It’s about time. Toyota on Monday told worried and confused customers much of what they have been waiting to hear about a problem that has been festering. The world’s largest automaker announced last month that it was recalling 2.3 million vehicles because of a possible defect that could cause gas pedals to stick and the cars to accelerate unexpectedly.
The company said that it will begin notifying owners this week when to bring in their cars for the needed repair. Dealers will start doing the work this weekend. The free fix involves installing a precision-cut steel reinforcement bar designed to eliminate the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare cases.
The recall includes some 2007-10 Camrys; some 2009-10 Corollas and RAV4s; 2005-10 Avalons; 2007-10 Tundras; 2008-10 Sequoias; the 2009-10 Matrix; and the 2010 Highlander. It does not cover Lexus and Scion models.
Many of the recalled vehicles also need another fix because they are part of an earlier recall of more than 5 million vehicles in which the gas pedal could get hung up on the floor mat. In those cases, the pedal is being made shorter or the mats are being replaced.
Toyota would not be the company it is today without California consumers. Nearly a fourth of the 1 million new cars registered in California last year were Toyota brands.
The company has a lot to answer for. There are troubling questions of when its engineers knew about the problem, why Toyota’s leaders didn’t warn consumers earlier, and whether they misled federal safety officials. Some analyses say that over the last decade, there have been 19 deaths connected to unintended acceleration in Toyota brands, including the horrific crash last August in San Diego that killed an off-duty California Highway Patrol trooper and three family members.
While Toyota wants to protect its image and stock price, its top officials need to remember that they owe loyal customers timely, complete information to make sure their cars are safe.