“As soon as we have the parts, we’ll extend each weekday’s (service) hours till 9 p.m.,” Hahn said.
Normal hours are 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. (The shop is closed Sunday.)
He acknowledged that the extra work will mean employee overtime. He hoped to have the parts needed to remedy the problem soon.
He said Toyota sent out a “technical field bulletin” to dealers to explain how the problem must be fixed. “It’s supposed to be a very simple repair,” Hahn said.
Dave Herron, new vehicle sales manager at Voss Toyota/Scion, 2110 Heller Drive, Beavercreek, referred questions to his service department, where an employee said Monday that no decision had been made on whether to extend service hours. The employee said he wasn’t prepared to speak at length about the situation.
Tim Doran, president of Ohio Auto Dealers Association, which administers the Dayton Area Auto Dealers Association, said he expects Joseph Airport Toyota won’t be the only Ohio dealership to stretch service hours.
Doran said dealers with whom he has spoken “said they are going to do everything they can within their power to effect a fix as soon as possible. The dealers want to get it taken care of.”
Toyota said its fix involves reinforcing the pedal assembly in a way that eliminates “excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare instances.”
Vehicles affected by the recall include: certain 2009-10 RAV4s, certain 2009-10 Corollas, the 2009-10 Matrix, the 2005-10 Avalon, certain 2007-10 Camrys, certain 2010 Highlanders, the 2007-10 Tundra and the 2008-10 Sequoia.
Besides the recall, Toyota also took the unprecedented step of halting production on affected models starting Monday. Production is set to resume Feb. 8, Curt McAllister, a Detroit-based Toyota spokesman, said Monday.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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