Wow.

That’s what we have to say about Toyota’s massive recall of 2.3 million (yes, million) vehicles, halting of production, and preventing dealer sales of cars and SUVs such as the Camry, Corolla, RAV4, Highlander, and Sequoia, among others. This is on the back of a 4.3 million recall last November for a similar issue – the pedals in these vehicles are getting stuck to the floor mat or just outright stuck on their own. Let’s look at this issue from a couple perspectives:

How this affects you: Be careful! If you own one of these vehicles, be safe. Follow Toyota’s response, talk to your dealer and mechanic, and be on the lookout for recall notices. There is talk that Toyota is close to finding a repair for the problem, but who knows.

One thing you should all know is that experts have come out with a response talking about what you should in the event your pedal gets stuck. This is good for all drivers, not just those driving a Toyota! Send it to your wife, husband, kids, and anyone else you care about that’s on the road. Everyone should know how to react in this situation. The basic advice is this: hold your foot firmly on the brake (do not pump), put the vehicle into neutral, and pull safely off the road. Read the details here

How this affects Toyota:  Not good. The affected cars make up over half of Toyota’s sales, and its reputation will certainly be tainted. This is much worse than the Ford tire recall a while back. The company is going to have to come up with a fix, and I mean fast. The car business is a competitive as ever and other companies are going to push their safety rankings, so Toyota is going to lose market share.

How this affects other auto makers: As I said, car companies such as GM, Ford, Chrysler, Hyundai, and Honda are all going to sell more cars because of this problem. GM is already offering 60 months of no-interest financing for a new GM with a Toyota trade-in. Good deal? Sorta, although what is the discount that they will apply to that tainted Toyota you trade in? The money you lose on the Toyota may not make up for that cheap financing. If you are doing this, share with us how the trade-ins go.