Toyota Halts US Sales - Recall Models

DETROIT – Toyota Motor Co. said Tuesday that it would temporarily stop selling and building eight models for the American market, including the popular Camry and Corolla sedans, while it determines how to resolve a problem with accelerator pedals that can stick.

Link: Recall information

It took the unusual step five days after announcing a recall of 2.3 million vehicles for what it described as a "rare" condition in which the pedal can stick and cause a vehicle to speed up unintentionally.

"Toyota had a bulletproof reputation for quality, and now it's been tarnished," said Jim Hossack, an industry analyst at AutoPacific Inc. "It's a dramatic move, and an expensive move."

Halting sales and production of some of Toyota's best-selling U.S. models may mean hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue, said Hossack, who is based in Fountain Valley, Calif., and is a former engineer for Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp.

It has the potential to further damage a reputation that has been taking a beating from the latest recall and from a November recall of 4.2 million vehicles, the largest in Toyota's history.

Toyota said it would immediately stop selling the Camry, Corolla and Avalon sedans, Matrix wagon, RAV4 crossover, Tundra pickup, and Highlander and Sequoia sport utility vehicles. It will stop building those models the week of Feb. 1.

Pat Lobb, owner of Pat Lobb Toyota and Scion of McKinney, said the action will affect about 30 percent of the vehicles on his lot. It is aimed at Toyotas built in the United States, Lobb said, so dealers can still sell models built in Japan – including some versions of the popular Camry and Corolla sedans.

However, Lobb said, he also is "tagging" used vehicles affected by the recall as well, and he acknowledges that for dealers, "there will be some short-term pain."

"I've been with Toyota since 1969, and I've never been more proud to be a Toyota dealer," said Lobb, who worked for Toyota before becoming a dealer. "When you see them step up like this, it's encouraging." In fact, Lobb said, he instructed his staff Tuesday night to look for additional vehicles to buy from other dealers – even ones that will need the accelerator repairs.

"Some won't have the confidence in the company that I do," he said. "Will there be people concerned? You bet. But I say go look at Toyota over the long term. Look at their history. That's the reality."

The models affected accounted for more than 1 million sales in 2009, 57 percent of Toyota's total for the year.

"In this highly competitive market, no automaker – not even Toyota – can afford to stop selling its cars and trucks for long, but perhaps Toyota is banking on the idea that customers will appreciate the priority of their safety in this decision," Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst with Edmunds.com, a Web site that gives car-buying advice to consumers. "When an airline delays a flight for mechanical reasons, passengers may grumble, but on some level they're always grateful that the technical issue was found before they were midair."

The November recall was to fix a design flaw that could cause the gas pedal to become trapped under the floor mat. It was prompted in part by the crash of a Lexus sedan that sped out of control and crashed into a ravine near San Diego, killing four people.

But the automaker and federal safety officials continued to receive reports of unintended acceleration and stuck pedals even in cases where the floor mats had been removed, a stopgap measure recommended by Toyota.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been looking into two recent incidents in Texas and New Jersey. Four people died on Dec. 26 in Southlake when a Toyota Avalon – with its floor mats in the trunk – went off a road and landed upside down in a pond.

In announcing last week's recall, the company said the accelerator pedal could wear down and become difficult to depress, slow to spring back or stuck partly depressed.

Toyota does not have a solution for the problem yet, and it said drivers who experience it should depress the brake firmly and steadily, and then contact a dealer after the vehicle is in a safe location and turned off. Drivers who have not had a problem should wait for the company to develop a remedy before visiting their dealer.

"The problem seems to be getting larger than anyone was led to believe at first," said Erich Merkle, an analyst with Autoconomy.com in Grand Rapids. "A lot of those vehicles are probably in the garages of families. It gets people thinking, 'Would I want my wife and kids in the vehicle? Would they know what to do in a situation like that?' "

Together, the two recalls cover 4.8 million vehicles, including 1.7 million affected by both. The Prius hybrid and several Lexus models were included in the November recall but not in last week's action or the sales halt.

The automaker said the move would affect plants in San Antonio; Princeton, Ind.; Lafayette, Ind.; Georgetown, Ky.; and a facility in Ontario, Canada.