SAN DIEGO -- A local automotive expert told 10News Thursday Toyota's troubles with unintended acceleration is more than just a pedal problem.

Motor vehicle forensic investigator Forrest Folck's theory comes just as Toyota's recall could widen with word that the Transportation Department is now looking into newly revealed problems with the automaker's Prius.

Additionally, the company that made Toyota's gas pedals is under government orders to hand over internal company information to federal investigators, and the Transportation Department has widened its probe to include looking at potential electrical problems.

On Thursday, San Diego County dealers received a video from Toyota that provided exact instructions on how mechanics should fix pedals that can potentially stick. However, Folck told 10News the problems are really computer related.

"The computer can fail, send an inappropriate signal and boom, you go," said Folck.

Folck said he isn't convinced incidents of unintended acceleration are caused by ill-fitting floor mats or worn gas pedals.

"I'm finding that hard to believe," said Folck.

Evan as dealerships begin mechanical repairs to gas pedals, Folck and other experts said federal regulators need to focus on possible electromagnetic interference with Toyotas.

"It's the electronics; it's not the pedal," one expert said.

The issue, experts said, is a small computer that takes signals from a driver stepping on the gas pedal and sends those signals to the throttle.

"And if the computer sends an inappropriate signal and the throttle opens and the car runs away, that's a software glitch," said Folck.

The design increases fuel efficiency, and Folck said Toyota uses much of the same technology throughout their product line.

"The computers, the wiring harnesses, the throttle bodies, the software; it's all shared," said Folck.

Folck said any computer system is vulnerable to glitches or electromagnetic interference.

However, Dave Conane of Toyota of San Diego disputes the claims of electrical problems and said the media is trying to make this a bigger story than it is.

"When you are a company as big as Toyota, you have a big target on your back. But you still have to be bound by the facts, and we haven't seen those facts," said Conane.

Toyota has denied any link between electrical design and unintended acceleration.

Folck said the glitches are not limited to cars, and cited airline crashes and industrial crane accidents as examples tied to computer or electrical glitches.