Toyota - Lexus Floor Mat Recall - Jammed Accelerator Lawsuit News

Toyota to fix accelerators in huge US recall

-Reuters

11/15/2009 - 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 on Saturday.

Toyota is believed to have agreed with U.S. authorities to voluntarily repair the accelerator pedals, Kyodo said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

But 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.

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 floormat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that killed five people.

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.

Kyodo said the company had opted to offer to fix the accelerator pedals rather than issue a separate recall as it believes the pedals' shape is not a defect.

The carmaker is now in the final stage of arranging the move with the U.S. 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 luxury Lexus models, the IS250, the IS350 and the ES350.