Government Opens Probe Into Corolla Steering Problems

WASHINGTON -The U.S. will open an investigation Thursday to probe possible steering issues on about 500,000 Toyota Corollas.

According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official about 363,000 Corollas from model year 2009 and 136,000 from 2010 could be affected.

The NHTSA will formally announce the probe Thursday, the official said. Calls to Toyota were not immediately returned.

It’s the latest in a spate of recent problems for Toyota, which has recalled more than 8.1 million vehicles worldwide for issues including unresponsive brake pedals.

On Tuesday NHTSA demanded documents from Toyota to determine if the automaker conducted its recent recalls in a timely manner. Also Toyota announced it would suspend production at two U.S. plants.

The automaker’s reputation has felt the blow, as sales lag following the massive recalls.

Earlier Wednesday, Toyota President Akio Toyoda pledged tighter safety controls but said he will not appear before U.S. lawmakers at hearings to be held next week.