Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota's executive vice president for research and development, told interviewers in Detroit on Monday that a bug in the manufacturer's event data recorders caused some of the devices to record vehicle speed incorrectly. The glitch was first noticed when a data recorder from a Toyota Tundra involved in a crash in 2007 reported that the truck was traveling faster than 170 mph.

While acknowledging the defect in the data recorders, Toyota maintains that it has not found a software glitch that would actually cause a sudden surge of speed. According to Automotive News:

"Last month, [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] said brakes were not applied by drivers of Toyota vehicles in at least 35 of 58 crashes blamed on unintended acceleration."

Uchiyamada said that the only glitch in the data recorders was the speed recording.