I have searched and not found much information on this issue here. I have been driving my 2008 Prius for 14 months and in all that time my floor mat that came with the car has not moved a teeny bit. I do not see why it would move as the underside is thousands of rubber prongs that grip into the carpet below and it is still in its original non damaged shape. But I just got the recall letter from Prius and it looks like my car is included. It seems crazy to not remove the mat if it is a danger, but I can't figure out how it could even happen. Anybody know?
The way I read the "recall" is the problem is with mats that don't have holes for the hooks that hold the mats in position. These are mainly non-OEM mats. Personally I am not removing mine and the mats are held securely with the hooks and rubber grips and can't slide forward to interfere with the gas pedal. It's really a personal choice about removing them. I think Toyota has a bigger problem and it's not being caused by the floor mats.
Don't worry about it! I was hoping to get a new floor mat but I guess not Like the person said above me, the problem is with aftermarket floor mats
I removed mine...but not for the recall...and not permanently. No, I installed my Weathertech all weather mats for winter, same as last year. Yes, they have clip holes. The OEM fabric mat goes back in when warm weather returns. Got the recall notice on Monday or Tuesday. There's really nothing to do if you have a properly installed floor mat.
Thank you, Shawn, paprius4030 and firepa63. I was confused because the recall notice sounds as if it is dealing with the original mats not after market ones. After reading your answers I have looked more thoroughly at my mats and see that they are securely clipped to the floor as well as held by the rubber grips. In fact I don't think I have had such well attached floor mats in previous cars. So I feel much safer now.
If it is clipped properly, don't worry. There is no way a properly installed mat could block the accelerator. I installed mine all-weather mats a few weeks ago for the winter months and had a closer look at them, after all that boo-ha recently - there is more than enough clearance around the gas pedal if the mat is in place and the clips and rubber grips hold it there absolutely safety. No way it's gonna move. The recall that I read at the Internet just warned people that a) mats *cannot* be stacked (you have to remove the original mat before installing the rubber mat, do *not* put the rubber mat on top of it) and b) people should make sure their mats are properly clipped. It clearly stated that properly installed mats are safe and called for the common sense .
Kabin, Your confusing the post. This is a recall about the mats. The Lawsuit is only alleged as a ECD problem. There need's to be facts supporting that. Anyone can sue anyone for anything, let's see what comes of this suit and if it's found there is "really" a problem. I really have my doubts that anything will be proven to be a computer or program problem IMO. The Mat Recall was based upon the reports and early determination of the San Diego car crash which killed the occupants. It was determined they had INCORRECT mats in the vehicle. Let's wait and see what comes of that suit.
I hope they settle this soon! Brought my brand new 2010 Prius IV home two days ago--hate to have only carpet mats in rainy Oregon. Love this forum--found it immediately and have already placed an order for body side mouldings.
My 08 has hooks, and the OE mats can't move. I received a letter from Toyota about it, and will ignore it. I have seen this problem of floor mat creep in some other non-Toyota cars I've owned--in the past--that didn't have hooks. Frankly, I don't know why Toyota is being picked on here. Particularly the Prius. It sounds like much ado about nothing--similar to all the noise about "quiet" hybrids you can't hear. You can certainly hear a lot of other road noises any car generates if it is near you--including the Prius. More importantly, the Prius is quiet-INSIDE. That makes for less stressful, safer driving. Funny no reviewers have pointed that out. But then they probably don't own a Prius.
The comments above sum up the situatin pretty well. I'm ignoring the notice as well...using it as kitty litter. The notice does not involve the 2010's.
First, the San Diego investigation report did not point to the floormat as the cause. Please read that again. Toyota found the mat to be wrong, and found the mat melt together with gas pedal (which is also made of plastic). That does not indicate to me (conclusively) that the mat were ON the pedal. I read the report many times. It did not draw any conclusion as far as cause is concerned. Many automakers have similar designs of floormats with hooks (e.g. Mazda and Honda). However, Toyota have received 1500 complaints of unintended acceleration while all other automakers together only have 1100 cases (source San Jose Mercury News). I don't blame a fan for putting too much faith on Toyota. I am not a hater, but Toyota had made mistake and tried to cover up in the past. This won't be the 1st time. I hope they find the root of the problem (likely the drive-by-wire system) and fix it once for all.
Let's keep it accurate if you're going to throw numbers around. Of those 1500 cases of alleged unintended acceleration 400+ have been investigated by the NHTSA and found to a) be inaccurate; b) not be provable; c) maybe not be existant at all. All 400+ cases were closed. Some of these cases are almost definitely caused by the All Weather mats...these certainly seem valid and require a solution. Between these two poles one has to make up his/her own mind. I'll go with my 20 yrs of experience in driving Toyota's. I make up my own mind. The kitty litter box gets the Recall notice.
I have a 06 Prius that has properly installed floor mats. After having my car routinely serviced, I experienced an unintended acceleration as if my car was in neutral and the accelerator pedal was pushed to the floor. Since the experience was brief, and only once, I blew it off. This happened a few months ago. BTW, my carpet was in place and not touching the accelerator pedal. From the excellent articles covered by the L.A. Times, there have been 19 deaths and "...scores of injuries over the last decade." Furthermore, "More than 1,000 Toyota and Lexus owners have reported since 2001 that their vehicles suddenly accelerated on their own, in many cases slamming into trees, parked cars and brick walls, among other obstacles, a Times review of federal records has found." I think the problem is much larger than an issue of floor mats.
So far it is just a fishing expedition. One law firm is making sure it is first in line at the courthouse, even though no particular engine control problem is yet identified. If they wait for concrete details, they will lose the legal stampede. The land sharks smell money surrounding a product defect. The permanent denialists blame the driver in every incident, based on historic evidence that mats and driver error are the majority causes of similar cases. The actual causes of all these incidents is . . . still to be determined.
"Permanent denialists" is a real stretch. So far there has not been a single incident reported that could not be easily remedied by the driver simply shifting to neutral and/or removing a wayward mat (from what we know so far) Until such time save the silly aspersions for the hysterical.
They can have my OEM floor mats when they pry them from my cold, dead,... uhh, feet. And of course they'll have to un-hook them from the clips first.
