State-Journal.com - Glenn Toyota technicians fixing faulty gas pedals

Photo By Kelly MackeyGlenn Toyota Owner Mike Tewell holds up the part that will be used to repair the sticking gas pedal in several Toyota models.

Technicians at Glenn Toyota were scheduled to begin fixing gas pedals this weekend although it could take weeks to make all necessary repairs, said owner Mike Tewell.

He’s received a few of the “reinforcement bars” required to fix “sticky” gas pedals in RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia vehicles. On Friday, Tewell said he expected to receive more on Saturday and Tuesday.

“We had anticipated having parts by now,” he told The State Journal. “They have not been able to make enough of them.”

So far, about 800 customers are on a waiting list and Tewell said that could grow to as many as 3,000.

The service department will have extended hours from 7 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Tewell said he’s hired about a dozen part-time employees to make repairs, shuttle cars and help with paperwork.

The first group of 40 customers was scheduled to be contacted Saturday and asked to bring in their cars for the recall, Tewell said. The names on the top of the waiting list will be called first, he said.

A tent has been installed at the dealership to accommodate three extra service lanes. Once enough parts are in stock, Tewell said he hopes to bring in four cars every 15 minutes.

“We may find out that may not be feasible.”

It will take between 30 and 90 minutes to make the repairs, depending on what type of gas pedal the vehicle uses, he said.

The dealerships’ six loaner cars have already been assigned and many local rental agencies have withdrawn their Toyota vehicles from their fleet until the problem is fixed, Tewell said. Instead, the dealership will operate several shuttle bus routes in order to take customers to and from work, he said.

General manager Eric Clark said customers have been sympathetic but urged them to remain patient and flexible.

“We can’t work on everybody’s car the first day,” he said.

Although none of his customers have reported any problems with “sticky” gas pedals, Tewell said he’s treating the problem seriously.

“This isn’t a glove box latch or a trunk latch, this is the safety of the vehicle,” he said.

Despite the current safety concerns Tewell said he thinks the Toyota brand will recover in the long term. Other manufacturers have survived large recalls, such as Ford during the recall of Firestone tires several years ago, he said.

“This is just a bump in the road – it may not be pleasant,” Tewell said.

However, the Japanese government and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating concerns about brakes in the 2010 Prius. Tewell said he’s sold about 20 Priuses and has had no complaints about the brakes.

Tewell has been a Toyota salesman, manager and owner for 35 years and said this is the biggest problem he’s ever faced.

“I thought I’d seen it all,” he said.

8.	Posted by ronandlane February 9, 2010
	I am a proud owner of 2 thoroughly reliable late model Toyota's and have never ever had any trouble from either of them. I know Mike Tewel is doing all he can to accomodate owners of the recalled vehicles in question. This is not the first time in American / Worldwide automotive history that cars have experienced these exact types of problems. I remember my 1994 Volvo 940 behaving similarly. Toyota is taking the hit and that is sad as their vehicles are among the finest on this entire planet. I am proud of our Gerorgetown production plant and the men and women who work there. They are a credit to our State and to Toyota Motors. I am and always will be a loyal Toyota Owner, and am proud to buy my cars and have them serviced over at Glenn Toyota in Frankfort, and NO I AM NOT AN EMPLOYEE OF TOYOTA OR HAVE BEEN PAID TO WRITE THE STATEMENT I HAVE WRITTEN HERE TODAY. JUST A LOYAL CUSTOMER AND OWNER.