Some U.S. dealerships to stay open 24 hours a day to bring massive, costly recall to an end

WASHINGTON (AP) Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday its dealers should get parts to fix a sticky gas pedal problem this week as the automaker tries to bring an end to a recall that has affected 4.2 million vehicles worldwide.

The company said in a statement it has begun shipping parts and is training service technicians on the repairs. Some dealers will stay open 24 hours to fix the 2.3 million cars and trucks affected by the recall in the U.S.

Government regulators told Toyota last week they were satisfied with the repair plan.

The automaker also said Monday it would suspend production of eight U.S. models affected by the recall for this week.

Toyota recalled the vehicles on Jan. 21, determining that excess friction in the gas pedal assembly could in rare cases cause the pedals to stick.

Engineers traced the problem to a friction device in the assembly that is supposed to provide the proper pedal "feel" by adding resistance, Toyota said in the statement.