Toyota to fix accelerators in U.S. recall, report says
November 14, 2009 - 12:01 am ET UPDATED: 11/14/09 2:00 P.M.
TOKYO (Reuters) -- 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.
Kyodo said the company had opted to offer to fix the accelerator pedal, but has no plans for a recall beyond floor mats.
Toyota has said that the cost of any related repair work have no effect on its business as the company has set aside nearly 500 billion yen ($5.6 billion) in provisions for recalls.
The carmaker is now in the final stage of arranging the move with NHTSA, Kyodo cited the sources as saying.
The recall will cover the Camry and Avalon sedans, the Prius hybrid, the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and the Lexus IS250, the IS350 and the ES350.