>> reporter: a year later when nhtsa decided to investigate complaints of sudden acceleration in some toyota models, its officials sat across from their former colleague to discuss parameters. 20 days later, nhtsa issued a memo that would exclude certain reported incidents. >> reporter: are you suggesting that in fact toyota and a former nhtsa employee worked with the federal agency to basically narrow the scope of the investigation? >> that's how it appears to us. this is in '04. >> reporter: ben bailey's law firm is suing toyota over the alleged wrongful death of a michigan woman, whose 2005 toyota camry crashed after suddenly accelerating out of control. >> reporter: back in 2004 they were already talking about the throttle control system. >> right. >> reporter: so this isn't a new problem. >> no. >> reporter: that toyota is now investigating suddenly. >> right. >> reporter: they knew about it. >> yes. >> reporter: so why didn't nhtsa look into it? rather than review all possible causes of sudden acceleration,