Caravanners who use a Toyota as a towcar may be affected by fears of a “sticky” accelerator pedal in a number of the carmaker’s best selling lines. The global car giant is in the process of recalling millions of cars worldwide in order to attempt to address the fault.
GB director John Williams has spoken today to offer a message of reassurance to customers. He stressed that the company were “truly sorry for letting our customers down” while in the video he outlined how Toyota will manage the recall of customer’s vehicles in the UK.
“First of all, I’d like to start by reassuring our customers that there is nothing more important to us than their safety. I drive a Toyota, my family and friends drive Toyotas, and I wouldn’t allow my loved ones to drive our cars if I didn’t believe they were safe.”
He added, “This is a very rare situation that takes place. There is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position, or return slowly to the idle position. If you do notice that your accelerator pedals is slow to return, or starts to stick, then please contact your Toyota retailer immediately, or call our customer relations freephone line.”
Williams explained that the cause behind the fault is a worn accelerator pedal mechanism. “As a result of this wear, combined with certain environmental and operating conditions, friction in the mechanism may increase and intermittently result in the accelerator pedal being hard to depress, slow to return, or in the worst case sticking in a partially open position.” He again urged customers to contact their dealer or use the customer helpline.
How it started
Toyota has previously apologised for the issues, but explained that only 26 cases involving accelerator pedals had been reported in Europe. It is not aware of any accidents in the UK which relate to the fault. However fears continue after the widespread reporting of the death of a family of four who died when their Lexus E350 crashed in San Diego, USA. A recording of a 911 call reveals one of the passengers called to report the accelerator had stuck, with the car subsequently reaching 120 miles per hour before crashing.
UK recall of affected vehicles
Toyota GB has communicated details of the 180,865 affected UK vehicles to the DVLA. The total is made up of certain models from seven Toyota ranges:
AYGO (February 2005 – August 2009)
IQ (November 2008 – November 2009)
Yaris (November 2005 – September 2009)
Auris (October 2006 – 5 January 2010)
Corolla (October 2006 – December 2009)
Verso (February 2009 – 5 Jan 2010)
Avensis (November 2008 – December 2009)
Manual Aygo models and all versions of RAV4 are not included in the UK recall. No Lexus models and no other Toyota passenger cars or light commercial vehicles are affected in the UK.
Details of how cars will be fixed
The first shipments of the parts required will begin arriving in the UK next week and Toyota will be in a position to start repairing cars from 10 February.
The repairs will be carried out by qualified Toyota technicians, at Toyota-approved service centres. GB director John Williams explained the procedure “should take 30 minutes” to complete.
Anyone who has been affected by this story is advised to contact Toyota GB Customer Relations on 0800 1388 744. In addition there is a dedicated recall information page provided by Toyota.
Have you been affected by this story? If so please feel free to send your thoughts and opinions to us at editor@caravantimes.co.uk
