(St. George, Utah) - The Saturday edition of The Spectrum newspaper reports that in the wake of Toyota Motor Corporation’s massive recall of approximately 2.3 mil­lion vehicles with potentially faulty accelerator pedals, one local auto dealership is feeling the impact of the Japanese automaker’s miscue.

Toyota has temporarily suspended sales on several mod­els, including certain Camry and Corolla models affected by the recall, as the company focuses on repairing vehicles already in the marketplace, said Stephen Wade, the owner of Stephen Wade Toyota in St. George in an interview with Scott Kerbs.

The Japanese automaker reportedly began contacting customers affected by the recall this week to schedule repairs and correct the sticking accelerator issue by installing a steel reinforcement bar in the pedal’s assembly, eliminating the excess friction that caused some pedals to remain in a depressed position, according to a news release issued by Toyota.

Stephen Wade said the sticking accelera­tor pedal issue is rare, and he is not aware of a case in Utah that resulted in an accident, but he encourages customers affected by the recall to seek the free repair. Stephen Wade Toyota has received the parts required to repair the sticking accelerator pedal issue for Camry models, he said, and additional parts needed to repair other vehicles are expected shortly.

Wade said his St. George-based dealership is committed to correct­ing the design flaw. “We are extending hours so we can serve as many people as possible,” he said. "The dealer­ship is contacting its customers by e-mail to provide notification about the recall and repair process. “We are considering staying open all-night long, and if need be, we're willing to do that.”

Repairing the faulty accelera­tor pedals is relatively simple, said Deray Condie, a technician for the dealership, usually requiring about 30 minutes of labor.

Although Wade commended Toyota for quickly addressing the issue, the recall is having an impact on business, as the dealership is unable to sell a portion of its inven­tory until the vehicles are repaired. The dealership has experi­enced a 10 percent decline in new vehicle sales since the recall was announced, said Scotty Christensen, general manager of Stephen Wade Toyota. Christensen said he expects the recall to have only a minimal impact on future sales figures.

Moving forward, the massive recall could hurt Toyota’s reputation, but Wade said he hopes peo­ple will recognize the com­pany’s swift action in pro­posing a solution to the problem. “I’ve been an auto dealer for a long time, and I’ve never seen a company step to the forefront like Toyota,” he said. “I’m impressed with them.”

In addition to the accel­erator pedal recall, Toyota also announced a recall involving five models as a result of a potential risk of floor mats interfer­ing with accelerator ped­als. Customers affected by the recall are asked to remove their drivers’ side floor mats to avoid poten­tial safety issues. www.toyota.com

Toyota also released a statement Thursday regard­ing customer complaints about braking issues with the company’s 2010 Prius model. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary evaluation focused on the customer complaints. www.toyota.com

In reaction to the recalls and other reported issues with Toyota products, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda announced the compa­ny’s strategy to develop a global quality task force Friday at a press conference in Nagoya, Japan. The task force is expected to focus on improving the inspec­tion process, bolstering customer research efforts and enlisting the support of outside experts among other improvements to the company’s global opera­tions, according to a state­ment released by Toyota. www.toyota.com

Wade said the qual­ity assurance task force serves as a representation of Toyota’s commitment to its customers. “I think it’s a great idea,” he said.

Wade is a member of the Board of Directors of National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) founded in 1917 and based in McLean, Virginia. The organization represents about 19,700 new car and truck dealers that hold more than 40,000 separate franchises, both domestic and international. www.nada.org

Toyota owners can take their vehicles to Stephen Wade Toyota, 1700 South Hilton Drive, St. George, Utah. Dan Casper, Service Manager - (435) 634-6570. For more information go to stephenwadetoyota.com