Local dealers rev up for Toyota repairs
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Employees at Vancouver Toyota raced through computer files Wednesday in an attempt to narrow down customers who are affected by Toyota’s recall of faulty gas pedals.
While the dealership began scheduling appointments for affected customers, some cars were already in the shop. General Manager Greg Leonard said there are about 2,300 cars in his market that are affected by the recall, and he said his dealership will extend hours to ensure everybody who needs the repairs can get in.
“We’ve added some staff (and are) reutilizing staff that we had on a part-time status,” said Leonard. “So the customers will really drive that in terms of what they are demanding.
We’re equipped to operate up to 10 or 11 at night.”
But he said he’s got crews ready to work overnight if it becomes necessary.
Leonard said crews are working on 160 new cars that are in stock to check and repair them if needed. Those will be worked on between customer repairs.
With all the confusion out there, Leonard said the best thing for customers to do is, “If you’re not sure, if you have concerns, bring the car in and let us check it out. We don’t want to tell anyone to drive a car that they think is unsafe.”
There are two different problems with the accelerator.
The first problem is that gas pedals can get caught on the floor mat. The fix for that is to take the pedal out, trim it down, sand it, shape it, and reinstall it.
The second problem is excessive wear on the inner-workings of the pedal.
“The repair for it is we install a shim to increase the tolerance, and that will remove any of the interference that causes advanced wear,” said Dave Griffin Vancouver Toyota’s service manager.
Even with all the problems, many customers said they’re not ready to give up on Toyota.
Mel Vinsonhaler said his friends and family, who have new Toyotas, see it as a minor in\convenience.
“It hasn’t shaken them one bit, not one iota,” he said. “They’ll just take their turn and have it fixed and go on from there.”