To do so, Toyota must follow through with the recall professionally and swiftly. That means covering all customers with complaints about braking and acceleration. The company cannot be stingy in who it covers.

Unfortunately, Toyota has a track record of responding slowly to safety issues. Toyota cannot afford to follow that pattern. Its competitors, including Honda, Hyundai, and even the American car makers, are ready to seize this opening.

Another question is how Toyota will deal with the class actions. The recall somewhat mitigates the effect of the class actions. Yet, plaintiffs will have difficulty showing commonality. Causality will be another barrier. Since class actions carry different burdens from individual actions, Toyota should fight the class actions. But there may be a limit to how much it can fight them.