Detroit:
The president of Toyota issued his first apology Friday as his troubled automaker expanded its recall to include Europe and it rushed to complete its strategy to modify or replace millions of accelerator pedals.
Although Toyota said it was nearing a decision on repairs, the influential publication Consumer Reports suspended its recommendation of Toyota's recalled models.
Meanwhile, the supplier whose Canadian factory made the questionable pedals insisted that Toyota's remedies would not address the episodes in which drivers claim their vehicles accelerated out of control.
General Motors(GM), whose Pontiac Vibe was among the vehicles recalled because it was built through a joint venture with Toyota, said late Friday that it had received "several complaints of alleged sticking accelerator pedals" in the last week. GM said that the vehicles "were safely brought to a stop" and that it was looking into the reports.
In Davos, Switzerland, Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota's founder, told a Japanese broadcaster that he was "deeply sorry" for the recalls, which have prompted the company to stop selling eight models in North America.
In an interview Friday with the NHK television network, he said Toyota was working on a solution to the recalls. "We hope to come up with a clear explanation as soon as possible." Toyoda, who was in Davos for the World Economic Conference, went on: "Our customers always come first for us and they can feel safe in our cars, even today."
Despite reports that the company had identified a remedy, Toyota officials said late Friday that they had not decided how the cars would be repaired. A Toyota spokesman, Mike Michels, said the company was "very, very close" and that the options included repairing the pedals or replacing them. However, it was unlikely one would be announced to consumers before next week.
Michels also said it had not been determined whether consumers would receive replacement pedals, or whether their cars would simply be repaired, which would be faster for Toyota. On its Web site, Toyota said there would be "rapid deployment" of a remedy but did not go into detail. In all, nearly eight million cars worldwide are affected by two recalls.
The pedal manufacturer, the CTS Corp., in Elkhart, Ind., has begun shipping replacement pedals to be installed at Toyota plants. Michels said those pedals would be available to consumers if needed, however.
Analysts predicted it would be weeks, at least, before dealers could resume sales of the recalled models, including the top-selling sedans in the United States, the Camry and the Corolla.
CTS, in a statement, took issue with Toyota's claim that the recall was made in part because partly depressed pedals could become stuck. CTS said that reports of unintended acceleration in some Toyota vehicles went back as far as 1999 but that it did not begin making pedals for Toyota until the 2005 model year.
"CTS believes that the rare slow return pedal phenomenon, which may occur in extreme environmental conditions, should absolutely not be linked with any sudden unintended acceleration incidents," the statement said. CTS said it was not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by one of its pedals becoming stuck.
Michels replied that sticking pedals, and pedals that were caught in floor mats, were the two main reasons for accidents. "There's a combination of things that can be contributing to the complaints. We have had sticking pedals and it's from one supplier," he said.
He added: "I don't want to get into any kind of a disagreement with CTS. Our position on suppliers has always been that Toyota is responsible for the cars."
Toyota also appeared to leave open the possibility that anyone who bought a vehicle in the five days between Jan. 21, when it announced the recall of 2.3 million vehicles, and when it stopped selling those models this week could return the car. It said it would "work with customers who have concerns about their vehicles on a case-by-case basis."
Consumer Reports said it would temporarily withhold its recommendation of the recalled models. It said that even though a problem was extremely rare and the models were "fundamentally good cars," it was not comfortable endorsing them until the defect was resolved.
The models that Toyota has stopped selling accounted for one of every 10 new-vehicle sales in the United States in December and 57 percent of Toyota's sales in 2009. But the recalls are hurting Toyota's entire lineup.
Edmunds.com, which publishes car-buying advice, said Friday that it expected sales of the Toyota brand to fall 75 percent while sales of the eight models were suspended. Automotive Lease Guide, which tracks cars' residual values, said Friday that it expected Toyotas to lose an additional 1 percent of value over three years, or 4 percent if the problem was not fixed quickly.
The car rental company Avis, which this week said it would remove 20,000 Toyota vehicles from its fleet until they were repaired, addressed the uncertainty surrounding Toyota's vehicles in an e-mail message Friday. Avis said it would continue renting Toyota models not included in the recall, but would let customers choose another car if they prefer.
Toyota owners who want to trade in their vehicle are being wooed by several of the carmaker's rivals. Chrysler and Hyundai were the latest to join the fray Friday, with $1,000 incentives for buyers who trade in a Toyota. The Hyundai deal is offered only through Monday on three models; Chrysler's is available through the end of February. GM and the Ford Motor Co. already were offering similar deals, though Ford's is not limited to Toyota. Their discounts last until the end of February.
"We just heard from our dealers that this is something they thought would benefit them in the field," a Hyundai spokesman, Chris Hosford, said.