DETROIT (AP) -- Toyota has begun shipping parts to fix the faulty
gas pedals that led to a still-expanding recall and an
unprecedented decision to stop selling and building some of its
top-selling models, but it still could not say Thursday when
millions of its drivers would get their cars fixed.
The world's largest automaker, bleeding millions of dollars a
day in lost sales, also declined to say where the parts are going --
to plants so production can start again or to dealers so they can
start fixing cars sitting in their showrooms or already on the
road.
Amid the uncertainty, the recall grew wider. Toyota expanded the
recall beyond an initial 2.3 million vehicles and said it would
recall an untold number in Europe and about 75,000 in China because
of bad gas pedals that can become stuck.
The recall even spread beyond Toyota. Ford Motor Co. stopped
production of some full-sized commercial vehicles built by a
Chinese joint venture because they have accelerators built by the
same parts supplier as in the Toyota recall.
Separately, Toyota recalled 1.1 million more vehicles this week
because of floor mats that can bend and hold down the gas.
The gas pedal system recall includes 2009-2010 RAV4, the
2009-2010 Corolla, the 2009-2010 Matrix, the 2005-2010 Avalon, the
2007-2010 Camry, the 2010 Highlander, the 2007-2010 Tundra and the
2008-2010 Sequoia.
Toyota said the maker of the faulty gas pedal systems, CTS Corp.
of Elkhart, Ind., was cranking out replacements at three factories,
and that some of them already been shipped to Toyota.
At the same time, Toyota engineers are working with CTS to
develop ways to repair, rather than replace, the pedal systems in
existing cars and trucks, said spokesman Brian Lyons.
But there was no estimate for how long it would be until
customers can get their cars fixed. The parts are being made at CTS
plants, but Toyota has not said where they're going within its
system of plants and dealers.
"We're well past the root cause identification, and we're well
past what needs to be done to change the pedal assembly itself,"
Lyons said.
House lawmakers, meanwhile, said they intend to hold a Feb. 25
hearing to review the complaints of sudden unintended acceleration
in Toyota vehicles. "Like many consumers, I am concerned by the
seriousness and scope of Toyota's recent recall announcements,"
said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman,
D-Calif. In a statement, Toyota pledged its "full cooperation"
with the committee.
The episode has tarnished Toyota's once-sterling image of
reliability. Experts say the longer it goes on, the more Toyota's
competitors will benefit.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he had no details of
how the problems would be fixed but said he had "no criticism of
Toyota on this. They followed the law and they're doing what
they're supposed to do."
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials met
with Toyota representatives to discuss the fix on Thursday, but no
details were announced.
The automaker does not need regulatory approval to make repairs
or replacements, but company officials do not want to proceed with
a fix if the government has concerns, said people familiar with the
decisions who requested anonymity because the meeting was private.
Asked whether Americans should continue to drive the recalled
vehicles, LaHood said he would "encourage them to take their car
to the Toyota dealer. That's what we're telling people to do.
That's what Toyota is telling people to do. That's the safest thing
to do."
Safety experts say the best thing to do if the gas pedal sticks
is to hit the brake hard and hold it firmly, then shift into
neutral or shut the car off and steer to the curb. They say drivers
should not pump the brake.
Toyota offered its most detailed description of the problem:
Condensation can form in the mechanism that connects the foot pedal
to the car's engine, causing friction that prevents the pedal from
smoothly springing back when the driver eases up.
Jake Fisher, senior automotive engineer for Consumer Reports
magazine, said the water probably causes corrosion.
The parts produced by CTS include the plastic pedal on which the
driver's foot rests and the plastic arm beneath it, which runs
through a hole in the floorboard and ultimately into a box in the
engine compartment. Inside the box are springs that push the pedal
back to its resting position when the driver takes his foot off the
gas.
"It sounds like the pivot point is not moving freely, so the
springs don't have the power to return the pedal to the normal
position," Fisher said.
CTS has said that the problem is rare -- occurring in fewer than
a dozen cases -- and that no accidents or injuries have been linked
to the pedal. The head of CTS, Vinod Khilnani, said his company
built the pedal to Toyota's specifications.
A consumer group, Safety Research and Strategies, has said it
identified 2,274 cases of unintended acceleration in Toyotas
leading to at least 275 crashes and 18 deaths since 1999. Toyota
would not confirm those figures.
Toyota said the problems occur as the parts wear over time, so
drivers should be able to feel more resistance in pressing their
gas pedals, and they would return slowly to normal positions. This
would occur before the accelerator might stick, Fisher said.
"It's my understanding that the problem doesn't come out of the
blue," Fisher said. "With time there becomes more and more
friction, and it doesn't operate as smoothly as intended."
In a twist, Toyota's own streamlined production system, which
allows the company to control quality by using relatively few parts
suppliers around the world, appears to have made for a more
extensive recall.
No matter what the fix, the cost to Toyota will be staggering --
probably in the tens of millions, perhaps higher. Jim Gillette, a
supplier analyst with consulting company CSM Worldwide, estimated
it might cost $25 to $30 per vehicle, plus labor.
