WASHINGTON/DETROIT--The Obama administration stepped up the pressure on Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday to address a range of safety issues as investors bolted at signs of a deepening crisis for the world's largest automaker.
"Our people will hold Toyota's feet to the fire to make sure they are going to do everything they said they were going to do to make the vehicles safe," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at an appearance in Washington.
LaHood said he would take the unusual step of calling Toyota President Akio Toyoda to emphasize how seriously the Obama administration is taking investigations into reports of uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
Toyota shares fell as much as 8 percent on LaHood's remarks, including an explosive comment interpreted as a warning for consumers to stop driving the more than 5 million Toyota vehicles covered by two sweeping recalls. LaHood later said that had been a "misstatement" and that his advice was unchanged from the steps already recommended by U.S. safety regulators and Toyota.
At Wednesday's low of $71.90 in New York trade, Toyota shares had dropped more than 17 percent since Jan. 26 when it suspended sales of eight models in the United States, including its two most popular cars, the Camry and Corolla. The shares closed 6 percent lower at $73.49 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Toyota issued a statement urging consumers to take any vehicles experiencing problems with the accelerator to a dealership for an immediate fix. But it also said that the problem did not appear to "occur suddenly," suggesting drivers would experience warning signs before a pedal became stuck.
"Our message to Toyota owners is this--if you experience any issues with your accelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without delay. If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive," the company said in a statement.
Separately, in another potential knock on its reputation for quality, Toyota said it was examining complaints about brakes in its new model Prius hybrid. A Toyota spokeswoman said the company was investigating several dozen complaints since December over what drivers characterized as insufficient braking when traveling over bumpy or frozen roads.
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said the U.S. government's auto-safety watchdog had not been tough enough with Toyota and urged President Barack Obama to strengthen the agency. Nader, who gained prominence in the 1960s as author of the scathing auto industry expose "Unsafe at Any Speed", called Toyota's recall "a cheap fix" that is "too little too late."
