Toyota recall over gas pedals may expand to Latin America, Mideast+

NAGOYA, Jan. 29 Kyodo -
Toyota Motor Corp. may expand its already far-reaching vehicle recalls over
potentially defective accelerator pedals, possibly to countries in Latin
America, the Middle East and other regions, a senior Toyota official said
Friday.

The Japanese auto giant has launched talks with local authorities in countries
outside North America, Europe and China, where the recalls are already under
way or being considered, according to the official.
Even if a mandatory recall is not carried out in certain countries, Toyota is
considering offering free repairs on a voluntary basis.
The same models subject to the recent U.S. recall have been manufactured in the
United States and exported to countries in Latin America and the Middle East,
leading to extensive spillover of the safety questions.
All of the pedal parts subject to Toyota's recalls have been manufactured by
U.S. supplier CTS Corp. Sources familiar with the matter said pedal parts used
in vehicles recalled in China were procured from CTS's factory in China while
those installed in vehicles in Europe were also procured from the U.S. firm's
factory in Europe.
Vehicles sold in Japan and South Korea use different gas pedal parts and so far
have remained outside of the series of safety warnings that have damaged the
image of Toyota's quality.
On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce
said it will hold a hearing Feb. 25 to examine safety concerns about
accelerator pedals that could get stuck in a partially depressed position and
cause sudden acceleration.
The committee also sent letters to Toyota Motor North America Inc. and the U.S.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seeking documents including
e-mails to examine whether the Japanese automaker took proper and timely
measures to address the problems.
''Like many consumers, I am concerned by the seriousness and scope of Toyota's
recent recall announcements,'' Chairman Henry Waxman said in a statement.
The committee will summon Toyota Motor North America President Yoshimi Inaba at
the hearing, in a rare close examination of the products of a Japanese company.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc. pledged its full cooperation with the house
hearing and added it was working closely with its pedal supplier CTS on a
revised design that would fix the problem.
''We've identified the cause of the problem and are focusing all our energy and
resources on developing and thoroughly testing remedies,'' Toyota's U.S. sales
arm said in a statement.
The company added the newly designed pedals are in full production at CTS and
that testing is under way to make them available to customers as soon as
possible.
The sources also said Toyota is planning to discuss with CTS on how to divide
the costs related to the recalls in different countries.
So far, Toyota is recalling about 2.57 million vehicles in the United States
and Canada, and around 75,000 units of the RAV4 sport utility vehicle in China,
and plans to recall of about 2 million vehicles in Europe, to fix sticking gas
pedals.
Separately, the automaker is also voluntarily recalling 5.55 million Toyota and
Lexus vehicles, including its popular Corolla and Camry models, in the United
States and Canada to reduce the risk of gas pedals getting stuck under loose
floor mats and causing sudden acceleration.
More than 10 million vehicles are subject to the recalls over the two separate
gas pedal-related problems, although the exact number of overlapping vehicles
remains uncertain with the automaker still trying to work out the latest
figure.
==Kyodo
2010-01-29 23:30:47


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