New Toyota automobiles at a dealership in Daly City, Calif., Feb. 2, 2010 (Reuters Pictures)

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY ASKS DRIVERS TO KEEP RECALLED CARS PARKED

If you own one of the eight models of Toyota vehicles that has been recalled for sticking accelerator pedals, the U.S. government wants you to keep it off the road.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday said that owners should “stop driving the car and take it in for repairs.”

Toyota issued the massive 2.3 million vehicle recall last month after it learned the gas pedal was sticking in some cars, causing wrecks and fatalities. The affected vehicles include recent models of the Tundra, Sequoia, Highlander, RAV4, Camry, Corolla, Matrix and Avalon.

“My advice is if anyone owns one of these vehicles stop driving it and take it to Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it,” LaHood told a U.S. House committee investigating the recalls.

Toyota has been heavily criticized for their handling of the recall.

Many individuals believed Toyota knew about the problem long ago but waited to act in hopes of containing the situation before it reached recall status.

Others, like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, think Toyota is using the gas pedal as a red herring for a much larger problem. “This is software. It’s not a bad accelerator pedal. It’s very scary, but luckily for me, I can hit the brakes,” Wozniak said while speaking at Discovery Forum 2010.

Regardless of the cause, these cars belong in with a mechanic and not on the road.