Toyota Motor Europe announced today the recall of 8 Toyota models in Europe, to
solve a potential accelerator pedal issue. The involved models and production periods
are as follows:
- AYGO (Feb 2005 – Aug 2009)
- iQ (Nov 2008 – Nov 2009)
- Yaris (Nov 2005 – Sep 2009)
- Auris (Oct 2006 – 5 Jan 2010)
- Corolla (Oct 2006 – Dec 2009)
- Verso (Feb 2009 – 5 Jan 2010)
- Avensis (Nov 2008 – Dec 2009)
- RAV4 (Nov 2005 – Nov 2009)
No Lexus models and no other Toyota models are affected.
The President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe said “Toyota’s policy is to put its
customers first, in all circumstances”,. “We understand that the current situation is
creating concerns, and we deeply regret it. We would a ike to reassure customers:
the potential accelerator pedal issue only occurs in very rare circumstances. The
announced action is a preventive measure aimed to guarantee the highest safety
standards to all customers.”
For subject vehicles, 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.
This issue is caused because the accelerator pedal mechanisms concerned may
become worn. This progressive wear, combined with certain operating and
environmental conditions, can cause friction in the mechanism to increase and
intermittently result in the accelerator pedal being harder to depress, slow to return or,
in the worst case, stick in a partially open position.
Toyota has identified a remedy for this issue, and is currently pursuing a final
evaluation and confirmation procedure. As soon as the countermeasure is confirmed,
Toyota will communicate to all customers and other concerned parties the details of
the corrective action and of the implementation procedure.
A running change in production using different parts has already been implemented
model-by-model for the models on sale in Europe, as part of Toyota’s continuous
quality improvement policy. Therefore there is no need or intention to stop production
in Europe.
Only a limited number of incidents have been reported in Europe, and Toyota Motor
Europe is not aware of any accident resulting from this issue.
Toyota is making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as
possible.’
Whilst this condition is rare we advise customers who have concerns to contact
Toyota GB Customer Relations for assistance ahead of the recall
instructions being issued.
(0800 1388744)
|
