Toyota Has a Fix for Gas Pedal Problems, But Will it Work?
As Toyota Motor Corp. continues to recall more vehicles due to problems with faulty gas pedals which can stick and cause vehicles to speed out of control, the car maker finally says it has a way to fix the problem.
Of course, we wonder if what the company has come up with really is an effective way to prevent the problem, or just a case of corporate public relations and spin doctoring in an attempt to limit damage to Toyota’s image and reputation?
Toyota says it has worked with CTS Corp., the company that supplies the car maker with accelerator pedals, to fix the problem of sticky gas pedals in more than a dozen Toyota and Lexus models, including the popular Camry and Carolla.
Officials had said it could take more than a year to make enough new replacement pedals to outfit the more than four million vehicles affected worldwide. However, Toyota now says it has come up with a “modified pedal†that will use a “selective spacer†to repair the faulty gas pedals, rather than replacing them all, according to a report on Automobilemag.com.
The car maker said it is “working closely with our pedal supplier CTS on a revised design that effectively remedies the problem. These pedals are now in full production at CTS to support Toyota’s needs. At the same time, we continue to work with CTS to test effective pedal modifications for existing vehicles on the road that will be available to our customers as quickly as possible.â€
But Toyota’s approach to this scandal begs the question: Is using a Band-Aid type fix rather than a total replacement of the defective pedals really the way to go, when the risks from out-of-control speed in millions of popular vehicles around the world are so high?