Toyota is recalling 180,865 vehicles in the UK as part of a global recall operation to fix a sticking accelerator problem.
The car maker said models including the Yaris and the Corolla were affected but the number of incidents was “small”.
The seven models recalled are the Aygo, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Verso, and Avensis and cover manufacturing dates going back to February 2005. The recall does not affect Lexus or RAV4 models.
Toyota said it was not aware of any accidents resulting from the issue and that only a limited number of incidents involving accelerator pedals had been reported in Europe.
There had been 26 reports of the problem in Europe.
According to Toyota an accelerator pedal could be stiff or heavy to press, and “in the worst case” would stick. If that happened a driver should press firmly on the brake, put the car into neutral, and pull over when safe.
Toyota went on to say that anyone who suffered a problem should call the Toyota hotline, and should not get the problem fixed independently. The work would take 30 minutes to complete.
The first shipments of parts required will begin arriving in the UK next week and Toyota will be in a position to start repairing cars from 10 February.
The car maker is also working with the DVLA and will write to car owners whose vehicles could be affected – a process that could take 10 days. This will also include owners who have bought the cars second-hand.
A website that would allow owners to check their vehicles registration number was also being developed.
UK RECALLED MODELS
February 2005 – August 2009 AYGO
November 2008 – November 2009 iQ
November 2005 – September 2009 Yaris
October 2006 – 5 January 2010 Auris
October 2006 – December 2009 Corolla
February 2009 – 5 Jan 2010 Verso
November 2008 – December 2009 Avensis