U.S. demands Toyota recall documents

The U.S. Transportation Department is formally demanding documents related to Toyota's massive recalls in the United States. 

The department wants to know if the automaker conducted three of those recalls in a timely manner.

The legal documents, delivered to Toyota and obtained by The Associated Press, demand that the company tell the U.S. government when and how Toyota learned of the safety defects in millions of vehicles. 

Investigators are looking into whether Toyota discovered the problems during pre-production or post-production of the affected vehicles.

At the same time, Toyota said it will temporarily idle production at two new assembly plants in Texas and Kentucky while it deals with the fallout of its expanding recall scandal.

Toyota spokesman Mike Goss said a plant in San Antonio, Texas, has scheduled production breaks for the weeks of March 15 and April 12.

A plant in Georgetown, Ky., has scheduled a non-production day on Feb. 26 and may not produce vehicles on three other days in March and April, Goss said.

Toyota idled its two manufacturing facilities in Woodstock and Cambridge, Ont., in late January as it dealt with the early stages of its recall crisis. But on Feb. 8, production resumed on all production lines at Canadian Toyota manufacturing plants.

Workers at the U.S. plants will be retained, paid and receive additional training during the shutdowns, Goss said. The production halt is related to the recalls, he confirmed.

The Kentucky plant builds the Camry, Avalon and Venza for Toyota. The Texas plant manufactures the Tundra pickup truck.

Keeping a lid on inventory

The automaker wants to ensure dealers don't build up excessive inventories as they try to clear the cars still on their lots.

"Our dealers are busy trying to sell those vehicles, but we can't let inventory back up on top of that," Goss said.

Globally, Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled 8.5 million vehicles over the last four months, including about 270,000 in Canada, because of problems with gas pedals, floor mats, steering columns and brakes.

Toyota has been fixing the vehicles under recall. Toyota vice-president Bob Carter told reporters at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando, Fla., on Monday that the company had repaired about 500,000 of the 2.3 million U.S. vehicles recalled over a potentially sticky gas pedal.