New York: Toyota is "finalizing a program" to replace the gas pedals recalled in the United States, said company spokesman John Hanson on Saturday.
Hanson did not offer a timeline, other than to say "soon," but indicated it could be as early as next week.
The automaker has been in discussions with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the fix.
The recall is to correct a problem that could cause the gas pedal, as it ages and becomes worn, to stick partway down under certain circumstances. Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the US for this problem, although no repair procedure had yet been put in place.
The recall affects Toyota's 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix; 2005-2010 Avalon; certain 2007-2010 Camrys; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia. The Camry Hybrid is not included in the recall.
"We're extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy," Toyota president Akio Toyoda told Japanese news agency NHK on Friday. "We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will take away the customers' concern as soon as possible."
The Japanese automaker also recalled cars in Europe. That recall involves eight different models, several of which are not sold here. The precise number of vehicles involved in that recall is still under investigation but it could be as many as 1.8 million, Toyota said in a statement.
The gas pedal recall is separate from an earlier one, begun in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can become caught on the edge of the removable floormat.
The floormat recall was recently expanded so that it now covers a total of 5.3 million vehicles.
In many cases, the same vehicles are involved in both recalls. It was not immediately clear how many different vehicles, in total, are part of the two actions.
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