February 1, 2010 – Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday its dealers should get parts to fix a sticky gas pedal problem this week as the automaker tries to bring an end to a recall that has affected 4.2 million vehicles worldwide.
The company said in a statement that it has begun shipping parts and is training service technicians on the repairs. Some dealers will stay open 24 hours to fix the 2.3 million cars and trucks affected by the recall in the U.S.
Toyota recalled the vehicles on Jan. 21, determining that excess friction in the gas pedal assembly could in rare cases cause the pedals to stick.
Engineers traced the problem to a friction device in the assembly that is supposed to provide the proper pedal “feel” by adding resistance, Toyota said in the statement.
The device has a shoe that rubs against a nearby metal surface during normal pedal use. But wear and environmental conditions can over time cause the pedals to not operate smoothly or in rare cases stick partially open.
The company said a steel reinforcement bar will be installed into the gas pedal assembly, reducing the friction.
“With this reinforcement in place, the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick is eliminated,” the statement said. “The company has confirmed the effectiveness of the newly reinforced pedals through rigorous testing on pedal assemblies that had previously shown a tendency to stick.”
Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, said in the statement that nothing is more important than customer safety.
Toyota told its dealers in an e-mail that they should determine how to prioritize their repairs. But the company said it “strongly recommends dealers prioritize consumer vehicles first, followed by dealeriowned inventory (during non-peak hours).” The repairs are expected to take about 30 minutes of work, and drivers should not notice any change in the feel of the pedal.
Owners are expected to receive information by mail beginning this week and dealers are expected to receive technical descriptions on the fix by the middle of the week. The company will cover all repair costs.
Since the recall was announced, dealers have been in the difficult position of telling angry customers that they have no parts to fix the cars.
The recall in the U.S. includes the 2009-10 RAV4 crossover, the 2009-10 Corolla, the 2009-10 Matrix hatchback, the 2005-10 Avalon, the 2007-10 Camry, the 2010 Highlander crossover, the 2007-10 Tundra pickup and the 2008-10 Sequoia SUV. It also has been expanded to another 1.9 million vehicles in Europe and China.
Toyota said that not all the models of Camry, RAV4, Corolla and Highlander listed in the recall have the faulty gas pedals, which were made by CTS Corp. of Elkhart, Ind. Dealers can tell which models have the CTS pedals. Models made in Japan, and some models built in the U.S., have pedal systems made by another parts supplier, Denso Corp., which function well.
All Matrix, Avalon, Tundra and Sequoia models have the faulty pedals.
Toyota announced late Friday that it would begin shipping new gas pedal systems to dealers as well.
Legally Toyota did not need the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) approval for the fix, but the company would be unlikely to proceed without the government’s blessing.
Toyota was to stop production of the eight U.S. models involved in the recall on Monday, and it has told dealers to stop selling the models until they can be repaired.
The pedal recall is separate from another recall involving floor mats that can bend and push down accelerators. The two recalls combined affect more than 7 million vehicles worldwide.
