By Robert Shikina

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Servco Hawaii will operate its Mapunapuna repair facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week beginning tomorrow as the Toyota dealer begins fixing recalled cars with sticky gas pedals.

“;The main priority for us is to get these cars fixed,”; said Mark Fukunaga, Servco's chairman and chief executive officer. “;Safety is our foremost concern.”;

Dealers nationwide began fixing the recalled vehicles yesterday.

In Hawaii, 8,000 newer-model vehicles have been affected by the recall. But no incidents have been reported because of the sticky accelerator pedal, Fukunaga said.

He said Hawaii has fewer cars affected by the recall than on the mainland because some cars sold in Hawaii are made in Japan. The recall affects only cars made in the U.S.

Toyota recalled 2.3 million cars in eight models, including the top-selling Camry, on Jan. 21 and stopped selling the vehicles five days later because the gas pedals can get stuck in a depressed position.

The repair, demonstrated yesterday for news media, takes about an hour, including about 30 minutes to install a thin metal plate in the pedal and test-drive the car and 30 minutes for paperwork.

Fukunaga estimated Servco at Mapunapuna would fix about 100 cars by the end of yesterday. He said all Toyota dealerships in Hawaii will be working extended hours and seven days a week.

Last month, Toyota recalled 5 million cars because their floor mats could jam under the pedals, causing unintended acceleration.

Toyota is also considering a third recall after reports that the brakes on the 2010 Prius hybrid appeared to fail momentarily when the car is driven on bumpy roads.

Toyota blames a software glitch and says it has already fixed vehicles in production. But it is still deciding what to do about 270,000 Priuses that were sold in the U.S. and Japan starting last year. The company could announce a full-fledged safety recall or simply ask owners to bring their vehicles in for repairs, since the brakes are not failing completely.

Fukunaga said there are 410 Priuses in Hawaii that would be affected.

Fukunaga suggested customers make an appointment to fix their Toyotas affected by the gas pedal recall and said there are still openings for tomorrow.

Toyota in Hawaii is also giving customers a free oil change for the inconvenience.

Mike Higa, who had his car fixed yesterday, said he was called to bring in his 2008 Toyota Camry.

“;I'm glad they responded quickly,”; he said.

In the showroom, some customers were still interested in buying a Toyota, despite the negative publicity over the recalls.

“;It's my first choice,”; said Jane Pagador of Waipahu, who was looking at a new RAV4 yesterday. “;As long as they can fix it.”;