Toyota's Urgent Recall: Remove Toyota, Lexus Floor Mats
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From: john on 29 Sep 2009 21:12 No floor mats allowed in the following !!! 2007-2010 Camry 2005-2010 Avalon 2004-2009 Prius 2005-2010 Tacoma 2007-2010 Tundra 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350 2006-2010 Lexus IS 250 and IS350 Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Government issues 'urgent' warning to remove Toyota, Lexus floor mats David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington -- Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to recall nearly 3.9 million vehicles -- the largest U.S. recall in the company's history -- as the government issued an "urgent" warning to remove driver floor mats because of the danger of inadvertent acceleration. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged owners of the Toyota and Lexus vehicles to immediately remove driver's side floor mats because of safety risks. Toyota is in the process of submitting the formal recall documents to the government; its largest recall before this was a 2005 recall of 900,000 vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that under certain conditions, the mats from 2004-2009 model year vehicles could cause the accelerator to stick in the full open position, which may result in high speeds and serious crashes. The agency strongly recommended removing driver-side mats and not replacing them with any other mat. NHTSA has received more than 100 confirmed reports of accelerator pedal clearance issues which provide the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position. "This is an urgent matter," LaHood said. "For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration." Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, said an Aug. 28 crash that killed four -- including an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer who was at the wheel of the 2009 Lexus when it plunged over an embankment and burst into flames -- may have been the result of sudden acceleration linked to a floor mat. Mark Saylor and his wife Cleofe, both 45, their 13-year-old daughter, Mahala, and 38-year-old brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, were killed after reporting to a 911 operator that they could not stop their Lexus ES 350, as it careened down Route 125 in Santee, Calif. The tape of the brief call was made public this month. It features the voice of Lastrella, telling the operator that the vehicle had no brakes. The call ended with occupants calling on each other to pray. On Sept. 14, Toyota urged all dealers to "immediately inspect their new, used, and loaner fleet vehicles and we urge all other automakers, dealers, vehicle owners, and the independent service and car wash industries to assure that any floor mat, whether factory or aftermarket, is correct for the vehicle and properly installed and secured." 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. NHTSA's announcement was triggered by reports of vehicles accelerating rapidly after release of the accelerator pedal. The incidents appear to be related to factors including unsecured mats, accelerator pedal configuration, and the unique steps needed to shut off the engines in some vehicles with keyless ignition. "Consumers should take this seriously," said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson, who said the agency was pleased that Toyota had quickly agreed to the recall. The affected vehicles are: 2007-2010 Camry 2005-2010 Avalon 2004-2009 Prius 2005-2010 Tacoma 2007-2010 Tundra 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350 2006-2010 Lexus IS 250 and IS350 NHTSA has confirmed 102 incidents from 2004-2009 model year vehicles relating to the floor mats. Nearly half -- or 42 -- were in the 2007 Lexus ES 350. For more information, consumers can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Hotline at (888) 327-4236 or the Toyota Experience Center at (800) 331-4331 or the Lexus Customer Assistance Center at (800) 255-3987. Information from Toyota is also posted at http://www.toyota.com and http://www.lexus.com. dshepardson(a)detnews.com (202) 662-8735 http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20090929/AUTO01/909290412/1148/auto01/Government-issues--urgent--warning-to-remove-Toyota--Lexus-floor-mats
From: mcbrue on 30 Sep 2009 00:02 Oh goodie !!!! I get to keep floor mats in my Lexus as it careens madly out of control without brakes! That is so nice. The floor mats will heap deaden our screams so our ears will not hurt so much as we fly off the cliff !!!
From: hls on 30 Sep 2009 08:49 The factory floor mats have eyelets which engage hooks in the floor, holding them in a stable position. They dont move around this way. If you dont have the proper floor mats, they can ride up under the brake pedals, etc. AFAIK, that is what this is all about. I bought some aftermarket floor mats to protect my original carpeting, and find they indeed ride up and cause this problem. No problem at all with the carpeting that came with our cars.
From: Tegger on 30 Sep 2009 17:49 "hls" <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote in news:A62dnQCWKexFzl7XnZ2dnUVZ_h- dnZ2d(a)giganews.com: > The factory floor mats have eyelets which engage hooks in the floor, > holding them in a stable position. They dont move around this way. > > If you dont have the proper floor mats, they can ride up under the > brake pedals, etc. > > AFAIK, that is what this is all about. > > I bought some aftermarket floor mats to protect my original carpeting, > and find they indeed ride up and cause this problem. No problem at > all with the carpeting that came with our cars. > I have aftermarket mats on top of the OEM mats in my car. What I did was to use a hole punch (like the ones used to punch leather) to make a 1/4" hole in the aftermarket mats. This hole engages the OEM mat hook. Luckily for me, the hook accommodates both mats at once. I tried to do this in my wife's Tercel, but the mat hook is too shallow to grab both sets of mats. -- Tegger
From: M. Balmer on 30 Sep 2009 20:38
Don't hit the Pinto with the exploding gas tank as you careen to the bottom of the cliff. Or move to Iowa or Kansass where they have no cliffs <mcbrue(a)aol.com> wrote in message news:3b795e1c-9407-41ab-adad-f4783baf9548(a)g1g2000vbr.googlegroups.com... > Oh goodie !!!! I get to keep floor mats in my Lexus as it careens > madly out of control without brakes! That is so nice. The floor mats > will heap deaden our screams so our ears will not hurt so much as we > fly off the cliff !!! > |