Toyota is set today to sign an agreement with the US government to pay a record $16.375 million fine. The NHTSA fined Toyota for failing to notify it of a sticking accelerator defect within five days of becoming aware of the problem.

It is the maximum fine allowed by law for a single violation.

Paying the fine will not release Toyota from any criminal or civil liability caused by the defect and does not preclude additional fines related to other recall issues.

Toyota failed to report the defect for at least 4 months after becoming aware of the problem, according to documents obtained by the government.

Once Toyota signs the paperwork, it will have 30 days to pay the fine.

In response to continued issues of unintended acceleration, Toyota has created a process for “quick evaluation of unintended acceleration reports.” The program, called the “SMART Business Process” (“Swift Market Analysis Response Team”) is intended to speed up the process by which Toyota deals with each report of unintended acceleration.

In each case, Toyota hopes to respond to customers within 24 hours to set up a “comprehensive on-site vehicle analysis.”

Toyota hopes to diffuse complaints caused by its poor handling of recent massive recalls- both from a legal standpoint as well as from a customer-satisfaction standpoint. It also hopes that the program will restore some faith in its quality.

It may be too little, too late once again for Toyota as it continues to trail behind its problems and customer concerns. Given the severity of this issue (from either a safety or even just a PR perspective), a 24-hour response time is something Toyota should have been doing some time ago. Advertising it may just seem disingenuous.

Toyota and the NHTSA have both released initial reports regarding the reported “runaway Prius” driven by Jim Sikes in a much publicized incident that occurred on March 8.

Sikes claimed that the accelerator in his Prius had become stuck and that he was unable to stop the vehicle. ToyoLand.com reported on that incident and then reported on inconsistencies that were present in Mr. Sikes’ story.

Now, the preliminary reports show that Mr. Sikes’ story is unlikely. The NHTSA reports that it has been unable to duplicate events as Mr. Sikes claims that they happened. Toyota takes it a step further, stating, “Toyota engineers believe that it would be extremely difficult for the Prius to be driven at a continuous high speed with more than light brake-pedal pressure, and that the assertion that the vehicle could not be stopped with the brakes is fundamentally inconsistent with basic vehicle design and the investigation observations.”

Toyoata’s statement adds, “These findings suggest that there should be further examination of Mr. Sikes account of the events of March 8.”

Analysis of the onboard computer shows that during the drive, there were repeated, quick applications of the brake and the accelerator- as if someone had intentionally “ridden” the brakes. A firm press of the brake would automatically cut the accelerator- a design issue with the Prius (all hybrids) because pressing both pedals would ultimately cause the electric engine to overload and seize up.

In fact, data indicates that the brakes were pressed more than 250 times during the incident and that they worked normally each time.

Brake wear on the Prius seemed to support the electronic testing, as front brakes were found to have overheated from being partially depressed but were still functional. Rear brakes were undamaged.

All systems in the Prius that would have prevented unintended acceleration in the vehicle were working and there was no indication of mechanical or electrical interference with the accelerator.

Jim Sikes, driver of the widely reported “runaway Prius” earlier this week, has told his story. However, ToyoLand.com has discovered potential inconsistencies in Mr. Sikes’ story.

The first question- one investigators will be looking at closely- is how the car was able to accelerate while the brake was depressed. The Prius comes with a brake override system that should automatically halt acceleration once the brake is depressed. If the problem was caused by “unintended acceleration,” then the braking system would have had to fail as well.

Second, Mr. Sikes claims to have taken his recall notice to a dealer two weeks ago only to be told that his car was not a part of the recall. Although the 2008 Prius he was driving was involved in a November, 2009 recall for the floormat issue, no recall letters have been sent to Prius drivers yet- those are scheduled to be sent out later this year as part of a “rolling” recall that has begun with other Toyota vehicles. Toyota has, however, sent preliminary notices to Prius owners informing them that a recall notice will be sent. That notification also suggests that drivers remove any floor mats from the driver’s side (Sikes had not removed his floor mats) and details clear instructions as to how to stop a car involved in unintended acceleration (Sikes specifically claims to have done exactly what he shouldn’t have according to these instructions).

