Dealer to stay open 24 hours for recall

FORT WAYNE, IND. (WANE) - The nationwide Toyota dealer is hitting home in Fort Wayne, where Fort Wayne Toyota reports a substantial surge in the number of vehicles coming through as part of the nationwide recall.

In fact, they're working round the clock to make sure the cars are safe to get back on the road.

"We were extremely busy! We probably did 100 cars on Saturday," said Fort Wayne Toyota Parts Manager Scott Lahrman.

That’s more than double the amount of cars that normally come into the service garage on a Saturday at Fort Wayne Toyota. The dealership received the parts on Wednesday, February 3 and is expecting even more customers.

"Starting Monday, February 8, we're going to be open 24 hours, 7 days a week, so we'll even be open on Sunday," Lahrman said.

A team of about 14 service reps will take turns working 'round the clock until further notice. Each car takes them about an hour to get done.

The part that is installed is about the size and thickness of a penny, only in a square form. The part itself is said to only cost about 15 cents, but labor will be more costly for Toyota.

Latest estimates predict the Japanese car company will spend more than a billion dollars on the accelerator recall alone, and if your car is on the recall list, setting up a time is highly recommended.

"Call ahead, set up an appointment so we'll know exactly when they're coming in, that'd be the best way to do it." Lahrman said.

To do that in Fort Wayne, you can call Fort Wayne Toyota at (260) 436-4567 or Evans Toyota at (260) 482-3730. For a complete list of recalled Toyota models, click here .

Dealers say it doesn’t matter where you bought your Toyota - you can take it to any dealership to have the recall work performed at no cost.

Meanwhile, dealers say they'll wait to hear more from Toyota about what needs to be done for the Prius problem. Toyota officials are scrambling to figure out a fix for the popular Prius hybrid.

The company sent letters to American dealers over the weekend, saying it would soon offer a plan to repair brakes on thousands of 2010 Prius hybrids.

Toyota claims the problem is a software glitch that occurs when the hybrid switches power from gas to electric.

The company will announce its plans in the coming days.