Toyota to replace 4M gas pedals that could jam- Yahoo! Autos Article Page (http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1178/Toyota-to-replace-4M-gas-pedals-that-could-jam)
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WASHINGTON – Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will replace accelerator pedals on about 4 million recalled vehicles in the United States because the pedals can get stuck in the floor mats, another blow to the reputation of the world's largest automaker.


Toyota said dealers will offer to shorten the length of the gas pedals by about 3/4 inch beginning in January, as a stopgap measure while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles. New pedals will be installed by dealers on a rolling basis beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.


Toyota announced the massive recall in late September and told owners to remove the driver's side floor mats to keep the gas pedal from becoming jammed.

Popular vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, are among those getting fixed. The recall also included the luxury Lexus ES350, the vehicle in a fiery fatal accident in California that focused public attention on the danger.


"The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern and Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any defect trends that are identified," the Japanese automaker said in a statement.


Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said the company was "very, very confident that we have addressed this issue" with the new fix. Toyota has found "no reason to believe that there is a problem with the electronic control systems," he said.


Toyota officials said the floor mats are only sold in the U.S. and the recall would be limited to North America.


Toyota declined to provide a cost estimate for the fix, but analysts said it would be extremely expensive because of the extensive repairs involved and the manufacturing of new pedals. Toyota also said it would provide newly designed replacement floor mats for the driver and front-passenger side.


The recall represents the latest blemish for Toyota, which developed a sterling reputation for quality in the U.S. by selling reliable family vehicles but faced challenges as it rapidly expanded. While recalls do not always indicate diminished reliability, Toyota executives have expressed concern about large numbers of recalls and pushed for improved quality controls.


In a separate action, Toyota announced Tuesday that it would recall 110,000 Tundra trucks from the 2000-03 model years to address excessive rust on the vehicle's frame.


"Their reputation has taken a hit because the actual quality has taken a hit," said Aaron Bragman, an automotive analyst for the consulting firm IHS Global Insight. "That's absolutely critical for Toyota to get that fixed because that's the central pillar that they've built their business on."


The accelerator pedal recall is Toyota's largest in the U.S. and the seventh-largest ever in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It includes 3.8 million vehicles, including the 2007-10 model year Camry, 2005-10 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundra, 2007-10 Lexus ES350 and 2006-10 Lexus IS 250/350. Toyota officials said about 4 million vehicles would be covered, including new cars and trucks sold since September and others manufactured since the recall was announced.


It was prompted by a high-speed crash in August involving a 2009 Lexus ES350 that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family near San Diego. The Lexus hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, struck a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. In a frantic 911 call, a family member told emergency responders that the accelerator was stuck and the driver couldn't stop.


NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, and could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.


The government has attributed at least five deaths and two injuries to floor mat-related unintended acceleration in the Toyota vehicles and has received reports of more than 100 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck. A Massachusetts-based safety consultant who has investigated the Toyota cases, however, has found more than 2,000 incidents involving 16 deaths and 243 injuries potentially tied to the Toyota gas pedals.


To fix the problem, Toyota and the government said dealers will shorten the length of the accelerator pedal on the recalled vehicles and in some cases remove foam from beneath the carpeting near the pedal to increase the space between the pedal and the floor. They said owners of the ES350, Camry and Avalon would be the first to receive notification because the vehicles are believed to have the highest risk for pedal entrapment.


Toyota also plans to install a brake override system on the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES350, IS350 and IS250 models, Toyota and NHTSA said. The brake override system will ensure the vehicle will stop if the brake and the accelerator pedals are applied at the same time.

Toyota plans to make the brake override system standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus lineup by the end of 2010.


The automaker and government regulators have been discussing a potential fix for several weeks. Toyota urged owners in September to remove driver's side floor mats and not replace them until the company had determined a fix. The automaker said unhooked floor mats or replacement mats stacked on top of the originals could lead to stuck accelerators.


In November, Toyota issued a statement saying NHTSA had confirmed "that no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver's floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured." But in a rare rebuke, NHTSA accused Toyota of releasing misleading information about the recall, saying removing the mats did not "correct the underlying defect." Toyota said it was not the company's intention to mislead anyone.


For more information, owners can contact Toyota at 800-331-4331 or the NHTSA hot line at 888-327-4236.


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Toyota's Corolla and Matrix Face U.S. Safety Probe

DETROIT—Federal regulators have opened an initial investigation into Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla and Matrix compact passenger cars for randomly stalling while on the road, the latest in a string of safety issues faced by the Japanese auto maker.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Agency is probing 26 customer complaints alleging their vehicles stalled while driving, sometimes on the highway or in intersections, the agency said in a document published last week. Many drivers also had trouble restarting their vehicles, and at times the stalling would reoccur, the agency said.

The latest investigation, which covers 387,000 of the 2006 Corolla and Matrix models sold in the U.S., was opened by federal safety regulators in November and is in the initial stage to determine whether a deeper investigation is warranted. Toyota officials were unavailable for immediate comment.

The probe into the Corolla and Matrix vehicles focuses on the electronic control module—the computer system that operates many of the vehicle's systems—as well as a company bulletin issued in 2007 to remedy harsh shifting in the models.

my oldest friend on the planet, just bought a new tacoma... nice truck..

I see this huge white plastic zip tie...wrapped around the seat frame, punched thru the floor mat in 2 places, and tightened up so the mat cannot go forward...cannot be removed either...(unless you cut the tie)...but the dealer said that is how they were told to deliver them....

my bosses Lexus.... he took the floor mats out..... and still gets the "sudden acceleration"... got the recall to get the 1/4 inch ground off the pedal.... but he seriously doubts that will help....

some interesting videos on youtube regarding the accelerator issues....

I've got an '04 Prius that is part of the recall. Waiting to Jan'10 to call and let them shave of 1/4 of the gas pedal. The OEM mats already have the hole/floor clip to hold in place?

Still don't understand why shutting off the ignition is not an emergency solution should the accelerator become stuck?

I've got an '04 Prius that is part of the recall. Waiting to Jan'10 to call and let them shave of 1/4 of the gas pedal. The OEM mats already have the hole/floor clip to hold in place?

Still don't understand why shutting off the ignition is not an emergency solution should the accelerator become stuck?

OEM mats did have the hole and hook set up, the zip ties holds it back closer to the seat mounts, and secures both sides.

The ABC report I saw on the throttle issue, did say to slip the car into neutral, steer and brake vehicle to a stop..then shut off. If you shut it off while rolling, you loose the power brakes and power steering.

However in a panic situation, most folks instincts are to just grab the brakes.

My boss worried about the slipping into neutral, did not want to blow engine, I told him, that would be a warranty issue at that point, and besides, even American cars have rev limiters now, so I am sure the Toyata's do as well. He has done it a few times now, and it works well. He also has taken his mats right out of his Lexus, and it still happens.. especialy in the low-mid 40 mph range... like when he said he lifts off for a second, like coming up on an intersecting road or intersection, see that it is clear and resumes pressure... all of a sudden , car feels floored... and his foot is well off the pedal at this point. This is some kind of electronics issue, not a pedal issue, or floormat problem... but, like all big corporations, they are taking the long way to get to the answer.