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Administrative Law

Urgent Advisory: Remove Floor Mats on Eight Toyota & Lexus Models

Posted Sep 29, 2009 4:45 PM CST
By Martha Neil

As Toyota Motor Corp. plans a huge recall of some 3.8 million vehicles due to loose floor mats that could force the accelerator down, United States transportation officials say owners of eight Toyota and Lexus models manufactured in the last six years should immediately remove the driver's-side floor mat.

Officials are investigating 100 incidents, including 17 accidents and 5 fatalities, that may relate to the issue concerning Toyota vehicles, reports Reuters. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood describes the issue as "an urgent matter."

An accident in August in the San Diego area that killed an off-duty California state trooper and several family members "was certainly an eye-opener for all of us, and we've paid very diligent attention to moving forward to try to make sure none of us will be reliving that kind of a very tragic situation," says Irv Miller, a spokesman for Toyota.

Before the trooper's 2009 Lexus ES350 crashed, a passenger called 911 and said the car was going 120 miles an hour because of a stuck accelerator, the news agency recounts.

Although details of the recall are still being worked out, it will include the Prius hybrid, recent Avalon and Camry sedans, Tacoma and Tundra pickups and the Lexus IS250, IS350 and ES350 models.

Additional coverage:

New York Times: "Toyota Recalls 3.8 Million Vehicles"

Updated at 6:53 p.m. to link to New York Times article.

Comments

1.

SD Associate
Sep 29, 2009 5:10 PM CST

Here’s a link to the recording of the 911 call…absolutely chilling:

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/10/bn10-911call-fatal-crash/?metro&zIndex=163775

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2.

dave
Sep 30, 2009 11:22 AM CST

So, DOT/NHTSA, how about requiring anchors on the floor and grommets on the mats so the mats can’t slide forward?

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3.

Walt Fricke
Sep 30, 2009 5:39 PM CST

Dear Readers

If ever you have a throttle stick,

a) turn off the key.  Just enough to kill the engine, so the steering wheel doesn’t lock.  Yes, braking will be harder, but it will work and is better than 120 mph.

2)  In the alternative, shove the gearshift into neutral (I assume an automatic, but a clutch would do fine).  The rev limiter will prevent engine damage, and even if it didn’t, still the better choice.

I’d have thought a state trooper would know to do one of these two things, especially if there was time for a phone call (no, I didn’t listen, as I take SD’s word that it is chilling).

There must be something unusual about these mats and the configuration of the gas pedal in these cars to allow a mat to cause WOT (wide open throttle).  But that’s a different matter, and what the driver could have done probably shouldn’t matter in the resolution.

I’m a bit touchy about some of these things.  I was involved in a case where the driver, on a day when the streets were icy, said she stepped on the brake, and the car slid (toward a child who had slipped and fallen behind a car at a stop sign).  So she pushed harder on the brake, but nothing happened, and turning the wheel didn’t do anything either.  Had she but released the brake and turned the wheel a little (she wasn’t going very fast at all), the car would have turned, etc.  Sad.

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