Just the Facts:
* Toyota has issued a statement refuting a new court filing that accuses the automaker of secretly repurchasing vehicles in which owners had reported unintended acceleration.
* A hearing on Toyota's request to dismiss the lawsuits is scheduled for November 19 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California.
TORRANCE, California — Toyota is refuting a new court filing that accuses the automaker of secretly repurchasing vehicles in which owners had reported unintended acceleration.
"Recent news reports have stated that Toyota dealership technicians were able to duplicate customer claims of unintended acceleration," said Toyota late Thursday. "That Toyota repurchased the vehicles in question; and that Toyota failed to properly inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the situation. Field technical specialists and engineers were deployed in response to reports of two acceleration events that dealer technicians recently observed. At these dealerships, Toyota FTS and engineers were unable to duplicate the condition and the vehicles were repurchased from the customers for further engineering analysis."
The new charges are part of a document filed Wednesday as part of a class-action case against Toyota.
Attorneys representing Toyota owners say the automaker's technicians were able to reproduce sudden acceleration.
Toyota said in a statement it has "not been able to replicate the customers' acceleration concerns nor found any related issues or conditions in these vehicles. In fact, test-driving of these vehicles is ongoing and they are operating safely."
Toyota also said it informed NHTSA on three occasions about the two vehicles in question, including "a voluntary response to an informal NHTSA request on October 20, 2010."
Toyota faces more than 300 federal and state lawsuits related to allegations that the vehicles suddenly accelerated and couldn't be stopped. Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide in the past year for defects including pedals that stuck or snagged on floor mats.
A hearing on Toyota's request to dismiss the lawsuits is scheduled for November 19 in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California.
