Daniel Rook Daniel Rook – Fri Feb 5, 6:14 am ET
TOKYO (AFP) – Troubled Japanese auto giant Toyota said Friday it had begun repairing sticky accelerator pedals in the United States behind the recall of millions of vehicles worldwide.
The carmaker's US branch, Toyota Motor Sales USA, said repairs were underway after dealers across the country had received the necessary parts, information and training to repair the accelerator pedals.
It also announced that it had begun mailing letters to owners of recalled vehicles to inform them of when they can bring their cars to a dealership for repair.
The crisis rocking the Japanese automaker deepened as it looked set to recall several hundred thousand Prius hybrids and was slapped with a US lawsuit alleging it covered up safety problems.
As pressure mounted on the Japanese giant, its under-fire president Akio Toyoda was due to hold a late-night press conference on the quality issues, his first since the recalls went global last week.
The Japanese giant, which dethroned General Motors in 2008 as the world's biggest automaker, is reeling from a litany of complaints about problems ranging from unintended acceleration to brake failure.
With Toyota already pulling millions of vehicles worldwide because of sticking accelerators, the flagship Prius became the latest model to be targeted in US investigations.
Related article: Toyota checking Lexus hybrid brakes
Toyota said it was also investigating whether its Lexus luxury hybrids have the same problem as the Prius given that they share the brake system. However, it has yet to receive any complaints about the brakes from Lexus owners.
US authorities Thursday ordered a probe into the problems with the Prius, which is pivotal to Toyota's efforts to recover from a massive loss last year. The group is already facing a two-billion-dollar bill from the huge recalls.
Business not usual at flagship US Toyota dealership
President Barack Obama has been briefed on Toyota's safety problems, the White House said, after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Toyota owners should "stop driving" problematic cars them and take them to a dealer.
He later retracted the remark, which caused a brief furore.
And lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit in Colorado alleging Toyota had known about the unexpected acceleration issue "for several years".
Toyota said Friday that it was still considering whether to recall the Prius, a day after confirming there was a design flaw with the fuel-sipping car.
The company said it had redesigned the anti-lock braking system (ABS) -- designed to prevent skidding -- for the latest version of its Prius produced since last month and would soon announce steps for those already on the road.
In Washington, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a formal probe into the Prius after 124 complaints from consumers on the 2010 model of the world's most popular hybrid.
Toyota has come under heavy fire in the United States for its handling of recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide -- more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles.
Toyota's president, facing criticism for keeping a low profile during the crisis, called a news conference for 1200 GMT at the group's headquarters in central Japan.
Apart from an impromptu apology last weekend to a Japanese television crew at the Davos forum in Switzerland, the Toyota family scion had not appeared in public to comment on the recalls since they went global last week.
Related article: Green flagship Prius a new headache for Toyota
"We haven't seen Mr Akio Toyoda's leadership yet," said Tatsuya Mizuno, an auto analyst at Mizuno Credit Advisory.
"In addition to the quality issues, the management attitude made the problem bigger. He is responsible to a large extent."
The gas pedal problems have been blamed for several accidents, including an August crash in California in which four family members were killed when their Lexus sedan sped up on a highway and crashed in a ball of flames.
Related article: Toyota recalls raise questions about computerized cars
Despite the troubles, the Japanese giant said Thursday it was on course to earn 80 billion yen (880 million dollars) this fiscal year to March.
Toyota shares rose 1.06 percent to end at 3,315 yen, bucking a weaker overall market, after plunging more than a fifth over the previous two weeks.
Related article: Toyota knew of problems in 2007: report
Standard and Poor's on Friday threatened to downgrade Toyota's credit rating, saying the recalls were putting the auto giant's brand image and sales at risk.
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