As the recall scrutiny coming against General Motors intensifies and two German automakers outlined separate smaller campaigns, Toyota closed the book on a federal recall investigation that first brought plenty of negative attention to the OEM more than five years ago.

On Wednesday, Toyota said it reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to resolve its investigation initiated in February 2010 into the communications and decision-making processes related to the company’s 2009 and 2010 recalls to address potential “sticking” accelerator pedals and floor mat entrapment. 

As part of the agreement, Toyota will make a payment totaling $1.2 billion.

“At the time of these recalls, we took full responsibility for any concerns our actions may have caused customers, and we rededicated ourselves to earning their trust,” Toyota Motor North America chief legal officer Christopher Reynolds said.  “In the more than four years since these recalls, we have gone back to basics at Toyota to put our customers first.”

“We have made fundamental changes across our global operations to become a more responsive company — listening better to our customers’ needs and proactively taking action to serve them,” Reynolds continued:

“Specifically, we have taken a number of steps that have enabled us to enhance quality control, respond more quickly to customer concerns, strengthen regional autonomy and speed decision-making.,” he said. “And, we’re committed to continued improvement in everything we do to keep building trust in our company, our people and our products. Importantly, Toyota addressed the sticky pedal and floor mat entrapment issues with effective and durable solutions, and we stand behind the safety and quality of our vehicles.

“Entering this agreement, while difficult, is a major step toward putting this unfortunate chapter behind us. We remain extremely grateful to our customers who have continued to stand by Toyota. Moving forward, they can be confident that we continue to take our responsibilities to them seriously,” Reynolds went on to say.

Some industry analysts have compared all of the turmoil Toyota faced with this incident to what GM might encounter regarding the recall of more than 1.3 million older vehicles because of ignition switch issues that have led to more than a dozen deaths, according to federal investigations. New GM chief executive officer Mary Barra is reportedly going to testify at an upcoming congressional hearing as lawmakers and regulators want to know why the OEM reportedly knew about problems almost 10 years ago but didn’t take action until last month.

“The timing of this settlement is interesting because it means the government will finalizing the last major automotive recall, Toyota’s unintended acceleration, just as it gears up for the next big recall related to GM’s ignition switch,” Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer said.

“The cases are similar because they both involve a long, established history of vehicle incidents that took years to identify and address,” Brauer continued. “While the $1 billion price tag represents a costly resolution, Toyota can put this issue behind it to fully focus on current and future challenges in a highly competitive market.

“Conversely, GM is just getting started on its path to resolution and will probably be working to resolve the ignition switch recall for some time,” he added.

Campaigns from Porsche & Volkswagen

Meanhile, Volkswagen recently notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of an upcoming voluntary safety recall affecting approximately 150,201 Volkswagen Passat vehicles from the 2012 and 2013 model years.

The automaker said it is possible that, in instances where the hood is closed roughly (or dropped from a certain height), the resulting vibration and/or impact can cause a low-beam headlight bulb to lose electrical contact.

“If this happens, a warning in the instrument cluster will immediately alert the driver. Failing illumination of the low beam bulb may lead to reduced visibility of the vehicle,” VW said.

The automaker said there have been no crashes or injuries reported regarding this issue.

Volkswagen plans to notify all owners of affected vehicles and will instruct them to arrange for an appointment with an authorized franchised dealer.

At no cost to customers, dealers will install an improved bulb fitting. Additionally, the hood bumpers will be inspected and, if necessary, adjusted or replaced to help prevent the hood from contacting the headlight assembly if the hood is dropped during closing.

“Volkswagen considers the safety and satisfaction of its consumers and passengers to be a top priority,” the company said.

Meanwhile, according to the Kicking Tires blog from Cars.com, Porsche is taking a major step to protect owners of the 2014 911 GT3.

According to the post, Porsche first investigated the cause of engine fires in two European editions of this model and told owners of all 785 vehicles worldwide to stop driving their vehicles. The report indicated the engine fire resulted from loose fasteners on the engine's connecting rods — part of what fastens the base of the rod to the crankshaft — which allowed oil from the crankshaft bearings to leak.

Now, Cars.com reported that the automaker says it will replace the engines in all of those vehicles.

Cars.com noted Porsche called the move a “corrective action derived from intensive internal analyses.” No recall has been issued by NHTSA.

Toyota Recaps Recent Moves

Turning back to the settlement announced by Toyota, officials highlighted the substantive actions the company has voluntarily taken since the recalls for unintended acceleration include:

• Launching rapid-response teams to investigate customer concerns quickly.

• Committing $50 million in 2011 to launch Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., to partner with more than 16 universities and institutions across North America on safety advances that will be shared to benefit the entire auto industry and society.

• Expanding its network of field quality offices to improve customer responsiveness.

• Enhancing regional autonomy, including naming the first American CEO of Toyota’s North American Region as well as chief quality officers for North America and other principal regions — all of whom have direct lines to president Akio Toyoda.

• Improving its quality control process.

• Extending the new vehicle development cycle by four weeks to help ensure reliability and safety.

Under the agreement, Toyota explained the U.S. government agrees to defer prosecution and then dismiss its case, as long as Toyota makes the required monetary payment, abides by the terms of the agreement and continues to cooperate with regulators.

The automaker added the agreement also provides for an independent monitor to review policies and procedures relating to Toyota’s safety communications process, its process for internally sharing vehicle accident information and its process for preparing and sharing certain technical reports.

Toyota said it will record $1.2 billion in after-tax charges against earnings in the fiscal year ending March 31 for costs relating to the agreement.

Strong Reaction From Federal Officials After Agreements

Along with the $1.2 billion penalty, the Department of Justice announced a deferred prosecution agreement with Toyota under which the company admits that it misled U.S. consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements about two safety issues affecting its vehicles, each of which caused a type of unintended acceleration.

“Rather than promptly disclosing and correcting safety issues about which they were aware, Toyota made misleading public statements to consumers and gave inaccurate facts to members of Congress,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

“When car owners get behind the wheel, they have a right to expect that their vehicle is safe,” Holder continued. “If any part of the automobile turns out to have safety issues, the car company has a duty to be upfront about them, to fix them quickly, and to immediately tell the truth about the problem and its scope. Toyota violated that basic compact. 

“Other car companies should not repeat Toyota’s mistake: a recall may damage a company’s reputation, but deceiving your customers makes that damage far more lasting,” Holder went on to say.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx insisted that safety is his department’s top priority.

“Throughout this recall process, NHTSA investigators worked tirelessly to make sure that Toyota recalled vehicles with defects causing unintended acceleration, and to determine when they learned of it, and as we learned today, they succeeded in this effort in spite of extraordinary challenges,” Foxx said.

“Today’s penalties follow NHTSA’s own record civil penalties of more than $66 million — together, they send a powerful message to all manufacturers to follow our recall requirements or they will face serious consequences,” he added.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York closed with a strong opinion about what prosecutors believe Toyota did.

“Toyota stands charged with a criminal offense because it cared more about savings than safety and more about its own brand and bottom line than the truth,” Bharara said  “In its zeal to stanch bad publicity in 2009 and 2010, Toyota misled regulators, misled customers, and even misstated the facts to Congress. 

“The tens of millions of drivers in America have an absolute right to expect that the companies manufacturing their cars are not lying about serious safety issues, are not slow-walking safety fixes and are not playing games with their lives,” Bharara went on to say. “Companies that make inherently dangerous products must be maximally transparent, not two-faced.  That is why we have undertaken this landmark enforcement action.  And the entire auto industry should take notice.”