Toyota to fix accelerators in U.S. recall, report says

[DainBramaged]

Toyota Motor Corp. will soon offer to fix the accelerator pedals of up to 4 million vehicles in the United States that are subject to the company's largest ever safety recall, Kyodo News reported.

Toyota is believed to have agreed with U.S. authorities to repair the accelerator pedals voluntarily, the Japanese news agency said today, citing sources familiar with the matter. It was unclear what the fix would involve.

Toyota spokesman Hideaki Honma denied that the company had reached an agreement with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and said the talks were proceeding.

NHTSA said that discussions with Toyota continue "as to what the remedy will entail" and that the accelerator pedal is "among the subjects under consideration."

Toyota, the world's top automaker, said in late September it would recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that a loose floor mat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that killed five people.

Toyota has said it has confidence the problem is linked to floor mats and not a vehicle design flaw or problems related to braking, fuel or accelerator systems.

But NHTSA has said discussions included "several vehicle-based" factors that may contribute to pedal interference and a driver's ability to control and stop the car when the accelerator gets stuck.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091114/ANA02/311149991/1186


(subscription only, sorry)

http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=470590

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TexasObserver]

2. dupe

[TexasObserver]

3. I wonder if all those who defended Toyota will come correct now.

I recall the discussions here, and some posters blamed the car owners, or blamed the mats.

It'll be great to see them admit they were wrong, and then apologize to those they attacked.

[JCMach1]

9. Toyota drivers are never wrong, don't you know that!

:sarcasm:

[TommyO]

12. But... Prius, we have the Prius!

[Brickbat]

4. K&R

It's not the mats, Toyota. Shut up and cowboy up.

[Peacetrain]

5. I have a question, I hope the car guys can answer... The Vibe is

Pontiacs, version of the Matrix...basically same car.. Like the Mazda and Ford Pickups... Will those recalls affect the Vibe?

[DainBramaged]

13. We don't know yet, how extensive the recall will be, or what models

or how far back, but 4 million cars is a conservative estimate.

[Peacetrain]

17. Thank You.. I gave my Vibe to my son.. and now I am a little worried about it

[PJPhreak]

6. "While we have your car,let us do a quick OBD Diagnostic...Oh dear

Your programming is a bit outdated...We will fix that for free also"

Its not the pedals or the mats.....Think Computer Controlled Cruise Control.

Why do I believe this? I have a Family member who owns a 2009 Tacoma Truck...and Toyota sent her a recall notice! The MSM makes it sound like it is only Camery/Lexas. Its Not!

I swear my next auto will be a 67-71 VW Baja Bug!!

[madrchsod]

7. since it`s not the electronic throttle system here`s Toyota`s fix......

[DainBramaged]

8. Toyota ia still in a state of denial over this..........

"What, our cars need to be fixed?"


:scared:

[Taitertots]

10. All the Toyota owners run with their fingers in their ears

Afraid they will have to admit they sold out the American union worker for a car they can't pretend is superior anymore.

[Kalyke]

16. Best post of the day.

:thumbsup:

[Trekologer]

11. The accelerator petal seems to be too close to the floor

Which makes it more susceptible to being caught on a floor mat which slides up. The "fix" will probably be to raise the existing petal or replace with a shorter one.

[Frank Cannon]

14. I think the "fix" will be to take the floor mat out. n/t

[DainBramaged]

15. The article via Reuters

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will soon offer to fix the accelerator pedals of up to 4 million vehicles in the United States that are subject to the company's largest ever safety recall, Kyodo News reported on Saturday.

Toyota is believed to have agreed with U.S. authorities to voluntarily repair the accelerator pedals, Kyodo said, citing sources familiar with the matter. It was unclear what the fix would involve.

Toyota spokesman Hideaki Honma denied that the company had reached an agreement with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the matter, and said the talks were proceeding.

NHTSA in Washington said on Saturday that discussions with Toyota continue "as to what the remedy will entail" and that the accelerator pedal is "among the subjects under consideration."

Toyota, the world's top automaker, said in late September it would recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that killed five people.

Toyota has said it was confident the problem is linked to floormats and not a vehicle design flaw or problems with components related to braking, fuel or accelerator systems.

NHTSA has said it discussed "several vehicle-based" factors that may contribute to pedal interference and a driver's ability to control and stop the car when the accelerator gets stuck.

Kyodo said the company had opted to offer to fix the accelerator pedal, but has no plans for a recall beyond floormats.

Toyota has said the cost of any related repair work will have no effect on its business as the company has set aside nearly 500 billion yen ($5.6 billion) in provisions for recalls.

The investigation has included the Camry and Avalon sedans, the Prius hybrid, the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and luxury Lexus models, the IS250, the IS350 and the ES350.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Autos/idUSTRE5AD0BB20091114