February 13, 2010
By Tiffany Hsu and Jerry Hirsch
It's a monster of a problem, with more than 2.4 million recalled vehicles in the U.S. alone needing repairs.
Yet a week into Toyota's massive effort to fix sticky gas pedals, dealers and customers say things are moving relatively smoothly.
The rate of cars being fixed is approaching 54,000 a day. Many dealers are keeping service bays open on weekends and operating extended hours. Across the country, Toyota Motor Corp. says it has repaired more than 400,000 vehicles.
"It's all been pretty smooth," said Jose Uribe, service manager at Longo Toyota in El Monte.
Dealers have been able to avoid a logistical nightmare in part by doing most of the work by appointment. And many Toyota owners have been standing by the company, discounting the threat of potential problems and not swarming dealers.
The process hasn't been entirely orderly for some.
In Baton Rouge, La., a customer hoping for a refund on his recalled truck crashed into his dealership when the accelerator allegedly stuck, local police said. There were no major injuries.
But in Southern California, dealers said appointments and extended hours have kept things calm.
"It's hectic, but it's a nice, controlled craziness," said Don Mushin, general manager of Toyota of Hollywood, where about 275 cars came in for fixes Thursday.
At Longo, mechanics worked through nearly 180 appointments Friday and had 400 lined up for the weekend. More than 20 cars came in for fixes after 7 p.m. Thursday. Some customers worried about their pedals have been given rental cars while waiting for repairs.
Even after hiring 10 technicians for the recall and putting four extra people on the phones, Toyota of Hollywood has been clocking more than double its normal hours, often going late into the night, Mushin said.
"We've been through a roller-coaster ride this past year," he said. Having slogged through a sales slump, "they're welcoming the extra work and the overtime."
Though most customers have been understanding, some wanted to vent, Mushin said. He has treated some to lunch to allay their concerns. When an elderly woman called saying she was "scared to death" to drive her 2010 Camry, the dealership picked her up and towed her car to the shop.
Mushin said sales were down nearly 25% since the recalls. Despite the negative publicity surrounding Toyota vehicles, though, the dealership still managed to sell 11 vehicles, including five Prius models Thursday. In between making customer fixes, mechanics have been working their way through about 250 vehicles that were taken off the sales lot.
"It's almost business as usual," Mushin said. "There are still people walking in the doors."
It doesn't hurt that Toyota still has a die-hard contingent of customers coming to the company's defense.
"They could have handled this a million other ways, but what they did spoke volumes," said Tammi Ramsey, 47, an executive recruiter from Fremont who has owned four Toyotas in the last 15 years.
The former GM employee, who now owns a 2005 Lexus 350, was won over when Toyota dealerships remembered her birthdays and offered to drive her when her car was in the shop.
"The follow-up was amazing," she said. "I drove the heck out of their cars, and never had problems."
Halting production of eight models -- including the top-selling Camry and Corolla -- was a "dramatic and unprecedented step," Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota's U.S. sales division, said Friday.
"This has been a challenge for all of us over the last few weeks, but we know we need to take care of our customers one at time," he said.
Dealers are now fixing customers' pedals with a stainless-steel reinforcement bar. About 3 million bars have been shipped, but Carter said it would be months before Toyota would have the parts needed to repair all recalled vehicles. Toyota has also issued more than 5 million recall notices to replace floor mats.
This week Toyota announced a worldwide recall of its 2010 Prius and Lexus hybrids and its four-cylinder 2010 Camrys because of brake problems. On Friday, Toyota said it was recalling 8,000 of its 2010 Tacoma 4-wheel-drive trucks to check for a potentially cracked drive shaft.
But Melinda Augustina's 2006 Prius still runs like new, said the South Bay actress and producer.
"They've taken risks in innovation, and sometimes there's fallout," she said. "It's not like Americans have never died in an American-manufactured car. It happens -- nothing's 100% safe."
Even lawmakers are coming to Toyota's defense, as congressional committees are gearing up for hearings on the recalls. Four governors from states with Toyota assembly plants -- Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi and Alabama -- signed a letter Wednesday calling for "a responsible and fair response."
According to the letter, the company has more than 172,000 corporate and dealership employees in the country, and suppliers too.
But Toyota's appeal is also the continuing sense of safety, said home-care nurse Lisa Marie Blaskie, 58, who splits her time between San Francisco and Palm Springs.
"I see all these recalls from other car companies, but people are picking on Toyota," she said. "They make a quality car, but they're getting a bum rap."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment