A study funded by Toyota Motor supports the automaker's assertion there is no evidence of problems in the electronics of Toyota and Lexus cars, the Wall Street Journal said.

The newspaper said it had obtained a copy of the study being carried out by the Menlo Park, California-based engineering firm, Expondent.

"Exponent has so far been unable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, either unintended acceleration or behavior that might be a precursor to such an event, despite concerted efforts toward this goal," the Journal quoted the February 4 preliminary report as saying.

Toyota has been under fire for a series of safety lapses, including incidents of unwanted acceleration that could be caused by electronic failures.

On Saturday, a Toyota executive told Reuters that US executives will meet with the company's top management in Japan over the next several days.

Yoshi Inaba, president of Toyota North America, and US sales chief Jim Lentz were on their way to Japan to brief senior executives before US congressional hearings scheduled for later this month, said Don Esmond, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales.

Esmond, speaking on the sidelines of the annual National Automobile Dealers Associations convention in Orlando, Florida, said he was "absolutely" confident that repairing accelerator pedals or replacing loose floormats was the right fix to address the risk of unintended acceleration, and said Toyota's electronics system had been "thoroughly tested.”

"We have no indication that the electronic throttle is an issue. We are not the only ones with electronic throttles," he said.

Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles globally due to the risk that sticky accelerator pedals or loose floormats may result in unintended acceleration. – Reuters