USA: Legal settlement about recalled used cars challenged

A legal settlement reached on 8 December last year between the Federal Trade Commission and GM and two used-car dealers is being challenged by consumer rights activists in court in Washington DC. The settlement is alleged to allow cars to be sold as 'safe' or 'certified' even if it has defective air bags, faulty ignition switches or other potentially lethal problems, provided the used car dealer discloses that the vehicle may be subject to a pending safety recall.

The papers filed at the Federal Court by Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, Center for Auto Safety and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Inc., are available from here. See also the article on the fairwarning.com website, here.

US: Toyota fined record amount for delay in reporting safety issues

The NHTSA has announced that Toyota has been fined the maximum penalty, $17.4m,  the single highest civil penalty amount ever paid to NHTSA for violations stemming from a recall, for taking too long to report safety issues to the authorities. Federal law requires safety defects to be notified within five days. NHTSA became aware of "floor mat pedal entrapment" issues in early 2012, and approached the manufacturer in May: Toyota admitted that it knew of 63 alleged incidents since 2009, which shows fairly clearly that it had not made the required reports in time.

The agreement between NHTSA and Toyota can be read here.