Toyota to pay record $17.35 million fine for U.S. defect reporting lapse

Toyota Motor Corp has been ordered to pay a record fine of $17.35 million for failing to report a safety defect to the U.S. government in a timely manner, the U.S. Department of Transportation said. The fine is the highest civil penalty ever paid by an automaker to the department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for violations related to a single recall, the department said on Tuesday. The penalty is related to the delay in reporting a floor mat pedal entrapment issue, causing unwanted acceleration in 2010 Lexus RX 350 models.