NEW YORK — Toyota said late Wednesday it will recall another 1.1 million vehicles connected to accelerator-pedal problems as it struggles to contain growing fallout from safety concerns.
The move significantly expands Toyota’s largest-ever recall and comes one day after the Japanese automaker said it would stop selling eight models involved in a separate accelerator-related recall until it comes up with a fix for that problem, forcing the shutdown of six North American assembly plants. The eight models account for 60 percent of Toyota’s U.S. sales volume.
The 1.1 million-vehicle expansion involves Toyota’s Nov. 25 recall of 4.26 million vehicles and comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was preparing to open a broader investigation into the central issue of that recall: whether unintended acceleration in several crashes was caused by the gas pedal being trapped in place by a floor mat.
The increase means Toyota has recalled 5.35 million vehicles in the probe linked to pedal entrapment under floor mats. Toyota in November agreed to repair or replace the pedals, replace the floor mats and in some cases will make software modifications and reshape the floor surface.
Several car-rental companies pulled Toyota models off their lots.
And General Motors announced incentives for Toyota owners who expressed concerns about the safety of their recalled vehicles.
