Toyota Motor Corp. will recall about 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix sticking accelerator pedals, following its biggest-ever recall in the country last year for a similar danger.
The automaker, which said in November it would notify owners of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles of a defect that may cause floor mats to jam the pedal, said in a statement yesterday that about 1.7 million autos are subject to both voluntary recalls.
"Our investigation indicates that there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position," Irv Miller, a group vice president for the company's U.S. sales unit in Torrance, California, said in the statement.
The announcement may fuel concern that rapid expansion at the world's largest automaker is leading to production and design glitches, eroding its reputation for quality. The recall is at least its fourth involving more than 100,000 autos in the U.S. in the past two years. Toyota's sales in the country fell 20 percent in 2009, the biggest drop since 1961.
"This situation is slowly spiraling out of control," said James Bell, executive market analyst with Kelley Blue Book, an Irvine, California-based vehicle data service. "As a company with a reputation for steadiness, these must be uncomfortable days for Toyota."
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