Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will reveal the results Tuesday afternoon of a year-long NASA investigation into claims of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
Toyota recalled millions of vehicles last year – many because of the potential for loose floor mats to entrap the gas pedal. In other cases, the gas pedal wouldn’t fully release.
But hundreds of lawsuits allege that Toyota vehicles can also speed out of control because something is wrong with the electronic throttle control system, perhaps due to electromagnetic interference – a problem NASA knows a lot about.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a preliminary report last year suggesting that in some cases, the sudden acceleration was the fault of drivers, because they hit the gas pedal instead of the brake.
Toyota says it has failed to find any problems with its electronic throttle control systems. The company did pay record fines last year for delaying recalls.
