TORRANCE, California — Toyota on Wednesday announced that it will deal with the problem of potential accelerator pedal entrapment involving eight of its vehicle models, including the 2004-'09 Toyota Prius, by taking a number of steps. It will reconfigure the accelerator pedal and, in some cases, the shape of the floor surface under the pedal. It also will install a brake override system on five models as an "extra measure of confidence" and then incorporate the system into "new production of most models by the end of 2010," it said in a statement. The issue affects 3.8 million vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration responded with a statement saying it is "particularly pleased that Toyota is taking this additional step" of installing a brake override system. The system cuts engine power in case of simultaneous application of both the accelerator and brake pedals, said Toyota in a statement.
The federal government said Toyota intends to notify vehicle owners on a rolling basis, starting with owners of the 2007-'10 Lexus ES 350, 2007-'10 Camry, and 2005-'10 Avalon. The other models involved in the recall are the 2004-'09 Prius, 2005-'10 Tacoma, 2007-'10 Tundra, 2006-'10 Lexus IS 250 and 2006-'10 Lexus IS 350.
For the ES 350, Camry and Avalon, the shape of the floor surface underneath the pedal will also be reconfigured to increase the space between the accelerator pedal and the floor. Also, any vehicles with Toyota or Lexus all-weather floor mats will get newly designed replacement driver- and front-passenger-side all-weather mats, said Toyota. The fixes will likely extend into 2010. Toyota is developing replacement pedals for the aforementioned vehicles and says they will become available for "some models in April 2010." Owners of the vehicles will get the new pedal, even if the vehicle has already received a modified pedal.
NHTSA describes the problem as a "sudden-acceleration safety issue involving floor mats trapping accelerator pedals in various Toyota and Lexus models." Toyota announced a recall of these vehicles in early October and has been working since then to develop a remedy.
NHTSA says owners of the aforementioned vehicles should remove all removable driver-side floor mats and not replace them until their vehicles have received the remedies provided by Toyota.
Consumers are urged to contact Toyota at 800-331-4331, Lexus at 800-295-3987, or NHTSA at 888-327-4236 for more information.
Inside Line says: If you own any of the aforementioned Toyota or Lexus vehicles, remove those driver-side floor mats and await further word from the manufacturer. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
jw_boxster says:
04:07 PM, 01/25/2010
The Toyota design is negligent. The accelerator input is electronic 'fly by wire'. If the accelerator is sensed to be wide open by the stability/traction/abs electronics then the brake will not stop the car. I'm willing to bet these cars have an intermittent issue with the accelerator position sensor. I had an 1984 Audi 5000 that did this, but at least the brake would stop the car. These Toyotas are unsafe at any speed.
thaitanium15 says:
09:47 AM, 11/25/2009
Wow, I wish people would pull back their floor mats every once in a while. Also, as I was inspecting my Tacoma I couldn't see how my floor mat could get wedged and trap my accelorator. It's practiacally impossible! If this is a problem for Toyota could it not pose a problem for other manufacturers? My BMW's accel. pedal is from the floor up so I guess that is a good fix.
firstclass says:
08:27 AM, 11/25/2009
Toyota is in full cleanup mode. The company that has built its reputation on its reliability and safety finally has a blemish. Some of their measures to remedy the problem seem a bit drastic. It's like watching the Prom Queen freak out over a pimple.