Toyota to recall 3.8 million vehicles

What? Disabling the accelerator when the brake is depressed? How am I going to left-foot-brake to "drift" in the corners if they do that? When I had a Subaru, it was the most fun you could have, with pants on. Of course, I got about 15 mpg doing it.

Seriously, when I take my Prius in for its next service, will I get it back without the driver's side floormat? Will they eventually replace the floormat with some improved design, or change the throttle peddle? That is, I haven't seen any alternative to allowing my carpeting in the driver's footwell to become progressively soiled.
If the carpets are to be removed by the dealer, I will do that before my visit and re-install the mats when I get home, because I prefer to clean removable mats, not carpeting, and I see no problem with my properly-hooked mat.

 

How about the foot brake ? You just open the door, and put your foot down on the road. I've seen it work many a time, on TV.

:violin:

 

I checked my 08 Prius this morning, and found the driver's mat has hooks to keep it in place. Perfectly safe. No need for recall there.

I don't know what the big deal is in the media about the Prius. Except it's the media, and it seems everything is a bigger deal than it should be.

 

My Prius has hooks, not clips. They look like a durable plastic. The mat is very secure.

 

Had a Matrix before the Prius. Slightly used, under 5000 miles, when I bought it. It was missing one of the floor mat hooks.

Fords and Chevies my family have had in the past, didn't have floor hooks for the mats. My mother's current Acura may not have them. I'd readjust them during the annual car clean out, but they weren't anywhere close to the pedals. Can't compare myself now, but do the other manufacturers have longer 'teeth' on the underside of their mats than Toyota?

I found a small bag, in both Matrix and Prius, with two rubber plugs. There were instructions, to the dealer, to install them in the holes on the undercarriage where the shipping tie downs connected. Wouldn't surprise me if dealers regularly removed and/or forgot to install the floor mat hooks.

 

Re: Another Article on Stuck Accelerator Pedal

Wonder if Toyota have a plan to educate their customers on how to shut-down Keyless Ignition in an Emergency since it's also on NTSB's caution list.

Toyota should update the Keyless Ignition System's Emergency Shutdown requirement to 2 sec instead of 3 sec. Each sec is critical.

 

Hi

As someone whos just about to buy a second hand Prius, I am confused about this recall... is it for vehicles in the UK too?

Ann Marie

 

Such recalls are coordinated with the NHTSA in this country. I assume if there was an equivalent recall in the U.K. it would need to be coordinated with the appropriate government agency.

I wouldn't worry about it though, just make sure your floor mats don't get all bunched up.

 

Amazing. The defensiveness on this thread and outright insane statements. Its a recall. And it needs to be done. I would say its not a big deal but it is, because it can cause big problems.

Is it Toyota's fault? Probably not, but it still needs to be corrected. Does everyone here own stock in Toyota or something?

 

I don't see defensivness...I saw the problem and solved the problem almost 3 years ago. I just don't see the need for a bunch of lawyers and bureaucrats to develop a huge expensive recall program. Just send us a letter telling about the problem.

Can't do that, too many lawyers involved. Have a nice day.

 

Stopped at the dealer today on other matters,a nd they said the recall is not yet defined. They also said the main cause of the problem was folks adding the all-weather mats on to pof the regular mats, rather than in place of them. he said the all-weather are no thicker than regular, but the combo is too thick.

I am guessing the recall will have sturdier clips, maybe taller clips to hold both if you want to, and a sticker on the all-weather mats telling you how to install them correctly.

 

I think I have a mutual fund that owns Toyota stock, does that count?

 

Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

Yes they have the clips. Why would the dealer not want to take them out? It's very easy to do. But there is no way the clips would punch holes in regular carpet. Are you kidding me with that explanation?

If the issue is really for aftermarket mats without clips (as another poster suggested), then how can Toyota be held responsible for something they have no control over and ultimately do a recall when the issue was not due to their part or design?

 

if clips break??

 

Re: Prius Recall ('04 - '09)

No, I am not kidding - look at the illustration in the very first post in this thread. It clearly shows that the other end of the end of the clips (more properly called "hooks") anchored to grommets in the carpet. If the hooks are part of the floor mat kit, then the dealer needs to remove the hooks and carpet grommets - leaving the holes. I was simply suggesting that is why the dealer did not want to remove them.

Absolutely. They haven't actually issued a recall yet - so we really don't know what is involved. They (Toyota) has sold some all-weather mats in the past that did not have anchoring provisions, and the recall may well be about those (not the mats that:

 

The NYT has an image that might explain one way the mat can cause the accelerator to stick. The mat is not on the accelerator but rather the molded edge of the mat catches the edge of the pedal. Click on the small image and a larger one is shown.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/global/03toyota.html?_r=1&hpw

 

i didn't like the mats because the PRIUS label came off the mats and even after gluing them back on they still came off.

 

Is that even a Toyota mat? (Is it even a Toyota vehicle?) Nothing is really said about the issue there. For sure that is not the "standard" floor mat sold with the Prius (which is carpeted).

Besides, based on my personal experiance with the NYT 2 years ago when they did a front page piece on the Prius, I wouldn't trust them one bit. They make up their mind what they want to print, then twist the information to fit. (I was one of two owners interviewed, photographed and printed but they chose what they quoted out of context so that it appeared that I said something completely different than what I actually told them).

 

Planet Green has that film on how GM killed their EV-1 electric car--basically for political reasons--while everybody who had seen or driven the car loved it. They put them all on trucks and carted them away--while the cops kept crowds of protestors at bay, and even arrested some. The last cars were taken away from a Burbank, CA lot in 2005--and destroyed. You know what happened after that--with $4 gas and the downfall of GM. The GM bosses thought at the time Toyota wouldn't make money on the Prius.

What happened then and is still happening now is the inertia of oil consumption--sticking with a paradigm that a lot of American companies have a big financial stake in. And this extends to the American media as well--with its snipes at the Prius. And many of the politicians.

I'm now watching how Jimmy Carter tried to green the White House with solar panels, and Reagan dismantled them when he took office. Clinton put electric cars back into focus when he arrived in office--in support--but where were the car companies?
Bush Jr's approach? Reduce foreign oil by getting more out of American ground.
"Conservatism" in America has become synonymous with consumption.

Some guy in a cowboy hat just made a valid point that the car companies have never done a damn thing about car safety or gas consumption without a mandate from the government. That shouldn't be a problem at GM anymore.

And now there's our old friend Ralph Nader on--lambasting the American car industry. The guy that got Bush, Jr. elected in 2000.

 

Looks like every mat ever sold for ANY vehicle should be recalled for the same potential. It's just absurd. Are you shorting Toyota or something?