Third, Sikes claims that he reached down with his hand and pulled the accelerator hard enough to cause discomfort in his shoulder even after the incident had ended. Perhaps he is particularly flexible or has very long arms, but this is a task that most drivers would find difficult even with the car parked- much less with the car accelerating out of control through traffic.

Fourth, the incident took place at speeds up to 94 mph over a period of 23 minutes. If Mr. Sikes had been “standing” on the brake for that whole time, as he claims, and assuming that the brake override system had simultaneously failed, there is a question as to whether there would be any brakes left at all when the car did come to a stop. The CHP Officer involved does claim to have “smelled the brakes” and to have “seen the brake lights coming on.” (emphasis given by ToyoLand.com)

Finally (for now), if the brakes had failed to stop the car, the emergency brake would have added little to the solution. The emergency brake in the Prius is simply a mechanical means to apply the drum brakes for the rear wheels- the same brakes that were supposedly depressed hard enough to cause an odor.

One final note- Jim Sikes’ story is certainly going to be questioned in coming days. One has to try to anticipate any perceived motive that he might have for fabricating or embellishing his story. To that end, our research indicates that Mr. Sikes had auditioned for a California Lottery TV game show. He is a “longtime lottery player,” who has won $55,000 in the lottery. He is a self-proclaimed, “real estate agent to celebrities.” The agency he runs even has a fleet of– PT Cruisers with the company advertising painted over the entire vehicle.

On Monday, March 8, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) unit was dispatched in response to a 911 call from a motorist driving a Prius on Interstate 8 in San Diego County who said the accelerator pedal was stuck. Toyota has dispatched a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer assistance.

The 61-year-old driver, Jim Sikes, was driving on a hilly section of highway when his accelerator became stuck. The car reached speeds in excess of 90mph. Dispatchers at the 911 call center tried to talk him through stopping the car, but nothing seemed to work. Sikes even claims to have reached down to manually pull the accelerator up, but it remained stuck.

The ordeal lasted just over 20 minutes. Sikes claims that there was nothing wrong with his floor mat at the time of the incident. He says that he had brought his car into a Toyota dealer two weeks ago but had been told that his vehicle was not a part of the recall.

In its statement, Toyota says, “The report states that the CHP unit slowed in front of the vehicle and acted as a brake to bring it to a stop.” However, this appears to be a misunderstanding by Toyota, as the reports actually claim that the vehicles never came in physical contact with each other, either during or following the incident.

CHP Officer Todd Neibert caught up with the Prius and gave instructions through the patrol car’s public address system. He had Sikes simultaneously depress the brake and apply the parking brake. This tactic brought the car’s speed to under 50 mph and Sikes was then able to turn the car off. It then rolled to a stop and Officer Neibert positioned his cruiser in front of the Prius as a precaution.

Sikes does state that he was unable to hold the phone during his 911 call because he was concentrating on driving. He also states that he had initially been reluctant to try switching the car into neutral or turning it off out of fear that he would be hit from behind. It wasn’t until he received instructions from the CHP officer next to him that he tried to actually power down the car. At that point, he states that he hit the power button several times before it responded.

In a situation where a vehicle is involved in unintended acceleration, it should respond if the driver shifts to neutral, allowing the car to be stopped with the brakes. To power down a vehicle that, like the Prius, has a “power” button, you must depress the button for at least three seconds before it will respond.

Remember that any vehicle may have unintended acceleration issues for a variety of reasons, the problem is not limited to Toyota. If your vehicle is equipped with a “key-on” starter system, be sure that you do not turn the key all the way to off- this may cause the steering wheel to lock among other problems.

The NHTSA is investigating at least ten reports of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles that have already been serviced as part of recall efforts by Toyota. No details are available regarding the incidents at this time, but NHTSA is actively reaching out to Toyota owners whose cars have been serviced as a part of the recall.

If the investigation indicates a continued problem with sudden acceleration, it would be an indication that there remains an underlying problem with the design- perhaps, as some have suggested, with the electronic throttle control.

Such a problem could spark further recalls and more damage to Toyota’s battered reputation.