A US federal court is to consider whether dozens of lawsuits against Japanese automaker Toyota over acceleration problems in its vehicles should be heard together.

 

More than 200 lawsuits have been filed around the US over the faults.

Attorneys for Toyota have asked a panel of federal judges to consolidate them before a single judge in Los Angeles.

Dozens of the proposed class-action lawsuits filed by owners claim their vehicles have dropped in value because of the recalls.

They also say that Toyota has not been forthcoming about the possible role that its electronic throttle controls play in the acceleration incidents.

Other lawsuits say Toyota should be held liable for allegedly covering up the fault for years.

Victor Andreone, Lawsuit Plaintiff, said, "My daughter up in Los Angeles has two grandkids under six, my son has a new baby of a year-and-a-half, my concern is obviously, from what I detected the technical aspects of deficiencies were not properly investigated."

The claims could potentially cost the company billions of US dollars.

Tim Howard, Northeastern University Law Shool, said, "The amount of damages the cases will be claiming, you are looking at approximately eight to 10 million cars. If we look at a thousand dollars a car, that would be, at eight million cars, eight billion dollars worth of raw economic damages."

The panel of seven judges expects to make a decision on consolidation and the location of the Toyota hearings in about a fortnight.