Posted: Nov. 26, 2009 Toyota has a lot riding on fixes for recalled vehicles Changes won't be cheap, but they may protect firm's image
BY GREG GARDNER FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Toyota Motor Corp.'s willingness to go beyond replacing floor mats will raise the cost of its largest-ever recall, but it may contain any damage in the marketplace, industry experts said Wednesday.
Beginning in January, dealers will cut nearly an inch off the lower edge of the gas pedal and adjust the width, a company spokesman said. Replacement pedals are to be available starting in April.
That may not cost much in the short term. But on some of the vehicles being recalled -- 2005 through 2010 model-year Toyota Avalons and 2007 through 2010 Camrys and Lexus ES350s -- the automaker will reconfigure the floor surface beneath the pedal to create more space between the pedal and the floor. Those three models, along with the Lexus IS250 and IS350, also are to be outfitted with a new brake override system.
Those fixes will add up, but Toyota did not reveal a cost.
"If you have to dig into the vehicle like in the powertrain or under the dash, the cost is high, even if the part cost is low," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that on most recalls, only 72% of affected owners bring their vehicles in for prescribed repairs. That means Toyota dealers can expect to see 2.7 million of the 3.8 million vehicles recalled. That's more than Toyota's total U.S. sales in the prerecession year of 2007.
"It's going to be a lengthy process," said Aaron Bragman, an analyst with IHS Global Insight in Troy. "But they have to do something." A serious problem
At least a dozen fatalities have occurred when Toyota or Lexus vehicles have surged unexpectedly and drivers supposedly could not stop them by stomping hard on the brake.
Last month, the family of a 77-year-old Flint woman, Guadalupe Alberto, sued Toyota in Genesee County Circuit Court. Alberto died in April 2008 after her 2005 Camry is said to have accelerated from 25 to
80 m.p.h. and hit two trees. She died from the impact.
Lawyers charged that Alberto lost control because of a malfunctioning electronic throttle control. Toyota's solutions
Toyota initially advised owners to remove driver's-side floor mats, which it said caused the acceleration when they became trapped between drivers' feet and the gas pedal.
Cutting the gas pedal is meant to reduce the risk that the floor mat will become pinched, but Toyota plans more sophisticated repairs to recalled Camrys, Avalons and Lexus ES350s, IS350s and IS250s. It will install a brake override system meant to ensure that the engine will lose power if the brake and the accelerator are applied simultaneously.
That upgrade will become standard on all Toyota and Lexus models by the end of next year, the company said. Uncertain outcome
It's unclear whether these steps will contain or reduce Toyota's legal exposure from lawsuits already filed.
"It helps in that it looks like they're trying to do something," said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor specializing in product liability law. "In the end, it comes down to: When did the company know about the issue and did it take action voluntarily?"
As for the impact on sales, it's too early to know. "Baby boomers will be forgiving, but if it has any impact, it may be among Generation Y buyers who haven't yet formed any brand loyalty," Bragman, of Global Insight, said.
Contact GREG GARDNER: 313-222-8762 or snipped-for-privacy@freepress.com