It takes years to build a reputation, but just a moment to ruin it all. Toyota and its recall saga encompasses that fact just about perfectly, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launches a probe into the time-line of three recent Toyota recalls, to investigate whether the manufacturer conducted them in a timely manner or not.  All auto manufacturers, foreign and domestic, are required to notify NHTSA within five days of determining that a safety defect exists and are supposed to promptly conduct a recall.

Announcing on its official site, NHTSA clearly states that it will use its statutory authority to obtain documents from Toyota to determine if the automaker followed protocols while conducting the recalls. Toyota will now have to provide the papers that document when and how the company learned of the defects that affected approximately 6 million vehicles in the U.S. alone. The officials will scrape out details as to whether the defects were found during pre-production or post-production of the vehicles, and also whether Toyota was spontaneous enough to respond to the complaints or not. The documents will include all the relevant information for the investigation starting from production data, incidents, complaints, warranty complaints, copies of tests, dates of meetings, time lines, and supplier information.

“Safety recalls are very serious matters and automakers are required to quickly report defects,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The investigators will ensure that Toyota has covered all affected models, while leaving no problem unattended. In the case that the probe finds Toyota at fault, owning up to the dark clouds could cost Toyota up to $16.4 million in civil penalties that the NHTSA has the authority to impose on the defaulters.

“Our top priority is safety and we expect that all manufacturers address automotive safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner,” said David Strickland, Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recalls in question are one from September 26, 2007 and another from October 6, 2009, when recalls was conducted to fix an issue related to the entrapment of the gas pedals by the floor mats. A third recall which include several Toyota and Lexus models from January 21, 2010 has also been included in the probe.

via NHTSA