Toyota recall available in Hattiesburg soon

Toyota of Hattiesburg will be ready to fix potentially hazardous gas pedals from all three recalls next week, the dealership’s general manager Alton Pierce said.

“We’re ready for doing the floor mat and also the pedal they’re recalling,” Pierce said.

Next week will bring the parts necessary to complete the newest gas pedal recall, announced by Toyota Monday.

This series of recalls date back to a recall announcement in November that the pedals of various new Toyotas can get caught on the edge of the floor mat.

Toyota will begin to send letters of notification to owners of the 2.3 million vehicles affected by the latest recall as early as this week, according to a CNN report.

“You first need to wait on the letter from Toyota,” Pierce said, adding that an appointment should be made with a local Toyota dealership to have the work done, and that the nearest dealership will gladly perform the replacement.

Senior USM business administration major Edgar Vines drives a 2008 Tundra, one of the models affected by both the floor mat and pedal recall.

“I haven’t gotten my recall papers yet,” Vines said. “But I haven’t talked to the Toyota dealership either.”

Vines isn’t particularly worried about his accelerator.

“It hasn’t done anything,” Vines said. “I haven’t had any lurching or rapid acceleration yet.”

Pierce said the best way to avoid hazards is to keep your floor mat clean and to refrain from using aftermarket or all-weather floor mats. He added that if an accelerator was to stick, the best course of action is to put the vehicle in neutral.

“I’ve been practicing throwing the truck into neutral, in case something were to happen,” Vines said.

While Vines hasn’t experienced any undesired acceleration, the same CNN report notes that Toyota has been accused of sticky accelerators for 10 years, and an estimated 19 deaths have resulted. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls this data “plausible.”

According to Toyota’s Web site, these models are affected by at least one of the recalls.
    * 2005-2010 Avalon
    * 2009-2010 RAV4
    * 2007-2010 Camry
    * 2008-2010 Sequoia
    * 2009-2010 Corolla
    * 2005-2010 Tacoma
    * 2008-2010 Highlander
    * 2007-2010 Tundra
    * 2009-2010 Matrix
    * 2009-2010 VENZA
    * 2004-2009 Prius