What to do if you own car in recall

Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that it has a repair to stop one cause of unintended acceleration that has led to a recall of eight of its most popular vehicles.

The Japanese automaker has briefly stopped selling and manufacturing the vehicles and has recalled more than 4 million worldwide to fix the gas pedal problem. Toyota has also recalled cars because of a floor-mat issue.

Here’s what owners of the affected autos need to know.

Q. When can I expect to receive instructions on how I can get my gas pedal fixed?

A. Certified letters will start going out at the end of the week. But because the company has to contact millions of owners, Toyota says it will take some time to process and mail the instructions to all of the affected owners.

Customers who don’t receive a letter right away should wait until they receive it to make an appointment. But if their vehicle exhibits symptoms of rough pedal action, a sluggish pedal return to idle or unanticipated acceleration, they should contact a Toyota dealer.

Q. How do I schedule an appointment?

A. Don’t call Toyota’s toll-free customer-service number. You need to call a local dealership. But Toyota wants you to wait for the certified letter, which will confirm that your car is included in the recall. Because there are so many cars involved, Toyota wants owners to have an appointment before arriving at a dealership to avoid a crush and long waits.

Q. Will Toyota give me a loaner while my car is being fixed?

A. Toyota says that’s the plan, although in some cases, dealers may be able to fix it right away.

Q. Do I need to go to a specific dealership to get the repair done?

A. Any Toyota dealer can perform the repair. Some plan to be operating their service bays 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the company gets the bulk of the repairs behind it.

Q. What happens if I don’t hear from Toyota?

A. It may take a number of weeks to receive your notification letter. If a customer does not receive a letter at all, their vehicle is unaffected.

Q. Which models are included in accelerator-pedal recall?

A. Toyota stopped sales of the following models: 2009 and 2010 RAV4, 2009 and 2010 Corolla, 2009 and 2010 Matrix, 2005 to 2010 Avalon, 2010 Highlander, 2007 to 2010 Tundra and 2008 to 2010 Sequoia.

It also stopped sales of certain 2007 to 2010 Camry sedans; owners of Camrys, RAV4s, Corollas and Highlanders with vehicle identification numbers that begin with “J” are not affected by the recall, Toyota says.