3.8 Million Toyota, Lexus Recalled Over Faulty Floor Mats

Toyota announced on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 that it would recall a whopping 3.8 million vehicles in the United States.

This is Toyota's largest ever recall in the US, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash. Prior to this their biggest recall was in 2005 where they recalled up to 900,000 vehicles to fix a steering problem.

This is what Toyota have just recently released following their recall:

"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."

And here is a list of the vehicles types being recalled:

Toyota Recall Vehicle List:

• 2007 – 2010 Camry
• 2005 – 2010 Avalon
• 2004 – 2009 Prius
• 2005 – 2010 Tacoma
• 2007 – 2010 Tundra
• 2007 – 2010 ES350
• 2006 – 2010 IS250 and IS350

Toyota stated that they are currently working with officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find a solution to fix the problem and said owners could be notified about the recall as early as next week. Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said until they finds a fix for the problem, owners should take out the removable floor mat on the driver’s side and not replace it.

NHTSA claimed to have received reports of up to 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved. What prompted this recall was the high speed crash in August in California which involved a 2009 Lexus ES 350 barreling out of control. As the vehicle hit speeds exceeding 120 mph,the family members made a frantic 911 call and said that the accelerator was stuck and they couldn’t stop the vehicle. This fiery crash killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, and three others on State Route 125 in Santee.

The vehicle was traveling at more than 120 mph when it hit a sports utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and then burst into flames. One of the family members called police about a minute before the crash to report the vehicle had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck. The call ended with someone telling people in the car to hold on and pray, followed by a woman’s scream.


“We don’t know what the actual cause was of that accident other than preliminary reports that have been published so it’s impossible for us to comment on that particular incident,” John Hanson, Toyota spokesman said.

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 Toyota Press Release.