LaHood: I Overstated Toyota Warning

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood backtracked from comments advising owners of recalled Toyotas to "stop driving" their cars, saying that he only meant to urge affected customers to take their vehicles into a dealership to get them repaired.

"What I said in there was obviously a misstatement," LaHood told reporters after testifying before a House Appropriations subcommittee on transportation Wednesday.

The Japanese automaker has recalled nearly 4.5 million vehicles worldwide because of gas pedal problems. On Monday, the company said it began shipping replacement parts to dealerships to begin repairs.

LaHood told reporters earlier in the day that Toyota owners should contact their dealer immediately and "exercise caution until repairs can be made."

In a statement, Toyota said "we appreciate Secretary LaHood’s clarification of his remarks."

The automaker maintains that the problems with gas pedals were "rare" and generally do not occur suddenly. In the event of a problem, the car "can be controlled with firm and steady application of the brakes," the statement read.

"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 statement continued.

Despite the automaker's assurances and LaHood's clarification, Toyota owners face a conundrum.

"Clearly, the odds of the Toyota accelerator problem causing irrevocable harm are small. But with foreknowledge of a potentially serious problem, expecting people to drive the vehicle is a dicey proposition," writes CBSNews.com editor-in-chief Daniel Farber. "It's similar to asking a person to fly even if they know that some planes in an airline fleet have a potential fatal flaw that could lead to injury or death -- but the probability is small so they should just take their chances."

Meanwhile, LaHood said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will conduct an investigation into the potential problems with the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota cars.

NHTSA has conducted several investigations into possible causes of sudden acceleration incidents in various Toyota vehicles.

While NHTSA has not identified additional causes for sudden acceleration beyond pedal entrapment and sticky floor mats, the agency is continuing to investigate the issue and has urged Toyota to take every necessary measure to ensure consumer safety.

NHTSA's continuing investigation includes looking at the possibility that electromagnetic interference might somehow be causing Toyota's electronic throttle controls systems to malfunction, though NHTSA has not seen evidence to support that yet.

LaHood said the government "has the resources" to conduct the investigation.

During an appearance at Discovery Forum 2010, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak speculated that Toyota may have problems with its software, not just the faulty accelerators. Wozniak, who owns a Prius hybrid, said he's had some "very scary" experience with unlimited acceleration while his car is on cruise control.

LaHood has been critical of Toyota's response to the issue, calling the company "a little safety deaf" during an Associated Press interview Monday. LaHood said the automaker only went ahead with the recall after pressure from the government.

"If it had not been for the work of (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) pushing Toyota to make the recall, traveling to Japan, meeting with the top officials of Toyota in Japan and telling them that their folks in the United States seem to be a little safety deaf when it came to us talking to them, I don't know if the recall would be taking place," LaHood said.

Meanwhile, Federal safety officials also have widened their investigation of Toyota's sticky gas pedals to see if the same problem could exist for other automakers.

The NHTSA has sent a letter to CTS Corp., the Indiana company that made the pedals behind Toyota's recall of millions of vehicles.

The safety agency wants to know more about pedals that CTS made for other auto companies.

CTS said it makes pedals for companies like Honda, Nissan and a small number of Ford vehicles in China.

CTS been adamant that the issues are limited to Toyota alone. Other automakers have also said their pedals are based on different designs and aren't at risk for the same problems.

LaHood also said Wednesday he will call Toyota President Akio Toyoda in the coming days to make sure the Japanese automaker is aware of the government's concerns about safety issues with Toyota vehicles.

In an effort to help with the recall effort, Toyota is giving U.S. dealers payments of up to $75,000 to help win back customers' trust.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Toyota group vice president Bob Carter thanks dealers for extending service hours and providing car washes and other services. Carter says the payments will help with those measures.

Toyota is sending checks this week based on the number of cars each dealer sold last year. Dealers who sold fewer than 500 cars will get $7,500. Dealers who sold more than 4,000 will get $75,000.