Toyota recalls 2.3m vehicles to fix gas pedals

Toyota Motor Corp will recall about 2.3 million vehicles in the US to fix sticking accelerator pedals, following its biggest recall in the country last year for a similar danger.

The automaker, which said in November it would notify owners of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles of a defect that may cause floor mats to jam the pedals, said in a statement yesterday that about 1.7 million autos are subject to both voluntary recalls.

The announcement may fuel concern that rapid expansion at the world’s largest automaker is leading to production and design glitches, eroding its reputation for quality. The recall is at least the fourth by Toyota involving more than 100,000 autos in the US the past two years. The company’s sales in the country fell 20 per cent in 2009, the biggest drop since 1961.

“This situation is slowly spiraling out of control,” said James Bell, executive market analyst with Kelley Blue Book, an Irvine, California-based vehicle data service. “As a company with a reputation for steadiness, these must be uncomfortable days for Toyota.”

“Our investigation indicates that there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position,” Irv Miller, group vice president for US sales, said in the statement.

The recall announced yesterday applies to model years 2009- 2010 RAV4, 2010 Highlander and 2008-2010 Sequoia sport-utility vehicles; 2009-2010 Corolla, 2007-2010 Camry and 2005-2010 Avalon sedans; 2009-2010 Matrix hatchbacks; and 2007-2010 Tundra pickups, according to Toyota.

In November, Toyota also said it would recall 110,000 Tundra pickups after US regulators began investigating the model for “severe” frame corrosion that could also cause brake failure.

“Toyota is the new General Motors,” said Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Quality issues hurt any automaker, and these quality problems are bubbling up to the surface at the time when you have very bad market conditions.”

In a January 21 letter to US regulators alerting them of the pedal issue, Toyota identified the supplier of the defective component as CTS Corp. A call to Mitchell Walorski, a spokesman for the Elkhart, Indiana-based company, wasn’t immediately returned.

Toyota vehicles may still be well-regarded by buyers. Consumer Reports magazine last week said Toyota again led its annual automotive brand perception survey among consumers. J.D. Power & Associates in June said Toyota held its lead in a benchmark US survey of new-vehicle quality.

No Lexus- or Scion-brand vehicles were included in the latest recall, the Toyota City, Japan-based automaker said. Other models not covered in the recall included the Prius and Camry hybrids.

“Toyota has been discussing this issue with the agency over the last several days,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokeswoman Karen Aldana said in an e-mail. “We believe it is a serious safety issue and we are pleased that Toyota is taking immediate action to address it.”