Car rental companies pull thousands of Toyotas from fleets on safety concerns

Two car rental companies pull Toyotas from fleets

NEW YORK — Two car rental companies said Wednesday they are pulling thousands of Toyotas from their fleets over faulty gas pedals.

The Pontiac Vibe, made by General Motors Co. in conjunction with Toyota, has also been recalled and will be removed from service by Enterprise Holdings, which operates the Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental chains.

Toyota Motor Co. announced Tuesday that it was suspending sales and halting production of eight models following last week’s recall to repair sticking gas pedals that could make the cars and trucks accelerate without warning.

Avis Budget Group Inc. said that it is immediately removing about 20,000 Toyotas from its rental fleets in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

Privately held Enterprise said it is also pulling the affected vehicles, which represent about 4 percent of its fleet, but is acting out of “an abundance of caution.”

The Pontiac Vibe is affected by the recall because it was a joint venture product with Toyota, with the same engineering, products and manufacturing as Toyota vehicles. GM has since discontinued the line and the entire Pontiac lineup.

A Buick-GMC spokesperson said the company is awaiting details from Toyota on the repairs necessary for existing Pontiac Vibe customers.

Shares of Avis rose 16 cents to close at $11.53 Wednesday. Toyota shares fell $7.01, or 8.1 percent, to close at $79.77 and dropped 27 cents in after-hours trading.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects second graf by deleting Avis, clarifying in fourth graf)