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Toyota nearing $1B settlement of unintended acceleration criminal probe

According to those all-too-nebulous "people familiar with the matter," Toyota is close to a settlement with the US federal government to end a criminal probe over its long-running unintended acceleration fiasco. Though Toyota has never admitted guilt, the deal could reportedly crest a billion dollars and would likely include a criminal deferred prosecution agreement, and while we're not legal experts, The Wall Street Journal explains that such a deal would "[force Toyota] to accept responsibility while avoiding the potentially crippling consequences of federal criminal convictions."
The report from WSJ also suggests that Toyota is facing charges that it "made false or incomplete disclosures" to various government agencies regarding possible defects to its cars. Such charges may include mail and wire fraud violations. Toyota has already paid out fines totaling $66.2 million to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because it failed to report safety defects in a timely manner.
This deal with the federal government is not related to the billion-dollar class-action settlement reached with Toyota owners over falling vehicle values, and it's also different from the roughly 400 lawsuits still in courts alleging personal injury of wrongful death due to cases of unintended acceleration. In other words, don't expect to hear the end of such courtroom verdicts and settlements anytime soon...

Toyota says freezing temps pose zero problems for fuel cell vehicles

Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles are not afraid of one thing – freezing cold weather. That's the latest from two companies that have been driving the cars in frostbite temperatures in the Northeast recently. Proton Onsite runs a fleet of 10 Toyota FCHV-adv fuel cell vehicles out of its Connecticut headquarters and discovered that the snow and three-degree temperature didn't restrict range. Mark Schiller, Proton vice president of business development, said in a statement that, "I went out to my Toyota FCHV-adv and brushed off a foot of snow before starting the car right up. No problem." While electric vehicles can have their driving range reduced in extreme temperatures (but not always), Proton Onsite hasn't seen that happen in the Polar Vortex. They're performing flawlessly in freezing temperatures even with the heaters blasting, and are continuing to hit their range of about 300 miles, Schiller said. Air Products, based on Allentown, PA, has had a similar experience. The FCHV-adv has had great performance under harsh conditions, according to Nick Mittica, commercial manager, hydrogen energy systems. Employees drove the fuel cell vehicle during one of Pennsylvania's worst winters in recent memory and, you guessed it, "No problem." Toyota says that has put its fuel cell fleet through the wringer, logging millions of miles over the last decade, to make sure performance can be delivered within extreme weather conditions. Toyota engineers spent weeks testing cold weather start up, performance and durability up in Yellowknife, Canada. Temperature can reach -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) at that location. On other end of the scale, Toyota was able to verify that its FCVs can handle driving through heat in Death Valley national park. We heard the same from Mercedes the other day, too. Extreme weather functionality is apparently something automakers want to make absolutely sure the public doesn't worry about. Jan. 30, 2014 – Record low temperatures have stranded many East Coast drivers, but not those driving a Toyota fuel cell hybrid vehicle. Connecticut-based Proton Onsite, which operates a fleet of ten Toyota FCHV-adv fuel cell vehicles, says that even in single digit temperatures, the FCHV-adv shows no signs of frostbite. "We had another snow storm Tuesday night and this morning the temperature was 3 degrees," says Mark Schiller, Proton vice president of business development.

Toyota issues stop sale on 6 key models over seat fabrics; recall possible? [UPDATE]

Toyota has issued a stop-sale order on six of its core models due to concerns about the flammability of certain seat fabrics. The issue rests not with the cloth and leather covers themselves, but with a piece of seat heater beneath them that fails to meet US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for flame retardancy.
There have been no reports of fires or injuries from the affected cars, which include some of Toyota's biggest volume sellers. 2013 and 2014 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon and Sienna models equipped with heated seats are included in the stop-sale, as are 2014 Tundra pickups and Corolla sedans. The exact number of vehicles with the non-compliant materials are still being tabulated, according to The Detroit Free Press.
According to a Toyota spokesman, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been notified, although it remains to be seen if a recall will be issued. Outside of a full recall, though, it's unclear how Toyota will deal with vehicles equipped with the flammable materials that have already found homes.