I read an AP article that said Toyota just paid a $180,000,000 fine for dragging their feet on notifying owners of emissions issues in their cars. Toyota said they did nothing wrong, but if that’s true, why did they pay it? Surely if they could get off in court, the court costs would be orders of magnitude less than the fine. Note that this occurred over the last 5 years, almost all of it in the current administration.
That’s because everyone claims to be innocent, even when there is a boatload of evidence proving their guilt.
2 Likes
I have no idea why they would pay it rather than fight but my gut always tells me there may be something going on behind the scenes that will aid them legally and financially.
According to the story this happened for 10 years starting in 2005.
1 Like
Instead of issuing recalls Toyota has been offering a warranty extension on certain failing emission components;
2007 to 2010 Tundra/Sequoia
http://media.fixed-ops.com/Toy_WarrantyBulletins/ztq.pdf
One notification is mailed out and the owner must keep it for reference should the problem occur. With a recall all vehicles must be brought to the dealer for repair or inspection and notices continue on a quarterly bases.
A corporation never admits guilt until a court forces it to; almost all settlements include non-admission of guilt. Toyota can hire the most expensive lawyers and accountants in the country, calculate its expected costs accurately. They also have public relations experts to predict reputational costs. I’m sure they calculated everything better than anyone else can. They have huge reputation; it wouldn’t take to much of a ding to be worth $180M.