Toyota apologizes for worldwide recall

Toyota executive vice president, Shin-ichi Sasaki, has apologized for the faulty accelerator pedals that caused the massive recall of almost 1.9 million cars in the United States, Europe and China.

Toyota Motor Corp. Executive Vice President  Shinichi Sasaki speaks during a press conference  at a Toyota office in Nagoya, central Japan,  Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010. Sasaki, who oversees quality  control at the Japanese automaker, said there are no electronic problems in vehicles being recalled  in U.S. for a gas pedal problem, and that the  earlier recall for floor mats is 'totally unrelated'  to the pedal problem.(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Shinichi Sasaki, Toyota Executive Vice President, said, "We have decided to issue a recall in the US, Europe and China for cars that have been affected by the accelerator pedal problem. To those who drive these cars, and to all of Toyota's customers world-wide, we apologize from our heart for the worry caused."

On Monday, the company released details of a remedy to the gas pedal problem. It claims a piece of steel about the size of a postage stamp will fix the fault that led to the recall of millions of cars.

The company says repairs will take about half an hour and will start in a matter of days. Toyota insists the solution has been through rigorous testing and will solve the problem for the life of the car. The plan was rolled out six days after the company temporarily stopped selling some of its most popular models.