JACKSON, MIss. (WTVA) -- Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says the state has joined others in a settlement with Toyota Motor Corporation over allegations the company concealed safety issues related to unintended acceleration.
In a news release on Monday, Hood says Mississippi will receive $561,288.60 as its share of the $29 million agreement with the company and 30 states.
The state of Alabama announced last week it would receive $641,995.
The settlement covers consumer protection claims and the company has agreed to provide additional restitution and incentives to vehicle owners to promote compliance with unintended acceleration safety recalls.
Hood says Toyota is also restricted from advertising the safety of vehicles without sound engineering data to back the safety claims.
He says the investigation showed poor communication between the company's headquarters in Japan and its U. S. operations were partially to blame for the failure to report the accelerator pedal problems in a timely manner.
Under the agreement, Toyota is prohibited from reselling a vehicle affected by the safety defects without notifying the buyer and certifying it has been fixed.
Toyota is also prohibited from reselling a vehicle it reacquired with alleged safety defects without informing the purchaser about the alleged defects and certifying that the reacquired vehicle has been fixed.
The company is also prohibited from misrepresenting the purpose of an inspection or repair when directing consumers to bring their vehicles to a dealer for inspection or repair.
Toyota also must exclude the "Toyota Certified Used Vehicles" or "Lexus Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles" categories for any vehicle acquired through lemon law proceedings or voluntarily repurchased by Toyota to ensure customer satisfaction.
For restitution, or to have questions answered, consumers may call Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Lexus at (800) 255-3987.
