If the showroom at Groove Toyota was quiet Wednesday morning, cacophony reigned a few steps away in the service bays.
Groove’s 32 technicians were working virtually nonstop to install dime-size metal plates in gas pedals on vehicles subject to Toyota’s recall of 2.3 million U.S. cars and trucks.
The dealership on South Broadway in Englewood serviced an estimated 80 vehicles Wednesday, up from the usual daily volume of 50.
As soon as Groove receives more of the steel shims from Toyota, it will keep the service department open an extra two hours to 8 p.m. to accommodate repair requests.
Customers, for the most part, were taking the recall in stride.
“I still have confidence in the Toyota brand,” said Laddie Pokorney of Lakewood, who brought his 2007 Camry in for the repair, designed to prevent gas pedals from sticking.
Groove in the past 10 days has performed about 200 recall repairs and estimates that it will handle “thousands” more for Denver-area customers.
Toyota is reimbursing the dealership $65 per vehicle for the 30 minutes of labor needed to install the 23-cent shim. Groove officials said they make a small profit on the repairs after deducting payroll and overhead costs.
Dealers also will be reimbursed for a separate recall in which gas pedals on some models are being shortened to prevent them from snagging on floor mats. In addition, Toyota is giving dealers cash payments based on sales volume that dealers can use for marketing and service promotions.
Groove is receiving $30,000, which will be used to run recall-related informational ads and to help fund free oil changes for recall customers.
The chief drawback of the recall is that it imposes a minor inconvenience on customers who, because of Toyota’s traditionally high score in reliability rankings, are unaccustomed to taking their cars in for dealer service, said Bill Carmichael, chief operating officer of Groove owner Summit Automotive Partners.
“I’d say that the majority of customers are unshaken,” Carmichael said. “You get some who are annoyed because they had to come in, but they leave satisfied and they still love their cars.”
However, vehicle-information company Kelley Blue Book said Wednesday that 27 percent of new-car shoppers who were looking at Toyotas before the recall are no longer considering the brand. The Blue Book survey found that some would-be Toyota buyers are now looking at brands such as Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai and Honda.
Carmichael said Groove expects to see slightly diminished sales volume over the next 60 to 90 days followed by a return to near-normal sales.
“I don’t see a long-term impact on sales,” he said, “because Toyota has so much goodwill from so many years of supplying a great product.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
