President and CEO of Toyota Johan Van Zyl said: "At this point I would like to emphasise that our action is pre-emptive and based on obsession with building quality products, some things that we are known for."

Toyota SA also issued a statement saying the recall is based on the fact that the mechanism in local cars is similar in operation to those which have proven faulty in other regions.

The company said: "In these regions the mechanisms, in severe circumstances, have deteriorated and become harder to depress, slow to return to idle or have, in just a handful of cases, become stuck in a partially depressed position.

"In more detail, the problem relates to the operation between the mechanism?s friction shoe that provides pedal feel and ensures pedal stability, and the adjoining surface.

What affected owners should know

Toyota said the fault would be remedied by placing a small, precision-cut steel plate in the assembly to reduce friction between the friction shoe and adjoining surface.

"This will prevent the problem from surfacing in vehicles equipped with this steel bar for the life of the vehicle," it said.

The repair should take less than an hour, but could take longer if the dealer is experiencing very high levels of service calls. The full cost of the corrective process will be borne by Toyota and no owner will be required to pay, regardless of the state of his or her service plan, warranty or the ownership status of the vehicle.

Toyota will start contacting customers of the affected vehicles immediately. All Toyota dealers in South Africa and the countries that TSAM serve will be involved. These include Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Van Zyl said: "We would like to apologise to all Toyota vehicle owners for the uncertainty and inconvenience that this process may have caused. We value the trust and confidence that Toyota owners have put in our brand over the past five decades and we will do everything in our power to honour that."