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Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

UK Toyota owners 'must wait for repairs'

04/02/2010

Over 180,000 UK drivers affected by Toyota's global safety recall will be forced to wait another week for repairs to be carried out on their vehicles.

The Japanese car manufacturer has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide following safety fears about the accelerator pedals on several models. The models affected in the UK are the iQ, Aygo, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Avensis and Verso.

The 30-minute fix will entail inserting a steel bar beneath the accelerator, but a lack of the necessary parts means that repairs can only begin from next Wednesday (10 Feb) at the earliest.

Toyota is contacting UK owners through the DVLA to arrange the repair, but in the meantime Miguel Fonseca, managing director of Toyota GB PLC, tried to reassure customers about the safety of their cars.

Speaking on the Toyota blog, Mr Fonseca said: "People who drive any of the models that are to be recalled should be aware that this is not a problem that develops suddenly."

"There are warning signs that will indicate that your vehicle might have a problem, such as the accelerator pedal becoming harder to depress or slow to return to its normal position."

Meanwhile, the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) issued its own advice on what to do should an accelerator pedal stick.

Stephen Mead, the IAM's assistant chief examiner, said: "Press the brake firmly, then the clutch, disengaging the power. In an automatic, drivers should brake, wait for a reaction from the vehicle and then put the car into neutral. You can still steer, too, so look for somewhere to stop safely, indicate and make the manoeuvre as you would under normal circumstances."

"There will be loud revving in the background and you will probably be in a state of shock, but if you remain calm you can avoid serious danger," he added.

Toyota has admitted it expects costs and lost sales arising from the recall to cost $2 billion and, according to the BBC, Toyota shares in the US fell 6% in one day, taking them to a 10-month low.

But in some good news for the manufacturer, financial reports for the last three months of 2009 indicated a return to profit. The company reported pre-tax profits of 153.2 billion yen ( £1.6 billion), compared to a loss of 164.7 billion yen ( £1.1 billion) for the same period the previous year.