Toyota dealers working on fixes while drivers not too worried

Cynthia Dunman isn't troubled by Toyota's woes, which grew late Thursday with the possibility that the automaker would add the Prius to its list of safety recalls.

"I'm getting ready to go out and bargain on a Sequoia," said the 50-year-old Chesapeake resident.

She owns a 2003 Toyota Camry and has driven that model since 1994.

"They're reputable," she said. "They're trying to fix the situation."

The situation began in January, when Toyota Motor Corp. stopped selling eight models - including the popular Camry and Corolla - and recalled millions of cars because of accelerators that got stuck. It continued Thursday, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was investigating complaints about braking problems with the Prius, Toyota's flagship hybrid. A Japanese newspaper reported that Toyota would issue a recall of some Priuses, but Toyota had not confirmed that late Thursday.

Local Toyota dealers began to get the part needed to fix the accelerator on the other models this week and said they are working overtime to take care of customers' vehicles. The service department of Priority Toyota in Chesapeake repaired about 50 accelerators Wednesday after receiving its first shipment of parts that afternoon, said Dennis Ellmer, the dealership's president.

"We worked until 2 o'clock this morning until we exhausted what we had," he said. He expected technicians to fix another 200 vehicles Thursday.

The repair takes no more than a half-hour, dealers said. It involves placing a stainless-stee l reinforcement bar into the pedal assembly to keep the pedal from sticking.

Toyota has blamed the problem on misplaced floor mats and sticking gas pedals made by one of its two accelerator suppliers. Federal transportation officials this week widened their investigation of the possibility that an electronic glitch is causing the problems.

By Toyota's order, dealers must fix customers' cars before they correct the accelerators in the vehicles on their lots for sale. Toyota has pledged to help dealers offset costs for holding on to cars that they can't sell because of the recall, Ellmer said.

Charles Barker Toyota in Virginia Beach will extend its service hours to take care of all repairs, said Nathan Drory, the dealership's president.

"We're going to do everything we can to take care of our customers," he said.

In some cases, that has meant going the extra mile - or hundreds of miles. One longtime Priority Toyota customer called the dealership from Florida and said she was afraid to drive her car home, Ellmer said. He sent a replacement vehicle to her on a flatbed truck and brought her car back to be repaired, he said.

"She was legitimately concerned," he said. The cost was worth providing reassurance to keep a loyal Toyota customer, he added.

The dealers said they believe most Toyota drivers have no such qualms.

"My sense is that people have confidence in Toyota as a company," Drory said. "Generations and generations of happy Toyota customers are trusting Toyota to do the right thing."

A handful of local Toyota owners interviewed Thursday said they haven't lost confidence in the company, its products or their own cars. Charlie Darden and his wife bought their 2010 Camry a couple of months ago, and it could have a faulty accelerator. Nonetheless, they said they aren't worried about driving it.

"It's doing fine, but I don't know" if it is part of the recall, said Darden, 82, who lives in Portsmouth. "I gotta take it back to the dealer."

Diana Ligler owns a 2005 Camry, which she said is not part of the recall, and her mother drives an Avalon.

"I still think it's a great brand," said Ligler, 26, who lives in Norfolk. "We haven't had any problems with the car."

Pat Ethridge, 50, said she feels the same way about her 2006 Prius. "I like the fuel economy," said the Virginia Beach resident. "I haven't had problems with it."

She had not heard about the braking concerns with the 2010 Prius, and Ethridge trusts the company to let her know if her car has a problem, she said. "Toyota's got a good reputation for looking out for its customers."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Carolyn Shapiro, (757) 446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com