Toyota owners began showing up a dealership repair facilities late last week, many waiting in line for what appears to be a quick fix to the unintended acceleration problem plaguing eight different Toyota models.  The fix consists of inserting a metal shim on the accelerator pedal assembly and is reported to take about 30 to 45 minutes to complete.  The paperwork involved may take longer as Toyota is keen to track every vehicle that is repaired.  Most Toyota dealers have agreed to extend their hours to accommodate car owners and while they are requesting that owners make appointments, one dealer told us that no one was being turned away and they would seek to accommodate everyone.  Extra technicians have been hired at many dealers to handle the added maintenance repairs and most dealers are keeping their repair shops open six, and some even seven days a week. 

Meanwhile, Toyota has not yet issued a recall on its Prius hybrid electric vehicle in North America, although an announcement appears to imminent.  At this time, it appears that the fix for the braking problem that affects the vehicle under hard braking will consist of a software modification in the vehicle's ABS system. 

Over the weekend, Honda Motor Co.'s CFO Yoichi Hojo expressed concern that Toyota's quality problems could reverberate throughout the entire auto industry as consumers become less trustful of auto manufacturers.  He told The Wall Street Journal, "I think we should see this Toyota problem from a broader viewpoint.  If customers start to harbor doubts about [quality and safety], that would be a problem for the whole industry."

Thus far, Toyota brand loyalty does not appear to have suffered as much as many would have predicted.  Give credit to the Japanese manufacturer's dealer organization, which on most accounts appears to be handling the recall professionally with immediate response to customer concerns, this despite the public relations nightmare the auto maker has fostered. 

Finally, Toyota announced that all of its North American assembly operations would resume production today, installing the new accelerator pedals in the affected models.