Sticky accelerator pedal prompts Toyota recall

By Krystle Cantu / Staff Writer –

On Jan. 21, Toyota dealerships announced a recall to about 2.3 million select vehicles and suspended the sales of eight of the models involved.

All of these vehicles are equipped with a specific pedal assembly, which is causing the accelerator to stick or return slowly to an idle position.

This is a concern for drivers because if an accelerator sticks, the vehicle will continue to drive at the speed it first accelerated at. For example, a car driving at 80 mph will continue to drive at that speed without slowing down, despite the release or ease on the accelerator.

“The driver basically loses control of the gas pedal function. They don’t have the ability to tell the motor whether or not it should slow down or not,” said James “Turbo” Turbeville, a lead technician at the Denton Goodyear who is studying automotive business management. “It can be a frightening thing, you take your foot off the gas to stop for traffic and you keep going.”

Toyota announced a recall on more than 2 million of its vehicles in January and stopped the sales of eight of its models. Among the list are the 2007 to 2010 models of the Toyota Tundras. (Photo by Melissa Boughton / Assigning Editor)

The problem
If a pedal sticks, Toyota dealers say the vehicle can be controlled with a firm and steady application of the breaks. Turbeville suggested using the emergency break.
John, a Toyota spokesperson who withheld his last name under company policy, said the problem with the accelerators is because of environmental occurrences.

“This condition is caused by condensation that is getting in between two pieces of plastic that need to be able to rub up against each other smoothly,” he said. “Because the plastic is getting condensation or moisture in there, the plastic will tend to stick to itself.”

Detecting this was difficult because the condition either lessened or disappeared all together once the condensation was gone, John said.

“It wasn’t a quality control issue,” he said. “It was an issue that occurred in the market due to environmental conditions.”

The solution
Toyota is adding a precision-cut steel reinforcement bar to the accelerator pedal, John said. This will reduce surface tension between the friction of the driver’s shoe and the adjoining surface.

“Simply, we’ve identified that as a very good remedy, and it has been vigorously tested,” he said. “We’ve also made changes to the design of the accelerator pedal going into production. We’ve changed the material, and that is going to be the production fix.”

John said the new vehicles in production will not contain a reinforcement bar because of the new design and new material being used. He said they are also still investigating if any recent accidents in Toyotas were because of accelerators sticking.

“We’re always investigating,” he said. “We find a problem, we start working on the solution. That doesn’t mean we’ve stopped looking at the problem.”

‘Erratic acceleration’
In October Toyota received three complaints on Corolla vehicles with this type of problem, with no accidents or injuries involved within those complaints, John said.

In other local reports, speculation is linking this problem with Toyota Avalon crashes.

A car accident in December 2009, in Southlake, involved a 2008 recalled Toyota Avalon. The accident claimed the lives of four people. The Avalon was reportedly drove through an intersection at high speed and crashed into a metal fence, hit a tree, and landed upside-down in a pond.

The Southlake Police Department suspects this might be because of the pedal sticking and causing sudden acceleration, but the crash is still being investigated.

Toyota’s recall was first thought to have been because of the floor mats and the pedal sticking to the floor mat. However, research now proves the recall is for more than just mats.

“It’s not the actual pedal inside the vehicle that’s sticking,” Turbeville said. “You have what they call a throttle cable mechanism causing it to stick, so when you push the pedal and the cable opens, it’s getting stuck in a certain position. It’s not allowing it to retract all the way, so it’s causing erratic acceleration.”

Still a good car?
Turbeville said though he thinks this may be a manufacture defect, Toyota is known for having really good vehicles.

“I think it’s unfortunate that this will probably scar their name for a little while,” he said.

David Dansby, a 66-year-old Toyota owner, said he has owned two Toyotas and still thinks of them as quality company.

“I don’t know if it’s hysteria or people are panicking prematurely, but it doesn’t bother me,” he said.

His wife owns a Toyota and said her car does not have any problems.

Jill Kristiansen, a biology junior, said she was supposed to get a 2007 Toyota Camry from her grandmother, but is not sure she still wants it.

“Going 120 mph is pretty scary, and then getting stuck,” she said. “That’s a big problem and that is something that should have been taken care of in the long run.”

What’s next?
Dane Minor, general manager for Freeman Toyota in Hurst, said that it isn’t unusual for any manufacture to have recall, but Toyota is making the news because it usually has very few.

He said Toyota has shut down production temporarily to devote its time to fixing and making repair parts for affected consumer vehicles.

“There are very few, if any, other manufacturers that would actually stop selling or producing their cars,” he said. “We’re going to take care of the customers that are out on the road today. I’ve been in this business for 21 years, and I have never heard of a manufacture that voluntarily did that.”

Minor said Toyota’s first priority is making sure that the customer comes first. He said the majority of Toyota’s customer base still seems supportive. However, sales have gone down by 20 percent.

Minor says he does realize the concern of those customers affected by this ordeal, but insists that Toyota cars still maintain a quality value.

“I’ve got my wife driving a Highlander that’s involved in the recall, I’ve got my daughter driving a Camry that’s involved in the recall and I didn’t panic and pull them out of their cars and put them in something that’s not involved in the recall because they’re perfectly fine,” he said. “We don’t have actual numbers and there has been so much misinformation out there in the media … We just look at it and shake our head and go ‘oh, boy.’