P&A Providers & Administrators
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Toyota May Lengthen Warranties to Keep Customers

February 15, 2010
3 min to read


ORLANDO, Fla. - Toyota Motor Corp. may offer incentives or increase the length of its warranties as it tries to recover from an embarrassing string of safety-related recalls, The Associated Press reported.


Group Vice President Bob Carter said the company has not decided exactly what it will do after it gets past the recalls, which include more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for sticky gas pedals, floor mats that can snag the accelerator and a software glitch in the brakes of its Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Ad Loading...


Toyota is offering zero percent financing for 60 months in some of its regions, as well as cash to dealers to help sweeten deals, and Carter said the company may do an incentive campaign once it gets through the recalls.


"We'll be very confident that we will give our dealers a very good competitive program," said Don Esmond, Toyota's senior vice president for automotive operations in the United States.


Dealers, Carter said, have fixed more than 500,000 of the 2.3 million cars and trucks covered by the sticky gas pedal recall, and they are repairing about 50,000 cars every day.


He also said the company has only 13 reports of sticking pedals in the U.S. and Canada out of the 2.3 million cars and trucks involved in the pedal recall.


"This is a very, very, very rare occurrence," he said. "Please help us put some perspective on what's happening. Thirteen is too many, we've got to take care of this," he said.

Ad Loading...


About 300 dealers met with Carter and Esmond Tuesday to talk about their business. Several said afterward that customers have the mistaken impression they are not selling cars because of publicity about Toyota stopping sales of models in the pedal recall. Toyota suspended sales of some of the eight U.S.-made models covered by the recall until dealers could fix them.


But dealers are free to sell the cars once they are repaired. Carter says 88,000 of the 112,000 recalled cars on dealer lots have been repaired. He said the dealers have made customer repairs first, but have fixed their own cars during hours when customers are not seeking repairs.


Some of the 1,452 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide initially were unhappy that Toyota began shipping newly designed accelerator pedals to factories after the recall was announced, leaving them with no parts to fix cars for worried customers. But the company soon came out with shims to be inserted into the gas pedal mechanism to eliminate friction that was causing the pedal problems.


But dealers who spoke after the meeting said they were happy with the speed that Toyota has moved to ship parts and get the recall behind them.


Esmond said he apologized to dealers for the recalls.

Ad Loading...


"We're a quality brand and we stumbled. It's our fault," he told AP. "We'll correct it."

More Industry

Photo of blue Toyota Prius parked next to body of water with city skyline in background
Industryby Hannah MitchellAugust 5, 2026

The Cheapest Hybrids to Fuel

The powertrain is increasing in popularity, in no small part due to its fuel economy. A new report lists the most efficient hybrids on the market.

Read More →
white SUV parked in front of a body of water with a gray sky background
Industryby Lauren LawrenceAugust 5, 2026

Hybrids and SUVs Gaining Ground

The most recent Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch found that only two nonluxury brands increased in shopper consideration, buoyed by their hybrid and SUV offerings.

Read More →
red, black, and yellow car in a car dealership showroom, Growth Beyond Sales text box, Auto Dealer Today logo
Industryby Lauren LawrenceJuly 31, 2026

Dealership Profits Decline

While new and used retail sales stagnated, dealerships have been particularly supported by fixed operations and finance-and-insurance profits, according to a new report.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Photo of four men involved in sale of three auto dealerships, standing in front of the sold Chevrolet store
IndustryJuly 28, 2026

New Mexico Stores Change Hands

Three dealerships owned by three brothers are renamed for a new partnership bridging the founders’ family and a new auto retail leader.

Read More →
inside of automotive manufacturing plant, robotic assembly
Industryby Lauren LawrenceJuly 28, 2026

International Automakers Overpower Domestic Output

As the current U.S. administration pushes for domestic automotive production, a new report sheds light on the prevalence of international automakers here.

Read More →
Photo of gray SUV plugged into public electric-vehicle charger in parking lot
Industryby Hannah MitchellJuly 21, 2026

World EV Adoption Set to Grow

A new report says the segment, despite recent setbacks in some regions, is poised for acceleration as many countries look to reduce pollution.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Bar chart of truck and SUV segments' weekly value change
Industryby StaffJuly 21, 2026

Black Book: Weekly Market Update

Wholesale automotive auction business stayed steady last week as bidders encountered lower prices, analysts observed.

Read More →
laptop with blue car on screen on a shopping website, Clear Costs Convert
Industryby Lauren LawrenceJuly 21, 2026

Pricing Transparency Drives Purchase Consideration

An annual study by JD Power found that clear pricing matters to consumers on automaker websites, so much so that it increases their purchase consideration.

Read More →
Bar graphic of used-car segment weekly change
Industryby StaffJuly 14, 2026

Black Book: Weekly Market Update

Used-vehicle market depreciation was the prevailing story in the wholesale market last week.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Light-blue Fiat car parked on a sunny Chicago street
Industryby Hannah MitchellJuly 14, 2026

Smaller Is Looking Better

A growing number of Americans in the market for a new vehicle are opting for more affordable options, not waiting for market stability to bite the bullet.

Read More →