Toyota Says Fix Is In for Safety Problems

February 1, 2010

Toyota has announced it’s come up with a fix for the sticking gas pedals that led the company to recall millions of vehicles. Toyota customers have been in a state of concern and confusion since the problems came to light. The company is taking decisive action now, but many are asking if it’s too little too late. Click here for more information on what’s being done.

Click on the video above to hear an interview with Toyota’s U.S. President Jim Lentz, on CNN. American Morning anchor John Roberts asks tough questions and gets the Toyota exec to open up about the safety issues that are crippling this once revered company.

During an interview with ABC News on a New York City street, Toyota’s Lentz denied the international car company had hidden problems with acceleration in its vehicles, or was trying to blame sticky gas pedals for a problem that may originate in the car’s electrical system instead.

The gas pedal fix involves reinforcing the pedal assembly in a way that eliminates the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick, the company said in a press release. Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the United States for this problem.

Toyota said replacement parts are already being shipped and that dealers will work extended hours to fix the recalled vehicles.

“We know what’s causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it,” Lentz said in a statement.

Toyota will begin contacting customers as early as this week to let them know when to bring in their vehicles for the fix. The automaker said it will cover all costs related to the fix, which will take about 30 minutes.

Click here to read about one Toyota customers ordeal with the recall.

Click here to read an editorial about how this crisis is affecting the Toyota brands.