Toyota Employees Quit College Board Following Critical Study

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Two Toyota Motor Corp. managers resigned from an advisory panel at Southern Illinois University after a professor from the school told a congressional committee the automaker’s vehicles may have electronics defects.

The employees, one of whom had been on the Carbondale, Illinois, college’s automotive technology department advisory committee for more than 20 years, resigned this week, said SIU spokesman Dave Gross. Toyota executives met March 2 with Professor David W. Gilbert to discuss his findings of weaknesses in Toyota’s electronic system, Gross said.

“It’s fair to say Toyota would have liked to have had a chance to review his results before they were presented in a congressional hearing,” Gross said. “We’ve had a long relationship with Toyota, and we’re just trying to facilitate communication.”

Toyota has drawn fire at three congressional hearings in the last two weeks for dismissing electronics as a possible cause of unintended acceleration episodes that have forced recalls of more than 8 million models worldwide. Toyota has blamed sticky accelerators and floor mats for the episodes, which the government on March 2 said have been linked in consumer complaints to 43 crashes that caused 52 deaths and 38 injuries.

Terry Martin, manager of customer quality for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana Inc., resigned March 1, and Neil R. Swartz, corporate manager for North American Parts Operations, Toyota Motor Sales USA, resigned Feb. 28, according to copies of resignation letters verified by the university.

‘Not Punitive’

The resignations “were to avoid any suggestion or appearance that Toyota board members would exert influence on SIU in any way,” said Mike Michels, a spokesman for Toyota’s U.S. unit. “It’s not punitive in any way. We continue to support their program. It’s an excellent school, and we have a number of alumni at Toyota from Southern Illinois.”

The identical two-paragraph letters, on Toyota stationery, said the executives were resigning “in view of recent events.”

“In addition, Toyota strongly recommends that Southern Illinois University cooperate with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and promptly respond to any requests that relate to any of the Toyota or Lexus vehicles worked on by Professor Gilbert,” the executives said in the letters.

Toyota has donated $100,000 to the SIU campus over the last two years for a new Transportation Education Center. Construction of the facility, which will house automotive and aeronautic classes, is to begin in the spring, Gross said.

“The resignations are unfortunate and we are disappointed in the decision to render them, but we do feel that over time, given our program’s outstanding reputation and the long partnership we have enjoyed with Toyota, that we will restore this important industry relationship,” Gross said.

None as Easy

Gilbert, who has taught classes on auto technology since 1981 at various colleges, said in testimony before a House panel last week that he was able to isolate weaknesses in Toyota’s electronic throttles that aren’t found in units from other automakers.

“None were quite as easy as the Toyota system to crack,” Gilbert said at the time.

Asked why Toyota wasn’t able to figure this out, Gilbert said, “Maybe they didn’t ask the right questions.”

Toyota executives told a Senate panel this week they haven’t found evidence that electronic failure is a cause of any of the incidents. They said they would continue to study the possibility.

NHTSA said yesterday it has had at least 10 reports of new acceleration incidents in Toyota vehicles that had already been repaired by the automaker under the recalls.

‘Piqued My Curiosity’

Gilbert is being paid for his work by Safety Research & Strategies Inc. of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, a research firm that gathers data from NHTSA and other sources for plaintiff’s attorneys and consumers.

He said during his questioning Feb. 23 that he contacted the group because the reports about Toyota’s electronic system “piqued my curiosity.” Sean Kane, president of Safety Research, said he has paid Gilbert $1,800, and reimburses him at a rate of $150 an hour.

Gilbert followed the proper university procedures for accepting outside work in taking on the project, Gross said.

Toyota has freed up “unlimited” funds for its own tests from consultant Exponent Inc. to review electronics on behalf of the automaker, Toyota U.S. Sales President James Lentz said during the Feb. 23 hearing. The company was able to duplicate some of Gilbert’s results in tests the night before the hearing, Lentz said.