WASHINGTON — The federal government on Wednesday took the unusual step of rebuking Toyota for "inaccurate and misleading information" regarding a safety recall involving 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles for floor mats that may jam under the gas pedal and cause unintended acceleration. Toyota hastened to deny that it was covering up anything, according to media reports on Thursday.
The federal government underscored that the Toyota vehicles involved in the recall have a "very serious defect."
At issue is a November 2 statement by Toyota that said "no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver's floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured." NHTSA statement said that press release "inaccurately stated NHTSA has reached a conclusion."
"NHTSA has told Toyota and consumers that removing the recalled floor mats is the most immediate way to address the safety risk and avoid the possibility of the accelerator becoming stuck," said the NHTSA statement. "But it is simply an interim measure. This remedy does not correct the underlying defect in the vehicles involving the potential for entrapment of the accelerator by floor mats, which is related to accelerator and floor pan design."
Toyota Executive Vice President Yukitoshi Funo told Automotive News on Thursday that the company is working with the federal government to pinpoint the problem's cause. He said there is no attempt "to cover up anything."
At least seven Toyota models have been recalled for this problem. They include the 2007-'10 Camry, 2005-'10 Avalon, 2004-'09 Prius, 2005-'10 Tacoma, 2007-'10 Tundra, 2007-'10 Lexus ES 350 and 2006-'10 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350.
NHTSA says it is meeting with Toyota to hear its action plan for redesigning the vehicles.
Inside Line says: The feds and Toyota duke it out over an extremely serious issue. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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debbaranko says:
02:41 PM, 02/27/2010
I think its so funny how people want to distract the masive recalls Toyota is having and lay blame on the government for owning GM shares. That is something I would expect to hear from Jim Jones, David Koresh and Charles Manson to his followers.
thakid22 says:
11:45 PM, 11/13/2009
It's sad to see Toyota so casually dismiss all of these horrifying experiences under the
veil of "driver error" i.e. floor mats. Many of the victims clearly state that their throttle pedal was unobstructed.
It's likely that some of the incidents were caused by floor mats holding the throttle down. But it is just as likely that an electronic glitch is causing a fair amount of these occurences.
Cell phone interference has been known to wreak havoc on certain Toyota (and others) electronics. In fact, there was a recall on Older model Lexus GS300/400 because the car would, seemingly at random, harshly apply the brakes without the driver touching the brake pedal. The cause turned out to be that the VSC (stability control computer) was receiving interference from cell phones and would apply the brakes in error.
Now that throttles are controlled electronically, it isn't too far of a stretch to think that the same could happen if the computer received and errant input/signal... or even simply experienced a glitch. The system could fail... but will it fail with the throttle closed? Or might it fail with it open, causing the engine to rev out of control at full or part throttle? Who knows.... But it could happen either way.
My heart goes out to all that have lost their life or experienced this ordeal. I just find it to be a slap in the face, to these individuals, for Toyota to so nonchalantly blame *ALL* of these incidents on the drivers/floormats.
creeper says:
06:59 AM, 11/06/2009
what's more important to take away from this is that it could happen to ANY vehicle equipped with floormats. they need to incorporate a throttle interrupt feature such that fuel is cut when the brakes are applied or the throttle input is overridden. but that would confuse all those two-foot drivers who insist on having their left foot on the brake when accellerating from a stoplight.
icecubefosho says:
05:07 AM, 11/06/2009
No, how about you read that article I posted and you'll realize why this is a major problem.
fbo says:
03:49 AM, 11/06/2009
FUNNY, SINCE THE FEDS OWE 60% OF GM NOW, THEY HAVE BEEN GOING AFTER TOYOTA. Hmmmm, am i the only one that see's whats happening here???
icecubefosho says:
08:25 PM, 11/05/2009
Why aren't the testimonies here?
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8980479
Better article
davesuton says:
07:57 PM, 11/05/2009
What? No negetive comment about Toyota, Lienert? If this were Big Three, you would be all over it. Baisness is now expected from you.
hondacura4 says:
03:19 PM, 11/05/2009
Cwmoo, it does seem a bit silly, at least regarding the floor mats. However, a few owners who have experienced similar acceleration issues claim the floor mats weren't the cause as it could have been electronic.
jstandefer says:
03:15 PM, 11/05/2009
If a seasoned Highway Patrol officer couldn't figure out how to free the throttle pedal, turn off the vehicle, or disengage the drivetrain (resulting in the 120 mph death of himself and his family), what makes you think the average driver is going to be able to fix the problem if it happens to them?
If a seasoned Highway Patrol officer couldn't figure out how to free the throttle pedal, turn off the vehicle, or disengage the drivetrain (resulting in the 120 mph death of himself and his family), what makes you think the average driver is going to be able to fix the problem if it happens to them? The floormat thing may seem silly, but it has already killed (in addition to the multiple consumer complaints to the NHTSA prior to this unfortunate event about their throttle pedals getting stuck in Toyota vehicles) and emphasized a serious issue with all of these modern vehicles.
Today's vehicles are becoming downright dangerous... throttle pedals and engine start/stop buttons are just sensors that REQUEST the PCM to change the throttle position or REQUEST the PCM to start or stop the engine. Notice how I emphasized REQUEST. Like any request, they can and will be denied unless many other conditions are met and approved by the PCM (if the PCM is operating correctly). Look at the high-end cars for what's coming to the masses next: brake by wire,electronic transmission mode selection, electronic steering... So who is driving these new cars? The driver or the computer? Guess which one is absolutely helpless if the other goes haywire? Removal of manual overrides in something that can kill you and others is insane, but we're speeding as fast as we can to that point...
tourian says:
03:14 PM, 11/05/2009
I don't think silly is the correct adjective when there are deaths involved. I know people are desensitized to tradgedy these days, but maybe a little bit of respect is in order. I would speculate that perhaps if it were a brand you had stronger (negative) feelings about and someone had died as a result of some poor design you would be singing a different tune?