TORRANCE, Calif. – As it continues to address complaints of unintended acceleration on a number of models, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A. has established a new “SMART” business process utilizing existing product engineers, field technical specialists and specially trained technicians to quickly and aggressively investigate customer reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles in the United States.

According to the automaker, the rapid-response Swift Market Analysis Response Team (SMART) will attempt to contact customers within 24 hours of receiving a complaint of unintended acceleration to arrange for a comprehensive on-site vehicle analysis. Team members are drawn from a group of 200 technical associates located across Toyota's North American operations and will work in close partnership with Toyota and Lexus dealers.

Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America, said, "As Toyota's President Akio Toyoda told Congress in February, we are committed to listening to our customers even more intently and addressing their concerns even more promptly. Our multi-tiered SMART approach is just one of the many steps we are taking to make sure that Toyota sets an even higher standard.

"There has been a great deal of confusion, speculation and misinformation about unintended acceleration in the past several weeks. We believe judgments should be based on reliable evidence, and our SMART business process is there to help provide information upon which such judgments can be made. As we did in two recent, much-publicized cases in San Diego, Calif., and Harrison, N.Y., we will continue to work in close partnership with law enforcement agencies and federal regulators with jurisdiction over accidents whenever requested," St. Angelo said.

The size and configuration of each SMART team will vary based on the specific circumstances of each report and vehicle involved, and will incorporate engineering and product experts from across Toyota's North American operations, including: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) in Torrance, Calif.; Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America (TEMA) in Erlanger, Ky., and Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Toyota regional sales offices; Lexus area sales offices; and private distributors.

Engineers from Toyota Motor Corp. in Japan are also expected to assist in some evaluations, as are specialists from other fields if warranted by initial findings.