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Toyota to recall 3.8 million vehicles

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by firepa63, Sep 29, 2009.

  1. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    Yesterday Toyota announced an impending recall on all driver's side floor mats for the 2004-2009 Prius. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked that any Gen 2 Prius owners take out any removable driver's floor mat and not replace it with another mat until Toyota comes up with a remedy. While the issue appears to come down to improper installation (see photo below for proper installation), Toyota has heard many stories over the last few years of sudden acceleration in the Prius and other models. The floor mat has been targeted as the source of the problem. There is one particularly sad story of a California Highway Patrolman and his family who were killed when their dealership-loaner Lexus accelerated out of control and ended up in a fiery crash. Toyota Press Release below: Toyota/Lexus Consumer Safety Advisory Potential Floor Mat Interference with Accelerator Pedal [​IMG] Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. takes public safety very seriously. It believes its vehicles to be among the safest on the road today. Recent events have prompted Toyota to take a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position due to an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death. Toyota considers this a critical matter and will soon launch a safety campaign on specific Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Throughout the process of developing the details of the action plan, it will advise the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Until Toyota develops a remedy, it is asking owners of specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat. The following models are affected: • 2007 – 2010 Camry • 2005 – 2010 Avalon • 2004 – 2009 Prius • 2005 – 2010 Tacoma • 2007 – 2010 Tundra • 2007 – 2010 ES350 • 2006 – 2010 IS250 and IS350 Should the vehicle continue to accelerate rapidly after releasing the accelerator pedal, this could be an indication of floor mat interference. If this occurs, Toyota recommends the driver take the following actions: First, if it is possible and safe to do so, pull back the floor mat and dislodge it from the accelerator pedal; then pull over and stop the vehicle. If the floor mat cannot be dislodged, then firmly and steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet. Do NOT pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the effort required to slow the vehicle. Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine. If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF, or to ACC. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost. -If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button. -If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel. In the event owners choose not to remove their floor mat, Toyota strongly recommends that they ensure that the correct floor mat is being used, that it is properly installed and secured, that it is not flipped over with bottom-side up, and that one floor mat is not stacked over another. Information on proper floor mat installation can be found on http://www.toyota.com and http://www.lexus.com. Owners with questions or concerns, are asked to please contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center (1 800 331-4331) or Lexus Customer Assistance Center (1 800 255¬3987), or consult the information posted at http://www.toyota.com and http://www.lexus.com.
     
  2. Doc Willie

    Doc Willie Shuttlecraft Commander

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    Anybody see what the problem is? I can't.
     
  3. Cacti

    Cacti Poleikleng

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  4. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I don't use those floor mats. Besides, the resolution is to
    That requires a recall?
     
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  5. Sandy

    Sandy Hippi Chick

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    there was a crash due to a floormat under the gas and brake pedel
     
  6. gak27

    gak27 Prius, Take Two

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    I seem to remember that the paper w/ my all-weather mats said to make sure you don't install them over the carpet ones...
     
  7. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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  8. toyoprius

    toyoprius New Member

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    I've had the mat bunch up to the side of the accelerator and jam the accelerator towards the floor. Fortunately, the brakes overrode the accelerater before I had the presence of mind to hit the power switch.

    There have been similar postings about phantom acceleration in this forum and the first question always seems to concern the mat. So this probably isn't an isolated problem.

    Viva la Recall. My mat is really, really, dirty.
     
  9. RoyThePriusGuy

    RoyThePriusGuy New Member

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    Recall of 3.8 Million Toyotas - Not the '10 though

    Urgent' recall of 3.8M Toyotas; accelerator may stick

    Toyota is recalling 3.8 million Toyotas and Lexuses because floor mats could make the accelerator stick, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced.

    USA TODAY auto writer Chris Woodyard has the details. The NHTSA "strongly recommends taking out removable floor mats on the driver’s side in certain models and not to replace them with any other mat, either from Toyota or any other brand."

    Read the news release.

    "This is an urgent matter," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration."

    NHTSA notes that there continue to be reports of accelerator pedal clearance issues which provide the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position. A stuck accelerator may result in very high vehicle speeds and a crash, which could cause serious injury or death.

