WRAPUP 6-Toyota details safety fix, damage claims mount

(For more on Toyota's recall, click [ID:nN27231388])

* Announces fix for 4.5 mln vehicles in US, Canada, Europe

* Toyota executive: No estimate yet for cost of recall

* Lawsuits claim Toyota should have known of problems

* Toyota to resume production on Feb. 8
(Recasts, adds dealer quote, updated share price)

By Bernie Woodall and Soyoung Kim

DETROIT, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on
Monday began shipping parts to fix faulty accelerators in
nearly 4.5 million vehicles in North America and Europe, and
said it would restart North American production on Feb. 8 after
an unprecedented shutdown prompted by the problem.

The moves by Toyota marked the most detail the automaker
has provided on its plans to address a safety issue that
threatens its finances and reputation, and dented its U.S.
sales for January.

Lawsuits announced on Monday claimed Toyota had ignored
signs of trouble with some of its top-selling models. The suits
are part of what is expected to be a wave of litigation against
the automaker for claims ranging from losses on car resale
values to injury and death.

Analysts and dealers said it would take months for the
automaker to fix all of the vehicles at risk of having an
accelerator pedal stick in the open position.

"We know what's causing the sticking accelerator pedals,
and we know what we have to do to fix it," said Jim Lentz,
president of Toyota's U.S. sales subsidiary.

"We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused
for our customers, and we are doing everything we can -- as
fast as we can -- to make things right."

Toyota's U.S. dealers said they would begin training on
Tuesday on how to repair vehicles under recall by inserting a
metal plate designed to keep the pedal from sticking.

In Canada, Toyota said it would begin notifying owners of
270,000 vehicles with the faulty accelerator pedal to begin
coming in for the repair, expected to take less than an hour.

Toyota also said it would begin shipping the needed
replacement part to fix an estimated 1.8 million vehicles in
Europe this week.

The first round of repairs is expected to cost Toyota at
least $250 million in warranty fees in the United States alone.
Some Toyota dealerships said they would stay open around the
clock to speed customer repairs or hire more mechanics to fix
cars overnight.

Criticism is mounting that Toyota moved too slowly to
address cases of unintended and dangerous acceleration. The
claims have tarnished Toyota's reputation for quality, one of
the factors behind Toyota's rise to overtake General Motors Co
[GM.UL] as the world's largest automaker.

A growing number of lawsuits claim that Toyota should have
acted earlier to address the problems, which resulted in a
suspension of sales of its most popular models last week,
including the top-selling Camry.

"Toyota has long known about the defect with their throttle
control, and has done too little, too late to correct it," said
Robert Hilliard, a Texas lawyer who has filed a proposed
class-action lawsuit in Texas.

"Much like their cars, this problem is speeding out of
control and Toyota is having a hard time slamming on the
brakes," he said.

Hilliard represents Albert Pena, who says his 2008 Toyota
Avalon crashed last month when the car unexpectedly accelerated
through a stop sign.

A Canadian lawsuit against Toyota announced on Monday also
named the automaker's supplier, CTS Corp. (CTS.N)

CTS says it built the pedals to Toyota's specifications and
has said it does not expect any liability from the recall.

TALLYING THE DAMAGE

The CTS-supplied accelerator pedal -- a $15 part -- now
stands at the center of a global crisis that has cost Toyota
billions of dollars in market value.

Lentz said it was too early to estimate how much the safety
problem and related issues would cost. "I don't have any
numbers on exactly how many dollars it is going to take," he
told Reuters Insider in an interview.

Edmunds.com, an online automotive research site, expects
Toyota's U.S. sales in January to fall 12 percent, giving it a
market share of just under 15 percent, near a four-year low.

Other analysts expect Toyota to post a deeper drop in sales
in weeks ahead as rivals led by GM, Ford Motor Co (F.N) and
Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) attempt to profit from the
automaker's missteps.

At Courtesy Chevrolet in central Phoenix, general manager
Scott Gruwell said the dealership had seen three or four sales
over the past weekend from Toyota owners who had switched to
buy a GM product like the Malibu.

"Are we out there banging our pots and pans talking about
this problem? Absolutely not, but if folks are coming in
wanting to trade their Toyota, we'll do our best to get them
out of that Toyota and into a Chevrolet," Gruwell said.

"At one point Toyota could do no wrong, now there's all
these quality concerns that people have. So this is a long term
issue," he said.

Anton Semprivivo, general manager of Metro Honda in Jersey
City, New Jersey, said the number of consumers giving up on
Toyota appeared to be limited.

"We have not seen a rush to our Honda stores," he said. "We
saw a little bit of increased business but not too many people
saying I want to get out of this car and leave."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said
Toyota drivers who have their pedals repaired could opt to have
the whole part replaced once replacement parts are available.

NHTSA said it was not aware of any deaths or injuries
linked to the sticky accelerator problem.

In a separate and larger recall involving 3.8 million
vehicles, the U.S. safety agency said Toyota would fix
accelerator pedals at risk of being trapped by floor mats and
make replacement pedals available starting in April.

In addition, Toyota will install a new brake system on
models affected by that recall designed to stop the vehicle if
the accelerator and the brake are both engaged.

Five people in two separate accidents have died in the
United States because of Toyota accelerator pedals becoming
stuck on floor mats, NHTSA said.

Including recalls in China and Europe, 8 million Toyota
vehicles are up for repair globally.

Toyota shares closed up 3.8 percent at $79.94 on the New
York Stock Exchange on Monday, the stock's first gain in seven
trading sessions.

Fears of a heavy and protracted blow to Toyota's sales and
bottom line have knocked about $20 billion from its market
value in the last week.
(Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo; Editing by
Lincoln Feast, Matthew Lewis and Steve Orlofsky)