“The driver, Jim Sikes, said he was traveling east on Interstate 8 outside of the San Diego area when he attempted to pass a slower vehicle. ‘I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car, and it just did something kind of funny … and it just stuck there,’ he said at a news conference outside a Highway Patrol office. ‘As I was going, I was trying the brakes … and it just kept speeding up.’” [Link]

“Nissan is recalling nearly 540,000 pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans, most of them in the US. It has identified problems with brake pedal pins which come loose and faulty fuel gauges.” [Link]

“Hyundai Motor on Wednesday announced a recall of about 47,000 of its new Sonata sedans to replace front door latches following a handful of customer complaints. Hyundai, South Korea’s No. 1 automaker, said it discovered a mechanical problem with the latches, which, in rare instances, will not close properly.” [Link]

“Toyota president Akio Toyoda said Thursday he will testify at a congressional hearing next week about the automaker’s massive recalls in the United States, meeting face to face with lawmakers after enduring criticism that he responded too slowly to the company’s safety crisis.” [Link]

“Toyota plans to recall about 300,000 Prius hybrids worldwide over a brake problem and will notify the U.S. and Japanese governments Tuesday, a news report said.” [Link]

“Toyota Motor Corp.’s President Akio Toyoda apologized for the carmaker’s growing recall crisis in his first scheduled public appearance since the company halted U.S. sales and production of its best-selling models last month.” [Link]