Toyota acceleration complaints landed in Ottawa before recall

OTTAWA — Transport Canada received 17 complaints regarding unexplained acceleration issues in Toyota vehicles in the three years before the company began a major series of safety recalls, senior government officials told federal MPs on Thursday.

But speaking at a parliamentary committee investigating the issue, a Transport Canada investigator also blasted the vehicle manufacturer for not sharing complaints about "sticky pedal" acceleration problems, in the midst of an investigation into the safety of floor mats interfering with pedals.

Trevor Lehouillier, the head of defect investigations and recalls, said the government was only informed by Toyota about the defect with accelerators in certain vehicle models on January 21, several months after the company and the government had launched their own investigations into floor mats that were getting stuck on the accelerator.

The government said that Toyota had received five complaints regarding the sticky pedal problem in Canada, along with another five in the U.S., prior to issuing the recall and reporting the concern to the government.

"As you might imagine, I was quite surprised and appalled" that Toyota didn't inform the government it was aware of the sticky pedal safety concern, Lehouillier said in response to questions from Conservative MP Jeff Watson.

Opposition MPs on the committee questioned whether Transport Canada could have done more to investigate the complaints that it had received about acceleration problems between January 2006 and September 2009. But the federal officials suggested that the complaints did not appear to be unusual when compared to feedback on other vehicle manufacturers and models.

"There was nothing in those complaints that would have given us (reason) for concern in Toyota vehicles," said Gerard A. McDonald, associate assistant deputy minister of the department's safety and security group.

When asked whether companies could conceal evidence of defects, Lehouillier said they were required by law to disclose safety concerns, but that "anything is possible."

In some heated exchanges with Liberal MP Joe Volpe and NDP MP Brian Masse, the officials said they had enough staff to monitor safety issues adequately and protect consumers.

Masse also questioned why the government department had issued a release in the fall saying it "applauds" the manufacturer's efforts to improve vehicle safety.

But the officials added that the department continues to investigate all of the concerns and potential defects.

Transport Canada also released its records on complaints received over the past 10 years from motorists regarding Toyota vehicles. Some of the cases made reference to motorists in Quebec who had learned about some of the risks from JE, a French-language consumer protection television show, prior to the official recall on January 21.

They often included serious accidents that left many cars totalled after accelerating into other cars or walls, but sometimes were resolved without collisions.

"He was finally able to stop the vehicle as he was nearing an intersection by shifting in neutral," said a summary of a complaint about a 2009 Toyota Corolla from January 12. "The vehicle slowed down and fiddling with the accelerator pedal finally released it."

The officials said there are no confirmed cases of fatalities related to the problem in Canada, and they are satisfied Toyota is meeting all of its legal obligations under vehicle safety legislation.

Bloc Quebecois transport critic Mario Laframboise, along with Volpe, the Liberal critic, both said the Harper government doesn't appear to be doing as much to investigate the concerns as its counterparts in the U.S.

"They had three months and were doing nothing, and were watching what was going on in the United States," said Volpe after the parliamentary committee wrapped up.

But Brian Jean, the parliamentary secretary to Transport Minister John Baird, said he believed the department investigators were doing a good job.

"They seem to be certainly on top of it, and investigating and aware of all the different issues that may flow from this particular situation with Toyota and the pedals and the floor mats," said Jean, the MP for Fort McMurray-Athabasca, Alta. "They're keeping Canadians safe, which is what we're here for."

Toyota officials are expected to appear before the parliamentary committee next week.