Toyota`s recall fix clears U.S. regulators

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 Kyodo -
Toyota Motor Corp. has received clearance from U.S. safety regulators for its
plan to fix accelerator pedals in the wake of massive recalls of its vehicles
and suspension of sales and production due to potentially defective gas pedals,
U.S. media reported Saturday.
With the clearance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
which has reviewed Toyota's repair plan, the Japanese automaker will begin its
shipment of repair parts to dealers.
Toyota plans to announce its detailed repair plan as soon as Monday, according
to the U.S. media.
Following the repair work, Toyota plans to resume sales of its vehicles
affected by the recalls as soon as possible.
Toyota has suspended sales of eight models including its mainstay Corolla cars
subject to the recalls to secure safety, while deciding to suspend production
of the models at five plants in North America.
The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition that Toyota is likely to
resume the production as early as Feb. 8.
The repair parts are also planned to be delivered to dealers by around next
Friday, it reported.
The number of automobiles subject to Toyota's recalls has reached more than 7
million worldwide as recalls spilled over to China and Europe from North
America.
According to U.S. media, meanwhile, Toyota's U.S. auto rival Ford Motor Co. has
resumed production of some models in China for which production was suspended
in connection with Toyota's gas pedal problem.
Ford used the same pedal parts as Toyota which were produced by a U.S. parts
maker, but the company recently found they differed in mechanism.
The New York Times and other leading U.S. newspapers, meanwhile, carried a
full-page Toyota advertisement giving an explanation to consumers on the recall
problem.
The ad said Toyota will soon announce the repair plan but did not offer an
apology for the problem.
==Kyodo