Story Published:
Feb 8, 2010 at 7:27 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Feb 8, 2010 at 7:46 PM CDT
There’s more trouble for those who drive Toyotas. The Japanese Auto Giant is expected to issue a safety recall for its Prius Hybrid on Tuesday.
Dealers are already swamped with trying to fix those faulty accelerators. Now, it appears the Prius may have brake issues.
Peoria Toyota will now keep its service shop open for some unusual hours. The dealership off Allen Road is expecting to handle nearly 3000 repairs for the sticky gas pedal recall. The 12 technicians were trained on Friday with work beginning over the weekend.
"I'm actually going to be working the midnight shift working from four to midnight. I came in early today to make sure things are going smoothly. It won't be too bad. Three weeks to take care of the customer and get it down the road and behind us,” Peoria Toyota Technician Brian Hutter says.
With the expected Prius recall, the work could last longer than February. Meanwhile, the multiple recalls are making it tough on Toyota Dealers to sell cars.
“Our sales are down 50%. And, about 50% of our inventory is tied up in recalls. We can still sell about half of our current availability of product, but it has affected the volume models,” Mike Udell with Peoria Toyota says.
Peoria Toyota is repairing current customers cars like the Camry before those that are sitting on the lot for sale. It's taking technicians about 45 minutes to an hour to put in the safety feature on the gas pedals.
The dealership has four operators on call to set up recall appointments. Peoria Toyota has already made a couple hundred recall appointments with technicians working from seven in the morning until midnight.
Friday, Feb 12 at 7:00 PM Dealer woes wrote ...
The story I read here about the crying lady at the dealer stuck with her Toyota is very sad, and I hear that has happened more than once. Of course dealers are just here for profit and that seems to be the main focus at the Peoria owned dealer, but how about lending a hand to this lady? She bought their product from them and they don't back it up. Not fair, and sad. I guess its just not a profit center now that its shown to be defective. Tough luck local Toyota owner. Sad.