Nov. 5--WASHINGTON -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday issued a statement saying that Toyota Motor Corp. has put out "inaccurate and misleading information" over a safety recall.

In Japan, a senior official of Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday denied there was a disagreement with the NHTSA over problems with driver-side floor mats in Toyota vehicles after the statement issued by the U.S. authorities.

The NHTSA has been investigating problems in connection with the recall of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. It took issue with a press release by Toyota earlier this week that stated the NHTSA had concluded that "no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver's floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured." In the latest statement, the NHTAS said it has told Toyota that removing the recalled floor mats is "an interim measure" and does not correct the underlying defect in the vehicles involving the potential for accelerator pedals to become trapped by the mats.

"This matter is not closed until Toyota has effectively addressed the defect by providing a suitable vehicle based solution," the NHTSA said.

Toyota Executive Vice President Yukitoshi Funo told reporters in Tokyo, "We have no disagreement about this issue with the NHTSA." He said both sides were holding "open and frank discussions." "We expect to have an agreement as soon as possible," he added.

The recall, Toyota's largest in the United States, involves seven models including the Prius hybrid, Camry and Lexus cars. Toyota President Akio Toyoda has also expressed regret for the deaths of four people in a fatal crash in August involving a Lexus ES350 in San Diego, California.

"It is not a part of Toyota culture and Toyota way to cover up anything," Funo said in English in response to a reporter's question about speculation among U.S. consumers that the automaker may have known about the problems earlier on.

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Copyright (c) 2009, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

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