Toyota Motor Corp. has developed a dealer remedy to fix faulty accelerator pedals in 2.3 million recalled vehicles and will start repairs this week.
Toyota is already shipping the parts to U.S. dealers and training them on how to conduct the fix. The remedy involves reinforcing the pedal assembly to eliminate the excess friction that causes pedals to stick, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. said in a statement today.
“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,” Toyota Motor Sales President Jim Lentz said in the statement.
Toyota’s fix involves installing a steel reinforcement bar into the pedal’s friction device, a mechanism that controls the pedals return to the idle position after being pushed down.
“In rare cases, the pedal sticks, leaving the throttle partially open,” Toyota said.
Toyota confirmed that it will work by testing the device on faulty pedals.
The announcement covers a fix for 2.3 million vehicles Toyota Division recalled on Jan. 21. Last week Toyota suspended deliveries of the models in advance of a production shutdown scheduled for this week.
A solemn Lentz apologized to customers in a video on Toyota’s Web site. He said that some Toyota dealerships would be open 24 hours to fix the recalled vehicles.
“Toyota has always prided itself on building high quality, durable products that customers can depend on,” said Lentz, dressed in a dark suit and sitting before a brown backdrop. “I know that we have let you down.”
“We are redoubling our efforts to make sure that this does not happen again,” he said.
Toyota had also scheduled a conference call with reporters at 11 a.m. EST to discuss the recall and the dealer remedy. Lentz, meanwhile, was scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Today Show” today to address public concerns about the company’s recalls and incidents of unintended acceleration, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News said. The show’s Web site lists a Toyota segment scheduled for 8:10 a.m. EST.
Taking charge
The press conference and a Lentz appearance would signal that Toyota is going on the offensive after the automaker’s reputation for quality and reliability took a beating in the wake of a decision last week to suspend deliveries and production of the eight recalled models.
In addition to the 2.3 million vehicles recalled in the United States for pedal fixes, Toyota has recalled nearly 2 million vehicles for the same problem in Europe and China.
On Saturday, PSA Peugeot Citroen said it would recall 100,000 Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 models made at a factory in the Czech Republic where the French group and Toyota jointly make cars.
The pedal action came in the wake of last fall’s recall of 4.3 million vehicles to fix floor mats that could jam the accelerator pedal and cause unintended acceleration. Last week, that recall was expanded by another 1.1 million vehicles.
President Akio Toyoda apologized for the floor mat recall in October. Last week, he apologized again on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We’re extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy,” Toyoda told Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. “We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will restore confidence.”
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration engineers have reviewed Toyota’s proposal for preventing gas pedals in the eight models from sticking and have raised no objections, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has yet to be publicly announced.
NHTSA regulators are not required to approve the fix but can reject the approach if they consider it inadequate.
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