Leadership

Toyota announces plan to start fixing pedals

01.02.2010
Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has announced it will begin fixing accelerator pedals in recalled US vehicles this week.

Toyota said in a statement issued today that its engineers have developed and “rigorously tested” a solution to the problem of a sticking accelerator pedal which led the company to recall over five million vehicles in the US and up to 1.8 million vehicles in Europe. The company also stopped production of affected vehicles for the week of February 1.

The solution Toyota has developed reinforces the pedal assembly to eliminate the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick.

Toyota also said it had developed a solution to the problem for vehicles in production.

Parts to reinforce the pedals are already being shipped for use by dealers, and dealer training is under way, the company said.

Dealers to work extended hours
The car maker said that many Toyota dealers will work extended hours to complete the recall campaign as quickly as possible, with some even staying open 24 hours a day.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive,” said Jim Lentz, president and Chief Operating Officer, Toyota.

“We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers and we are doing everything we can – as fast as we can – to make things right.

“Stopping production is never an easy decision, but we are 100pc confident it was the right decision. We know what’s causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it. We also know it is most important to fix this problem in the cars on the road,” he added.

“We are focused on making this recall as simple and trouble-free as possible, and will work day and night with our dealers to fix recalled vehicles quickly. We want to demonstrate that our commitment to safety is as high as ever and that our commitment to our customers is unwavering.”

Toyota said it plans to implement a similar remedy in Europe, China and other countries and regions, where details are to be worked out with local authorities.