A lack of crucial information in the top ranks of Toyota Motor Corp. may have prevented the world's largest automaker from swiftly responding to many defect claims and accidents overseas before massive recalls.

The carmaker's shortcomings were revealed in testimony by Toyota President Akio Toyoda at a Wednesday hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington, experts said.

It's unclear if the grandson of the founder, who took over the top spot in June, understood the importance of such information and whether he could change the direction of the company under his presidency.