Toyota subpoenaed by federal grand jury

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in New York to submit documents related to problems with steering relay rods.

The world's largest automaker, which is trying to repair a reputation damaged by recalls of millions of cars worldwide, said the federal grand jury issued the subpoena to its U.S. subsidiary in late June. Toyota said it was the company's second subpoena from a federal grand jury.

A grand jury determines whether evidence exists to bring criminal charges.

"The company and its subsidiary are sincerely cooperating with authorities on the probe," Toyota said in a statement.

Toyota said the federal grand jury's subpoena did not specify vehicle models.

In February, Toyota was subpoenaed by a U.S. federal grand jury seeking documents related to unintended acceleration in its vehicles and the braking system of its Prius hybrid.

Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles worldwide to address the possibility of unintended acceleration and to fix a braking problem in its Prius hybrid.

Toyota paid a record $16.4 million fine for its slow response to an accelerator pedal recall and is facing hundreds of state and federal lawsuits. Congress is considering an upgrade to auto safety laws in the aftermath of the Toyota recalls that began in October.

In Tokyo, Toyota shares fell 2.6 percent Tuesday to close at 3,055 yen.

(Published by Forbes Magazine – July 20, 2010)

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