The chairman of CTS, a global manufacturer of recalled gas pedals by Toyota Motor Sales, told investors during an earnings conference call today that the problem was caused by environmental conditions that went beyond Toyota’s design specifications for the assemblies.
CTS Chairman Vinod Khilnani said that the company provides gas pedals for use by other makers that are “very different” pedal designs. The electrical sensor in the pedal has nothing to do with the issue.
Condensation makes the Toyota pedal “harder to depress, slower to return to the idle position, and in rare situations, Toyota believes, it may get stuck in a partially depressed position,” said Khilnani.
He said the company has no knowledge of an accident or injury caused by its pedals.
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc, a TMC subsidiary, announced last week it would recall approximately 2.3 million vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals on eight Toyota Division models.
Three of the CTS’s plants are already making redesigned pedals, and Khilnani added that CTS had been working with Toyota “for a while” on a revised pedal, which included testing by both companies.
“It has been agreed as the solution,” Khilnani said. (more…)