New gas pedals on way to dealers, Toyota says

DETROIT — Toyota said it began shipping gas-pedal parts to dealers Friday for use in fixing the millions of cars and trucks recalled because of accelerators that could become stuck.

Company spokesman Brian Lyons said he did not know when the parts would arrive or how long it would take the automaker to complete repairs on the 4.2 million vehicles worldwide — 2.3 million of them in the U.S. — covered by the recall. He said Toyota has not decided whether to repair the accelerators or replace them altogether.

Toyota will release details next week, Lyons said.

Until Friday, Toyota had been sending the components to its factories, angering some dealers who have not had parts to repair their customers' vehicles since the recall was announced Jan. 21. Lyons denied any suggestion the factories were being given priority over dealerships.

Some dealers said they should get the parts first so they can fix the cars already on the road.

Earl Stewart, owner of a Toyota dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla., said his mechanics might not know the details of how to fix the gas pedals, but they know how to install new ones.

"That's absolutely stupid," he said of sending the parts to factories. "It makes no sense at all."

On Friday, Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda made his first public comments about the recall. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he told Japanese broadcaster NHK: "I am very sorry that we are making our customers feel concerned."

"People can feel safe driving in the current situation," he added. "Please trust that we are responding so it will be even safer."

He was seen driving off in a black Audi, according to ABC News.

Also Friday, Consumer Reports magazine said it was temporarily suspending its recommendations on eight Toyota vehicles, and the Pontiac Vibe, which shares components with the Toyota Matrix. The magazine advised shoppers to wait for Toyota to devise repairs before buying its cars.

Toyota dealers have been complaining for days that the automaker has left them in the dark about the nature of the gas-pedal problem, when and how it will be fixed, and what to tell customers fearful their accelerators will get stuck and cause their cars to crash.

Toyota owners were confused about what to do and angry that the company had no answers on when a fix would be available.

"I've got a $30,000 vehicle and they don't know how to fix it," said Johnathan Jones, a salesman from Fort Mitchell, Ala., who said he won't put his 10-year-old twins in his 2009 Toyota Tundra.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has attributed five deaths and 17 injuries to unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles since 2006, but it could not say whether any of those involved vehicles covered by the recall.

Toyota stopped selling eight U.S. models, including the top-selling Camry, Tuesday.

It also announced it will stop building them until the problem is fixed.

The company presented a remedy Thursday to NHTSA and is awaiting a decision before proceeding.

Toyota said not all of the models listed in the recall have the faulty gas pedals, which were made by CTS, of Elkhart, Ind.

The recall in the U.S. covers 2.3 million vehicles and involves the 2009-10 RAV4 crossover; the 2009-10 Corolla; the 2009-10 Matrix hatchback; the 2005-10 Avalon; the 2007-10 Camry; the 2010 Highlander crossover; the 2007-10 Tundra pickup; and the 2008-10 Sequoia SUV. The recall has been expanded to models in Europe and China.