Ray LaHood: Government Will Follow Up on Possible Toyota Electronic Glitch Reported By ABC News

Feb. 23, 2010 — -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congress Tuesday that his agency would follow up on the alleged electronic problem in Toyotas discovered by auto expert Dr. Dave Gilbert, a possible design flaw first revealed by ABC News Monday.

"You have my 100 percent commitment," said LaHood when asked by Rep. Bart Stupak if he would be following up with Gilbert, an assistant professor of auto technology at Southern Illinois University who was called to testify before Congress Tuesday after the ABC News report.

"We are going to get into the weeds on the electronics," said LaHood. "We are going to look at the Southern Illinois University data."

Both Gilbert and LaHood were testifying before a hearing of the House Commerce Committee.

According to Gilbert, flaw in the design of Toyota's electronic acceleration system prevents the car's onboard computer from detecting and stopping certain short circuits that can trigger sudden speed surges.

As a result, Gilbert told ABC News, the Toyota computers will not record an error code, nor will they activate the "fail safe" system designed to shut down the power and put the car in the "limp home" mode.

"This is a dangerous condition, it is not fail safe," said Gilbert.

Toyota executive Jim Lentz testified Tuesday that the problem of its runaway cars is still "not totally" fixed with the recalls of floor mats and sticky gas pedals.

The testimony of Lentz, president of Toyota USA, was the first public acknowledgement by the company that a serious safety issue with its cars remains unsolved.Earlier, the Congressional panel had heard from Dr. Gilbert, who demonstrated for ABC News what he termed a "design flaw" in the Toyota electronics that prevented the car's computer from detecting a short circuit that could cause sudden acceleration.