 cases of the same pollution control defect in a model year. But Toyota decided to report the defects only when required under a less-stringent California standard, the Justice Department said.

Toyota is the third automaker in recent years to pay penalties for Clean Air Act violations. The worst was cheating by Volkswagen, which for years programmed its diesel vehicles to turn pollution controls on for EPA lab tests and turned them off for roadway driving. In 2019, Fiat Chrysler agreed to a settlement over allegations that it rigged pollution tests on diesel pickup trucks and SUVs. Fiat Chrysler has maintained that it didn’t deliberately cheat emissions tests and the company didn’t admit wrongdoing.

Share:
More In Business
Poll: More Americans think companies benefit from legal immigration
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Tylenol maker rebounds a day after unfounded claims about its safety
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Load More