Toyota fined $ 180 million for 10 years of non-compliance with EPA regulations

On Thursday, Toyota reached an agreement with the U.S. government on a decade of non-compliance with Clean Air Act reporting regulations. By law, defects or recalls that affect the emission control equipment of vehicles must be reported to the Environmental Protection Agency.

But, says Susan Bodine, deputy administrator of the EPA, “[f]or a decade, Toyota failed to report mandatory information about potential defects in its cars to the EPA, keeping the agency in the dark and avoiding oversight. The EPA considers this breach to be a serious violation of the Clean Air Act. “

Manufacturers are expected to submit emissions defect information reports if they become aware of an emissions defect that affects at least 25 vehicles (or engines) or more of a particular model during a given model year. They are also required to submit voluntary emissions recall reports at the start of a recall to resolve an emissions issue, as well as quarterly recall progress reports.

However, the Justice Department says that for 10 years from 2005, Toyota delayed filing somewhere in the region 78 information reports on emissions defects – affecting millions of vehicles during that time – by throwing many of them in the knees of the EPA in 2015. Additionally, there were 20 recall reports (and 200 quarterly reports) that were never filed.

DOJ says Toyota in Japan has chosen to follow a lower emission defect reporting requirement set by the California Air Resources Board and would only file defect reports with the EPA if it also complied with the. CARB.

Toyota has struck a deal with the government, admitting and accepting responsibility for this lost decade of reporting. As a result, he will pay a civil fine of $ 180 million, the largest fine ever imposed for violating this requirement of the Clean Air Act.