News Releases

At a press conference today, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. offered key preliminary findings of technical field examination and testing that were performed on March 10 and 11 regarding an alleged “runaway Prius” event dramatically covered by national news media.

Myth: The start/stop button on the dash will not turn off my Prius while it’s running.

Fact: On early to 2010 models with a push-button smart key system, pushing and holding the button on the dash for about three seconds will shut off the ignition system on the vehicle – even if it’s in gear and moving along the roadway. Newer models may have different control logic – you only have to press the button briefly to shut down the vehicle. Check your Owner’s Manual for details on your vehicle’s system.

Recent media reports have mischaracterized how Toyota uses and discloses information from event data recorders (EDRs) in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The following points are intended to address any misconceptions or misunderstandings about this developing technology.

The Orange County, California, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas' office announced today it has plans to file a civil lawsuit against Toyota's U.S. sales arm, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. Toyota has not received the complaint and is not in a position to comment on pending litigation.

In light of recent press reports, Toyota would like to clarify its relationship with Dr. Chris Gerdes, Director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University. At Toyota’s request, Dr. Gerdes was asked to provide an independent evaluation of a preliminary report and testimony to Congress given by Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. Gerdes concluded that Professor Gilbert’s report “contains no evidence of any real world circuit malfunction that the Toyota [Electronic Throttle Control] system cannot detect.” Toyota has not compensated Dr. Gerdes for this research and analysis.

After a successful one-year partnership this past football season, the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts and Toyota have signed a new three-year contract which maintains the automaker’s status as “Official Vehicle of the Indianapolis Colts.”

Toyota has been named one of DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity®, finishing 36th overall in the publication's tenth annual survey.

For the past 20 years, Toyota and NSTA have promoted science education in classrooms through the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers Program, providing more than $9.2 million in grants and touching more than 1,147 teams of teachers and tens of thousands of students nationwide. Toyota announced today nearly $550,000 in grants will be awarded to 79 K-12 educators across the country as a part of the 2010 program. The winning programs will begin classroom implementation in June.

Media reports, citing a Wall Street Journal article, have incorrectly reported that Toyota plans to announce a new recall for the 2004-2009 Prius to address the potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced that the all-new Toyota 4Runner mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) has earned its highest ranking of “good” in their frontal offset high-speed crash ratings.