Pedal problem ignored in 2007

Failure to act by executives of Toyota Motor Corp. in 2007 may have led to the current recall that so far will affect about 10 million vehicles.

According to sources, Toyota received complaints in the United States in 2007 about problems with the gas pedal, but executives then said there was no safety problem involved and took no further action.

Until now, Toyota's position has been that it first became aware of problems with gas pedals in its cars last fall.

However, acording to papers Toyota submitted to U.S. authorities, a problem with gas pedals in the Tundra pickup truck not releasing after being pressed was reported in March 2007.

The faulty part was at the base of the gas pedal and was designed to stabilize the pedal.

An investigation by Toyota found that when the vehicle was parked in locations with high temperatures for long periods, the part expanded after absorbing moisture.

However, executives did not believe a recall was needed because the problem was only related to ease of driving.

During the course of that investigation the part was replaced by a different one. The new part was widely used in many Toyota vehicles, including compact cars sold in Europe.

Toyota received complaints from European customers in December 2008 over the new part.

After another investigation, Toyota executives determined there was the possibility that the part could become difficult to operate due to moisture caused by the heater. In Europe, the material used and the shape of the part were revised.

However, no changes were made in the part used in vehicles sold in the United States.

While both faulty parts had problems with their shape and function changing when exposed to humidity, Toyota executives took no further action to stem the problem.

That inaction could have been an indirect cause of the huge recall the company now faces.

After announcing a recall for North America and China, Toyota on Friday said as many as 1.8 million vehicles sold in Europe would also be recalled due to problems with the gas pedal.

The European recall will cover eight models--Corolla, Yaris, AYGO, Auris, iQ, Avensis, Verso and RAV4.

While the iQ and RAV4 were manufactured in Japan, the part used was for export only, so the recall will not affect vehicles sold in Japan.

Meanwhile, two different committees of the U.S. House of Representatives announced over the past few days that hearings would be held on the Toyota recall problem.

On Friday, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced it would hold a hearing Feb. 4 to look into the federal government's response to the recall.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota Motor North America, Inc., have been asked to appear at the hearing.

Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns said in a statement, "There appears to be growing public confusion regarding which vehicles may be affected and how people should respond."

On Thursday, the Energy and Commerce Committee announced a hearing for Feb. 25 on the Toyota recall.