Relatives of a family killed in a high-speed crash that highlighted safety flaws of Toyotas and led to the recalls of millions of vehicles have sued the world’s largest car maker, according to a lawsuit filed today.

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.

Japanese car giant Toyota has apologised to its customers and says a piece of steel about the size of a postage stamp will cure the accelerator problem that led to the worldwide recall of millions of vehicles.