Toyota recalls two models in the UAE

Toyota on Monday announced the recall of two models — Avalon and Sequoia (2005 - 2010) — in the UAE, out of the eight models recalled globally. Toyota recently had to recall 8 million cars globally due to a faulty accelerator which causes sudden and unexpected acceleration. The models affected are RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra, and Sequoia.

Simon Frith, managing director of Al Futtaim Motors said: "We can now announce that of the 8 models affected by the USA campaign only two are sold by Al Futtaim Motors in the UAE. These models, however, are highly unlikely to experience the same potential accelerator issue due to the UAE's climatic conditions."

Other brands

Details of the number of cars affected are yet to be clarified but Frith estimates the numbers of the two models combined to make up only 1 per cent of the total inventory.

Peugeot Citroen was also forced to recall 97,000 Peugeot 107s and Citroën C1s across Europe which used the same potentially faulty accelerator pedals as the Toyota models.

Honda has also announced the recall of 646,000 cars globally to fix a switch defect that could cause a fire.

For those affected in the UAE, Al Futtaim plans to follow the same service campaign launched in the USA — for all Avalon and Sequoia vehicles. Full details are yet to be outlined by Toyota.

Spare part

Toyota said steel reinforcement bars were being delivered to dealers to be installed to reduce the surface tension which causes the accelerator to stick.

While it is yet to be seen whether this will affect Toyota's sales in the future, Frith says, "The utmost thing [in handling this situation] is the safety aspect first, and then clarify to the customers the situation." Toyota has asked the affected car owners to contact the customer care team on 04 206 6002.

US regulators satisfied

In Washington,  Toyota Motor Corp. said on Monday its dealers should get parts to fix a sticky gas pedal problem this week as the automaker tries to bring an end to a recall that has affected 4.2 million vehicles worldwide.

The company said in a statement that it has begun shipping parts and is training service technicians on the repairs. Some dealers will stay open 24 hours to fix the 2.3 million cars and trucks affected by the recall in the US.

Government regulators told Toyota last week that they were satisfied with the repair plan. The automaker also said on Monday it would suspend production of eight US models affected by the recall for this week.

Toyota recalled the vehicles on January 21, determining that excess friction in the accelerator pedal assembly could in rare cases cause the pedals to stick.

Engineers traced the problem to a friction device in the assembly that is supposed to provide the proper pedal "feel" by adding resistance, Toyota said in the statement.

The device has a shoe that rubs against a nearby metal surface during normal pedal use. But wear and environmental conditions can over time cause the pedals to not operate smoothly or in rare cases stick partially open. The company said a steel reinforcement bar will be installed into the gas pedal assembly, reducing the friction. "With this reinforcement in place, the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick is eliminated," the statement said. "The company has confirmed the effectiveness of the newly reinforced pedals through rigorous testing on pedal assemblies that had previously shown a tendency to stick."

Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, said in the statement that nothing is more important than customer safety. "We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers and we are doing everything we can - as fast as we can - to make things right," the statement said.