Toyota Motor Corp. said it is recalling the Lexus GX 460 sport utility vehicle to correct a problem that could lead to rollover or loss of control.
Problems with that model surfaced last week when Consumer Reports magazine reported that the vehicle had slid out of control during testing. In response to the findings, Consumer Reports issued a rare “do not buy” advisory to the public.
Toyota said it would recall all 9,400 of the 2010 Lexus GX 460s that went on sale in late December — 5,600 that have been sold and 3,800 still at dealers or elsewhere in the distribution pipeline. Toyota also has said it is testing all of its SUVs for potential stability problems. It acknowledged that it was able to duplicate the problem with the GX 460.
Toyota said dealers would update software in the stability control system, which is supposed to help prevent rollovers. Lexus dealers will have the update by the end of April, according to a company statement.
In recent months, Toyota has announced a number of safety recalls, including two huge campaigns related to sudden acceleration, as well as recalls for braking problems in hybrid vehicles including the Prius.
In addition, Toyota agreed Monday to pay a record $16.4 million fine for hiding safety defects related to sudden acceleration in 2.3 million vehicles, but at the same time denied that it broke any rules.
Regulators said Toyota failed to notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for at least four months after learning that the accelerator pedals in some of its vehicles could stick and cause unintended acceleration. Under federal law, automakers are required to disclose defects within five business days.
“By failing to report known safety problems as it is required to do under the law, Toyota put consumers at risk,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
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But although it agreed to pay the fine, Toyota said that making the payment was an expedient way to resolve the issue.
“We agreed to this settlement in order to avoid a protracted dispute and possible litigation, as well as to allow us to move forward fully focused on the steps to strengthen our quality assurance operations,” Toyota said in a statement.
To date, the largest federal penalty paid by an automaker was $1 million, levied against General Motors in 2004 for delaying a windshield-wiper recall.
Toyota had until Monday to pay the fine or contest it.
The Japanese automaker issued a recall for the sticky-pedal problem in January, acknowledging that the accelerator-pedal assembly on some models could fail to return to the idle position in certain circumstances.
Toyota sent instructions to its European operations in September that explained how to fix accelerator pedals that could stick but decided not to similarly notify U.S. dealers and government regulators, according to an April 5 letter from NHTSA attorneys to Toyota.
The NHTSA letter indicated that Toyota may have known about the defect for at least three years.
It was not until Jan. 19 that Toyota notified NHTSA about the defect. Two days later it issued its massive recall. Five days after that, Toyota halted sales and production of eight models because of the defect.
Meanwhile, the agency has acknowledged it is investigating other Toyota disclosure practices that may have violated federal law and could result in further fines.
McClatchy/Tribune news and The Associated Press contributed to this report.