Associated Press | Toyota Motor Corp. said it will give details early Monday in the U.S. on how it plans to fix gas pedals in more than 2 million vehicles being recalled there, as the Japanese automaker struggles to reassure anxious owners.

The plan will come in a release at 6:30 a.m EST and will be followed by a conference call for the media at 11 a.m. EST, Toyota Motor Sales USA said. Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco in Tokyo declined comment.

Toyota has recalled 4.2 million cars and trucks in North America, Europe and China to fix accelerator pedals that can get stuck or are slow to return when released, increasing the risk of a crash. The recalls do not involve Toyota models made and sold in Japan.

American dealers have told The Associated Press that Toyota will disclose details of the fix Monday morning. One dealer was told by a Toyota executive that replacement parts could arrive Thursday or Friday.

The automaker told the dealers about the plan Saturday after hearing from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did not object to the fix, the dealers said. Toyota says it does not need approval for a fix but it has been working closely with NHTSA.

Toyota took out full-page ads Sunday in 20 major newspapers in the U.S., saying production was being put on “pause,” to put customers first. It does not give details of the planned fix.

Toyota said last week it will halt production of the eight models covered by the recall, starting Monday, until they can be repaired, and has suspended their sales.

Toyota has not said exactly when production will resume. It has said that so far the suspension was planned for a week.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, says the problem in the gas pedals is rare and is caused by condensation that builds up in the gas pedal assembly.

Several dealers have said the fix involves slipping a shim into an area where springs push the gas pedal back to its resting position after a driver has eased off the gas.

Dealers have been eager to fix the cars ever since the recall was announced on Jan. 21.

The recall in the U.S. covers 2.3 million vehicles and involves the 2009-10 RAV4 crossover, the 2009-10 Corolla, the 2009-10 Matrix hatchback, the 2005-10 Avalon, the 2007-10 Camry, the 2010 Highlander crossover, the 2007-10 Tundra pickup and the 2008-10 Sequoia SUV.

The faulty gas pedals were made by CTS Corp. of Elkhart, Indiana. Toyota said last week it has begun shipping new gas pedals systems to American dealers.

The pedal recall is separate from a recall involving floor mats that can bend and push down accelerators.

Toyota has also recalled the 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe, made at the New United Motor Manufacturing, or NUMMI, plant in Fremont, California, a joint-venture between General Motors Co. and Toyota, which was ended last year.

But GM said it sees the vehicles as safe. GM plans to communicate with some 99,000 Vibe owners in the U.S. and Canada when it receives more information from Toyota about the recall, the Detroit-based automaker said.

“Based on GM’s experience, the Vibe is safe to drive,” GM said on its Web site.

GM said it had received several complaints about sticky pedals — but only after the Toyota recalls. It was investigating each of the claims, it said.

The Toyota recalls for floor mats and gas pedals combined affect more than 7 million vehicles worldwide, threatening to tarnish the brand image of an automaker that had prided itself on quality.

Analysts say Toyota’s sales are sure to suffer, not only because of the sales and production suspension but also because people are going to be wary of buying a Toyota.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. said it was offering a discount of $1,000 to anyone in the U.S. who trades in a Toyota for one of three Hyundai models, said spokesman Oles Gadacz. The Hyundai offer began Saturday and lasts through Monday, he said.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are already offering similar incentives that seek to exploit Toyota’s setback.

Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, economics professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, said Toyota was facing its worst crisis in years in Europe, where 1.8 million vehicles are being recalled for the pedal problem.

But he was optimistic quick action and avoiding a recurrence would help restore its reputation.

“They have to fix the problem as soon as possible,” he said. “They will come back in Europe in six to nine months as a strong player.”

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Associated Press writers Tom Krisher in Detroit, Kelly Olsen in Seoul and George Frey in Frankfurt contributed to this report.