Fallout grows in Toyota sales halt
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- The fallout continued to mount today from Toyota's announcement Tuesday that it is halting the sale of eight models because of potential safety hazards, and safety regulators stepped up a probe of faulty pedals.

General Motors Co. said it will offer incentives to try to lure Toyota customers. And major rental cars company pulled the affected models from their fleets.

"Beginning today, GM dealers will be able to offer Toyota customers a purchase incentive for a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicle," GM said in a statement.

"We decided to make this offer after receiving many emails and calls from our dealers, who have been approached by Toyota customers asking for help. Such 'conquest' incentives are used commonly in the industry."

GM is offering zero percent financing for up to 60 months to customers who trade in a Toyota for a new GM vehicle. GM also is offering to make as many as three payments, for a total of up to $1,000, for Toyota lease customers. GM also is offering $1,000 discounts to cash buyers.

The program will run through February.

Ford Motor Co. said today it has no plans to offer incentives to Toyota customers. Chrysler Group LLC has not decided whether to initiate incentives.

Avis-Budget Group said it is removing about 20,000 recalled Toyota vehicles from its fleet. And Enterprise Holdings said it is removing all Toyota and Pontiac Vibe vehicles, lumped into the recall, from its Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental chains.

"In light of the safety concerns being raised about Toyota vehicles, we are taking the precaution of removing all of the approximately 20,000 cars that Toyota has identified for recall from our fleet in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico," the company said in a statement today.

Federal auto safety regulators said today that Toyota was legally required to stop selling the eight models it recalled last week.

Toyota took the extraordinary step of halting the sale of the vehicles late Tuesday over issues of "sticky acceleration pedals" because it hasn't yet found a fix. Those eight models accounted for nearly 60 percent of its U.S. sales last year. Toyota has been looking at the issue of sticky pedals since 2007.

The new administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, David Strickland, said today Toyota's decision to halt sales "was an aggressive one and was the legally and morally correct thing to do.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Chicago radio station WGN that the government asked Toyota to stop selling the vehicles.

LaHood said, "The reason Toyota decided to do the recall and to stop manufacturing was because we asked them to."

A Toyota spokesman, Mike Michels, said Tuesday the automaker expects to have a remedy in "weeks, not months."

Officials said NHTSA first contacted Toyota Friday, after seeing news reports of Toyota's plans to continue selling defective vehicles.

It wasn't until around noon on Tuesday that Toyota informed safety regulators it would halt sales.

Under Chapter 301 of the Motor Safety Code, Toyota can't continue to sell the defective vehicles unless it has a remedy.

The Detroit News has learned that NHTSA is also investigating whether the defective pedals in the Toyota recall, made by Elkhart, Ind.-based auto supplier CTS Corp., are on any other automaker's vehicles. CTS didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

The NHTSA's Strickland declined to discuss the chain of events in detail.

"At this point, you need to talk to Toyota about those decisions," he said. "We'll be continuing to work with Toyota and having conversations."

Strickland said in taking the action "Toyota was complying with the law."

"They consulted with the agency. We informed them of the obligations, and they complied," he said.

Last Thursday, Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles after two recent incidents in New Jersey and Texas were under investigation by NHTSA, making the decision to recall the vehicles without figuring out how to fix the problem.

But Toyota had a legal requirement to stop selling the models. It isn't clear why Toyota continued to sell the models for another five days.

Toyota faces further questions because similar pedals that are at issue in the United States are on some vehicles in Europe. The automaker hasn't decided what it will do in Europe. Beginning in December 2008, Toyota received complaints in Europe about the sticky accelerator pedals on its Aygo and Yaris vehicles.

The vehicles that Toyota told its dealers to stop selling in North America are:

• 2009-10 RAV4

• 2009-10 Corolla

• 2009-10 Matrix

• 2005-10 Avalon

• Certain 2007-10 Camry

• 2010 Highlander

• 2007-10 Tundra

• 2008-10 Sequoia

Toyota had been aware of issues with the pedals for more than two years but in June 2008 declared reports of sticky pedals were a "drivability," rather than a safety, issue.

As part of the halt in sales, Toyota will halt production at five North American assembly plants, and reduce production at an engine plant in Alabama.

The Fix is In: Toyota reportedly has replacement pedals ready to go

Much of the controversy surrounding Toyota's latest recall of 2.3 million vehicles for defective accelerator pedal mechanisms has to do with the fact that the automaker didn't have a fix ready when the announcement was made last week. These assemblies can reportedly wear over time, causing the accelerator pedal to return to position slowly or even stick and cause unintended acceleration. Since there was no fix at the time of the announcement, Toyota halted sales of all eight models involved in the recall and decided to shut down the plants where they're assembled in early February to prevent inventory from backing up. This action occurred five days after the recall began and was reportedly done in consult with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since it's required to do so by law.

Well, the fix is in, so to speak, as Automotive News reports that affected Toyota plants are now gearing up to receive replacement accelerator pedal mechanisms. A Toyota spokesperson confirmed to the industry paper that the supplier responsible for manufacturing the parts, CTS Corporation, has finished developing a replacement mechanism and that some units have already been shipped to plants, though the amount and which plants received have them is unknown. The factories will likely still shut down from February 1–5 in order to keep inventory in check, but having the replacement assemblies now will help ensure they're in the pipeline when production of each model resumes.

Despite the good news for anyone considering the purchase of a Toyota model affected by the recall, Automotive News rightly points out that current owners may not benefit as quickly. There are 2.3 million vehicles in customers' driveways that require the replacement part, but AN sources say the plant that makes them has an annual capacity of just 2 million. Considering that Toyota's assembly plants also need to be supplied, we're wondering how Toyota will be able to fix each recalled vehicle in a timely manner.

On a related note, Toyota dealers are also reportedly getting instructions from the Mother Ship on how to answer questions related to the recall. AN editor James B. Treece reports that when asked if any accidents have been reported, dealers are encouraged to respond, "The number of accidents is still under investigation" without further confirmation. As Treece notes, the spin continues, as just a simple yes or no would suffice.

Toyota said it was not aware of any accidents resulting from the issue and that only a limited number of incidents involving accelerator pedals had been reported in Europe.

A U.S. House subcommittee headed by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak has called Toyota to testify at a Feb. 25 hearing about the company’s two recalls covering defects linked to sudden acceleration.

In a statement, Stupak, D-Menominee, said federal data showed that 19 deaths had been linked to sudden acceleration complaints in Toyotas in the past several years, more than all other automakers combined. Stupak and committee members met with Toyota on Wednesday to review its handling of the cases.

“Failure to take every step possible to prevent future deaths or injury is simply unacceptable,” Stupak said. “Our hearing will press for answers about the source of this accelerator defect and investigate whether adequate measures have been taken to ensure the safety of Toyota vehicle owners and all Americans on the road.”

Toyota’s two pending recalls include 2.3 million vehicles to fix gas pedals that could stick open, and another 5.4 million vehicles to replace floor mats and reshape gas pedals to avoid interference. Toyota was forced to stop selling eight models comprising a majority of its U.S. sales this week while it sought a fix for the sticking accelerator pedals.