Putting the Toyota recall fix to the test

By
Jeremiah Jacobsen

Story Created:
Feb 8, 2010 at 10:23 PM EST

Story Updated:
Feb 8, 2010 at 10:23 PM EST

FORT MYERS, Fla. – As Toyota recalls its popular hybrid Prius model in Japan, service garages in the U.S. are already filling up with customers getting fixes on two earlier recalls.

WINK News rode along in a repaired vehicle to see how the fix works.

Fort Myers Toyota service director Gary Meyer, showed us how a repaired car comes to a complete stop, even when the accelerator is pressed all the way to the floor.

“The braking system on a car is designed to overpower an accelerator,” Meyer said. “If a person’s firm on the brakes, there’s no way they cannot control the vehicle.”

It’s part of the three-step repair process in Toyota’s recall for problem floormats. Service techs remove a portion of floor padding, trim about half-inch off the accelerator pedal itself, then reprogram the car’s computer to ensure the brakes overtake the accelerator.

It’s a two hour process for the floor mat issue, even less for the larger “sticky pedal” recall, where a small shim is installed in the pedal to increase tension on the spring and make it more responsive.

“We’ve had approximately 500 vehicles so far,” Meyer said. “Our biggest problem right now has been availability of parts.”

Fort Myers Toyota says the recall repairs have gone smoothly, so they haven’t had to stay open round-the-clock as planned.

While they’ve never actually seen a case of sticky pedal in their shop, they say the recall repairs should give customers peace of mind.

“If they have their foot on the brake, its definitely going to stop, there’s not going to be any question about it,” Meyer said.

Owners of recalled Toyotas can expect a letter in the mail from the automaker with a notice to call their local Toyota dealer to schedule a repair.