Toyota South Africa is recalling three models of their vehicles due to a potentially faulty accelerator mechanism.
Toyota South Africa is recalling three models of their vehicles due to a potentially faulty accelerator mechanism.
The problem has arisen in the US and UK as well as other regions of the world. According to Gary Grey, service manager at Settlers City Toyota, “Grahamstown does not have a lot of these models driving around, in fact we have sold very few. We are basically expecting a rough estimate of 20 to 30 cars that we need to repair.”
The models are the new Corolla, Verso as well as the Auris.
The problem with the accelerator pedal comes from a new Electronic Throttle Control System Intelligent (ETCSI) mechanism.
This means that the traditional accelerator cable is replaced by an accelerator wire which submits messages to the car’s electronic system. The problem arising from this mechanism is that the accelerator mechanism may deteriorate and thus become harder to depress and in some severe cases even get stuck.
However, such cases have only been reported in other regions of the world. Acccording to Grey, Toyota South Africa is simply taking precautionary measures by embarking on this recalling campaign.
Due to the hot and dry climate in South Africa such irregularies are not likely to occur, but Toyota South Africa is not taking any chances.
Ncedo Kumbaca, director of Communications for the department of Transport in the Eastern Cape, says “although the time they will take to fix the problem is questionable, we appreciate the initiative taken by Toyota to improve the safety of their vehicles.”
The names and details of owners will only be released on 23 February but because Settlers will still have to order the parts, the repairs will only commence around 28 February.
The owners of the affected models will be contacted so that they can bring in their cars and have the accelerator mechanism repaired.
The repair of the pedal will take roughly one hour to complete at no expense to the customer. Despite the small number of these models in Grahamstown, Settlers City Toyota has cut down on bookings in anticipation for the campaign.
