A senior Takata executive yesterday defended the Japanese company’s rejection of a nationwide US recall of its potentially deadly airbags, insisting that testing data did not back such an action.

Voice-activated smartphones and dashboard infotainment systems may be making drivers even more distracted, new studies have found.

US safety regulators have fined General Motors $35m (€25.53m) for delays in recalling small cars with faulty ignition switches that are linked to at least 13 deaths.

The US government has announced a 1.2 billion US dollar settlement with Toyota and filed a criminal charge alleging the company defrauded consumers by issuing misleading statements about safety issues.

US officials plan to make carmakers equip new cars and light trucks with technology that lets vehicles communicate with each other in a bid to avoid deadly crashes.

A US jury has found car giant Toyota responsible for a 2007 crash that left one woman dead and another seriously injured after a Camry accelerated suddenly.

A jury has found that Toyota is not liable for the death of a woman who was killed when her car apparently accelerated and crashed despite her efforts to stop.

Thousands of US motorists are driving around with potentially lethal counterfeit air bags fitted to their cars, it has emerged.

The US government has expanded an investigation into fires that can start in the doors of several Toyota models, adding 600,000 Camrys and other vehicles to the probe.

Safety regulators in the US are expected to make rear-view cameras mandatory on all new cars from 2014.

Nissan is recalling more than 79,000 vehicles in the US to fix possible petrol leaks.

US road safety experts are studying complaints that engines could catch fire in 36,000 Mini Cooper S cars.

Toyota has agreed to pay the US government a record $32.4m (€24.5m) in additional fines to settle an investigation into its handling of two recalls, a source said today.

Tens of thousands of Mini Cooper cars are being checked in America for potential power steering problems.

Mazda is recalling more than 300,000 Mazda 3 and 5 vehicles in North America to repair problems with the power-steering system that could lead to crashes.

Unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles may have been a factor in the deaths of 89 people over the past decade, upgrading the number of deaths possibly linked to the massive recalls, the US government said.

Nasa and the National Academy of Sciences are joining the US government’s effort to find out what caused the sudden acceleration problems that led to car giant Toyota’s massive recalls.

BEFORE he called the emergency services, James Sikes says he reached down with his hand to loosen the “stuck” accelerator on his 2008 Toyota Prius, his other hand on the steering wheel. The pedal didn’t move.

Toyota officials claimed they saved the company $100m (€73m) by successfully negotiating with the US government on a limited recall of floor mats in some Toyota and Lexus vehicles, according to new documents.

Embattled car maker Toyota and the US government are probing complaints that the popular Corolla model is difficult to steer straight, it emerged today.

Toyota took full-page ads in major Japanese newspapers today to apologise for massive recalls and began fixing braking faults on two problem hybrid models as pressure mounted on the car maker to come clean over defects.

The president of car giant Toyota faced a huge backlash from the Japanese media today for failing to offer a convincing explanation over the massive worldwide car recall.

The US Transportation Department has opened an investigation into brake problems in the Toyota Prius 2010 model after the Japanese carmaker acknowledged design problems with the brakes in its prized gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota is recalling more than two million cars in the US over fears of sticking accelerator pedals just, months after another major problem affected massive numbers.

Toyota is to replace accelerator pedals on four million vehicles in the United States after fears they could catch on floor mats and cause an accident.

Ford recalled 3.8 million pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles today for a cruise control switch suspected of causing engine fires.

Ford is recalling 358,857 Focus cars in the US because their rear passenger doors may not latch properly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today.

Bridgestone/Firestone has said it will no longer sell tyres to Ford in America because the car maker tried to blame the firm for thousands of accidents.

Nearly 500 luxury cars have been recalled after a Rolls-Royce exploded when it was fuelled for the first time.