U.S. seeks meeting with Toyota CEO on car safety

The top U.S. transportation official said he will speak with Toyota's CEO about safety concerns regarding the company's vehicles.

This is very serious, said Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary said today, according to the Wall Street Journal. We're going to keep the pressure on.

Toyota vehicles have experienced problems with sudden acceleration. The has recalled certain vehicles

The car company has said it will begin fixing accelerator pedals in recalled Toyota vehicles this week. Lexus and Scion vehicles have not been affected, the company says.

The company says its rigorously tested solution involves reinforcing the pedal assembly in a manner that eliminates the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare cases.

Toyota says dealers will be open for extended hours. Toyota has also stopped production of the vehicles for the week of February 1.

We know what's causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it, said Jim Lentz, president and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc.

The company has already recalled 2.3 million vehicles. They are: