WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–December 18, 2012. The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced that Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to pay $17.35 million, the maximum fine allowable under the law, in response to the agency's assertion that the automaker failed to report a safety defect to the federal government in a timely manner. This action represents the single highest civil penalty amount ever paid to NHTSA for violations stemming from a recall.