The negligence of Toyota toward innocent American consumers seems to know no end. The latest sign of Toyota putting profits over public safety is found in an internal Toyota document from July 6, 2009, in which a company executive bragged that it was saving $100 million by negotiating a limited recall for Lexus ES and Toyota Camry vehicles for accelerator malfunctions.

That limited recall may have saved Toyota millions at the time, but Toyota’s failure to address the problem fully led to more stuck accelerator car crash accidents and what’s now become the largest recall in its history: more than 8 million vehicles.

The month after the Toyota executive boasted about saving money on the limited recall, a family of four riding in a Lexus in California was killed when its gas pedal stuck to a floor mat. It wasn’t until November of 2009 that Toyota issued a full recall to fix the gas pedals of its defective products.

And in December of 2009, four Jehovah’s Witnesses were killed in a Dallas suburb when their Toyota Avalon mysteriously accelerated through an intersection and crashed upside down in a pond, even though the floor mats had been removed.

As we’ve learned, Toyota and Lexus cars can have problems beyond floor mats snagging on an  accelerator. Some Toyota gas pedals have internal defects which lead to rapid acceleration, while other Toyota-made vehicles have brake problems, and still more have defective drive shafts.

But the real defect seems to lie at the top: in Toyota’s management. The company even has been shown to have suppressed information pertinent to SUV rollover lawsuits. Now U.S. prosecutors are opening a criminal investigation into the automaker’s safety flaws.

The internal document noted above was part of a company presentation last July on Toyota’s government relations.  At that time Toyota complained that the Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were “not industry friendly” under President Obama.

A House committee has a copy of Toyota’s presentation, in preparation for questioning Toyota president Akio Toyoda on Wednesday. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are beginning a criminal investigation of Toyota’s safety problems.

Olivia Alair, a NHTSA spokesperson, told CNN that automakers have a responsibility “to come forward when there is a problem. Unfortunately, this document is very telling. And that’s why (DOT) Secretary (Ray) LaHood has been saying we’re going to hold Toyota’s feet to the fire and make sure they do what’s necessary to make their cars safe for the driving public.”

Toyota insists it’s been doing that all along. But that’s hard to buy when the company considered it a “victory” to negotiate a limited recall for defective vehicles which later would kill innocent Americans.

Tell us, Toyota: Do you have a right to complain our government is “not industry friendly” when your own vehicles and practices have led to the deaths of American consumers whose purchases have helped build your wealth? If anything isn’t friendly, that’s it — and that’s an understatement.

If you or a loved one has been harmed due to Toyota’s negligence, alert a car accident lawyer or defective products lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates. The longtime Texas personal injury law firm will fight for your right to financial compensation. Fill out the free case review form on this page or call 1-800-505-1414 and launch the process of gaining your recovery.

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