Toyota drivers in confusion and anger

Toyota executives have been virtually silent amid a recall of millions of their cars because gas pedals can become dangerously stuck. For their customers, oh, what a feeling — fear, frustration, confusion and anger.

Since Tuesday, when the Japanese automaker said it would stop making and selling some of its top-selling models, the company has had few answers for dealers and drivers — most notably when Toyota owners could get their cars fixed and hit the road without worrying.

"I'm stuck with this car," said Tony Raasch of Hales Corners, Wis., who said he hit another driver in his 2010 Corolla two weeks ago when the car suddenly accelerated. "I really don't know what to do. I just feel — I guess — ripped off is the best way to put it."
Toyota first recalled 2.3 million vehicles, including the popular Camry and Corolla, because of faulty gas pedals. Later in the week, it expanded the recall to Europe and recalled 1.1 million more in the U.S. because of floor mats that can catch the accelerator.

Almost certainly adding to driver frustration, Toyota is sending new gas pedal systems to its factories, not to dealerships that want the parts to take care of customers' cars, The Associated Press learned.

It took until Friday for CEO Akio Toyoda to make his first public comments about the recalls. Buttonholed by a camera crew at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he told Japanese broadcaster NHK: "I am very sorry that we are making our customers feel concerned."

In its worst crisis in recent memory, the company has communicated with the public in a series of very limited statements from spokesmen. One of them, Brian Lyons, said he was restricted to describing the problem as "rare and infrequent."

For days, there was no indication of how long it might take to get the affected Toyotas fixed, whether the fix would be a repair or a replacement, or whether it was even safe for drivers to take their cars to the dealership.

The company finally said Friday that details on the fix will be made available next week and should take about a month to implement.

Among Toyota's famously loyal customer base, frustration and anger mounted through the week.