    NHTSA said that Toyota has announced that it will soon launch a safety recall of various model year vehicles to redress the problem. However the safety agency warned owners to remove all driver-side floor mats from the models listed below immediately as an interim safety measure in advance of the recall.


    The affected models are:

    2007-2010 Camry

    2005-2010 Avalon

    2004-2009 Prius

    2005-2010 Tacoma

    2007-2010 Tundra

    2007-2010 ES 350

    2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350

    It's the company's largest U.S. recall.


    In September 2007, Toyota recalled an accessory all-weather floor mat sold for use in some 2007 and 2008 model year Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry vehicles because of similar problems.

    Today’s advisory was precipitated by continued reports of vehicles accelerating rapidly after release of the accelerator pedal. The incidents appear to be related to factors including the use of a variety of unsecured mats, the particular configuration of the accelerator pedals in these vehicles, and the unique steps needed to shut off the engines in some of these vehicles with keyless ignition.

    NHTSA Consumer Safety Alert
    Tuesday, September 29, 2009 NHTSA Media Contact: Eric Bolton, 202-366-9550
    NHTSA Consumer Hotline: 888-372-4236

    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfile...n/Articles/Associated Files/Toyota_Mat_09.JPG
     
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  10. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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  11. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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  12. Greg_M

    Greg_M Member

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    Owners should take out the floor mats on the driver's side and not replace them.

    Are they going to replace the matts with something else?
     
  13. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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  14. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    There are multiple threads going on this, but this looks to be the most posted-to one so I will jump in with my opinion:

    1) This is about litigation, not safety

    2) If this were about safety, Toyota would have to teach idiots how to press HARD on the brake pedal or press the power button. That ain't going to happen.

    3) They could always program the ECU to not allow sustained hard acceleration for more than, say, 5 seconds. Of course, passing would become a real challenge...

    4) They could build a sensor into the throttle pedal that requires special Toyota-supplied shoes so the ECU is assured that a human foot is causing the acceleration and not a foreign object (however, the foot is an object, and if the driver is foreign...but I digress...). In fact, I think we should petition the NHTSA to make this law for all cars. In fact, they could program the chip in your shoe to only allow the car to work with your shoe, making car theft more difficult. If you owned more than one car, you would need shoes for all. If you rented a car, they would have to supply shoes to match the rental car. They could also put a sensor in the brake pedal, and record the last 5 minutes of driving in a continuous stack loop. In the event of an accident this would prove, once and for all, that unintended acceleration isn't caused by aliens or faulty cars but by drivers mashing the gas pedal and/or NOT mashing the brake. When a person is stopped for a traffic infraction that would normally require the car to be towed, the cops could impound the shoes, thus doing away with tow fees, towing damage, etc. The city would collect the fee directly for releasing the shoes. This would be ecological as it would save all that pollution created by tow trucks. I'm beginning to REALLY like this solution! :D

    3) If Toyota lawyers are so afraid of being sued, they have a simple solution: issue an addendum to the owner's manuals saying Toyota prohibits the use of floor mats on the drivers side, stop selling them, and "recall" the dealer-sold driver's side mats. End of legal exposure.
     
  15. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    If that's a Toyota dealer-installed HD mat, then all I can say is Toyota might deserve the thumping they will get over this for such a poor design. If it's aftermarket, then what does the government do? Ban the sale of aftermarket, "one-size-fits-all" mats? People probably expect such a mat to be safe, but I certainly don't.
     
  16. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    We replaced our floor mats (that have retention clips, and were clipped properly) with the exact mats, which are hard plastic with teeth that hold them in place. They don't move. They can't bunch up (or bend).

    This is a litigation thing. I agree. Like putting a warning on a coffee cup that the contents may be hot.
     
  17. cpatch

    cpatch New Member

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  18. Tickwood

    Tickwood Active Member

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    Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

    In ehe Lexus crash that killed a California Highway patrol officer and his family flames were coming off the front disks. Did he push hard enough on the brakes for you?
     
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  19. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    Re: Recall of 3.8 Million Toyotas - Not the '10 though

    Free floor mats for everybody!!!
     
  20. oms2burn

    oms2burn New Member

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