CTS Corp. Defends Accelerator Pedal

As we told you in a previous report, one of the collateral victims of the Toyota massive accelerator pedal recall is the supplier of the faulty pedals, CTS Corp. The American supplier decided, after a couple of weeks of silence, to step in and try to clear up the mess in which Toyota dragged them in.

CTS says the first reports about Lexus and Toyota vehicles experiencing sudden acceleration have been around ever since 1999, a year when CTS was not even manufacturing pedals, for any automaker.

"CTS wishes to clarify that it does not, and has never made, any accelerator pedals for Lexus vehicles and that CTS also has no accelerator pedals in Toyota vehicles prior to model year 2005," the company says in a release.

"CTS believes that the rare slow return pedal phenomenon, which may occur in extreme environmental conditions, should absolutely not be linked with any sudden unintended acceleration incidents. CTS is also not aware of any accidents and injuries caused by the rare slow return pedal condition, to the best of its knowledge."

The supplier's clarifications come after several other carmakers, including Ford in China and PSA Peugeot Citroen in Europe have decided to recall certain of their models which feature similar pedals.

“We are disappointed that CTS accelerator pedals have been frequently associated with the sudden unintended acceleration problems and incidents in various media reports,” Dennis Thornton, CTS general manager says in a release.