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Toyota's sticky pedal problem

Toyota cars for sale at a Toyota dealer in Los Angeles on January 27, 2010
Toyota cars for sale at a Toyota dealer in Los Angeles on January 27, 2010
(
AFP/Getty Images
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Toyota's sticky pedal problem
A week after Toyota stopped the sale and production of eight of its models, the company has announced that it has a fix for the sticking gas pedal risk that could cause cars to accelerate out of control. Toyota says that it narrowed the defect to a "friction device" within the pedal, and has found a "simple and effective" solution through insertion of a steel reinforcement bar in the pedal assembly. Many dealerships will stay open 24 hours a day to make the repairs, but will this be an effective fix the problem, as well as Toyota's reputation?

A week after Toyota stopped the sale and production of eight of its models, the company has announced that it has a fix for the sticking gas pedal risk that could cause cars to accelerate out of control. Toyota says that it narrowed the defect to a "friction device" within the pedal, and has found a "simple and effective" solution through insertion of a steel reinforcement bar in the pedal assembly. Many dealerships will stay open 24 hours a day to make the repairs, but will this be an effective fix the problem, as well as Toyota's reputation?

Guests:


Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times staff reporter

Paul Lunsford, co-owner and general manager of South Coast Toyota in Costa Mesa