SANTA MONICA, CA - Edmunds.com has received a briefing from a high-ranking Toyota official about the 2010 Toyota recall.

Toyota maintains that most recalled Toyota vehicles are safe to drive and that a stuck throttle is preceded by clear symptoms that drivers are likely to notice. Toyota states that the relevant parts deteriorate over time and, as the deterioration occurs, the pedal no longer springs back smoothly or quickly after being depressed; in very rare cases, the deterioration eventually causes the pedal to stay depressed.

According to Toyota, an affected vehicle can be kept under control using the brake.

No fix exists today, so, taking into account the need to re-engineer, produce, distribute and install millions of parts, it will take months before every affected vehicle is repaired.

The situation in which a floor mat entraps an accelerator pedal is totally unrelated to the accelerator pedal mechanism defect that causes it to stick. The floor mat issue is currently being addressed through a separate Toyota recall.

Edmunds.com has created a free resource to keep consumers informed about the 2010 Toyota Recallhere. The page features the Toyota recall list, guidance for driving a vehicle that suddenly accelerates and other critical information, all of which will be updated as new material becomes available.

Has consumer interest in the brand waned given the Toyota recalls? “In the past two weeks, purchase intent for Toyota has fallen from 13.9% of the market to 13.1%. In the same period, Honda and Chevrolet have experienced the largest gains,” says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst David Tompkins, PhD. “We anticipate that the brand will continue to experience decline for some time until the Toyota recall is resolved.”