RECALL on Floor Mats

[offshorebear]

Large Toyota Recall Re: Floormats

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20090929/UPDATES/90929072

"WASHINGTON – The government is warning owners of Toyota and Lexus vehicles about safety problems tied to removable floor mats.


They say the mats could interfere with the vehicle’s accelerator and cause a crash.


The Transportation Department says owners should take out the floor mats on the driver’s side and not replace them. A large vehicle recall is expected later today.


Toyota did not immediately comment on the warning.


The consumer alert affects 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350
"

Does the Taco have different floormats than our 4Runners?

 

[r32]

for certain vehicles, Toyota has issued a recall.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090929/ap_on_bi_ge/us_toyota_floor_mats

The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.

 

[wolfgang]

Geeze - thought this was April's fool posting! 120 MPH due to a stuck mat. I can use this article next time I get pulled over by our finest! My yota's all have the little tang that catches the mat! They even work on the Weathertech liners.

:infidel:

 

[Uneek]

Largest single recall in Toyota's history.

I'm going to move this to General Discussions for more exposure, in case our other members own any of the affected vehicles.

 

[alaskaman]

the accident which caused this recall was a CHP with his family all of whom were killed reportedly the mat slipped up over the gas pedal. a trained driver could not stop the rental vehicle which accelerated to 120 mph and crashed. hard to fathom what happened.

 

[Scoobs]

How do you know he was a trained driver? Trained at what? Unfortunately it doesn't appear that he was aware that neutral exists. It was very sad, but entirely preventable. When my son was learning to drive a couple of years ago one of the very first things I showed him was how to put an auto tranny into neutral and pull safely off the road. He then reminded me that I had shown him that when he was about 10 years old. Everyone who is driving a vehicle, or who regularly sits in the front passenger seat should know how to do this.

I think this lack of knowledge of most drivers is a function of growing up without learning on a manual.

 

[Uneek]

I think this lack of knowledge of most drivers is a function of growing up without learning on a manual.

I think it's some people don't learn all the functions of the product and only what's needed to get the job done.

It'll only get worst. Like the latest E-class commercials that emphasize on the car driving itself, keeping it within the lane markers and applying the brakes.

When the RX330 came out with laser cruise control, many members on ClubLexus already mentioned setting the speed above the flow of traffic and all you had to do is steer.

 

[alaskaman]

How do you know he was a trained driver? Trained at what? Unfortunately it doesn't appear that he was aware that neutral exists. It was very sad, but entirely preventable. When my son was learning to drive a couple of years ago one of the very first things I showed him was how to put an auto tranny into neutral and pull safely off the road. He then reminded me that I had shown him that when he was about 10 years old. Everyone who is driving a vehicle, or who regularly sits in the front passenger seat should know how to do this.

I think this lack of knowledge of most drivers is a function of growing up without learning on a manual.

another example of why we should not jump to conclusions. I am no big fan of the CHP but they are among the best drivers in the world. Their training is used world wide.........seriously. I have the feeling that there is more to this story other than a floor mat.

 

[J.A.]

There was similar problems way back when with the husky liner mats doing the same thing, then they added the stay put nibs (SPiN) on the bottom, they are like little spikes that grip the carpeting and the mats wont budge.

 

[Atlanta_man]

It's happened to me twice, floor it to pass someone and it sticks and is almost impossible to free it up. 1st time I thought it was something wrong with the drive-by-wire, pedal was stuck to the floor but could not tell why. hitting it repeatedly / pumping it freed it up

2nd time I suspected the floor mat but could not repeat the problem

 

[peter78]

How do you know he was a trained driver? Trained at what? Unfortunately it doesn't appear that he was aware that neutral exists.

I have read about other vehicles going out of control. I think someone who is able to drove with a clutch, understands more about putting a car in neutral. Sure the engine will race, but you now can control the car. Turning the key off is another option. Of course you don't have much time to react, it is more instinct than thinking about it.

 

[offshorebear]

In PA it's part of the written test; what to do if the accelerator sticks. Do not turn off engine, put transmission in neutral.

 

[peter78]

In PA it's part of the written test; what to do if the accelerator sticks. Do not turn off engine, put transmission in neutral.

That is interesting. You would think if you put it in neutral and the engine revs, you slow down and pull of the road, I would think truning the key to off would be OK. I know you won't have power steering or power brakes, but the car will move and steer.

I guess it would be better to come to a complete stop, before doing so. Still either way, in neutral or in neutral with the power off, you will have no power to the wheels and you need to figure out how to stop. I guess it would be safer with the engine still running, you would still have trun signals.

I guess the main point, if a car engine goes out of control, you still have the ability to control the car.

 

[cv4runner]

How do you know he was a trained driver? Trained at what? Unfortunately it doesn't appear that he was aware that neutral exists. It was very sad, but entirely preventable. When my son was learning to drive a couple of years ago one of the very first things I showed him was how to put an auto tranny into neutral and pull safely off the road. He then reminded me that I had shown him that when he was about 10 years old. Everyone who is driving a vehicle, or who regularly sits in the front passenger seat should know how to do this.

I think this lack of knowledge of most drivers is a function of growing up without learning on a manual.

The car the officer was driving was a loaner while his was being repaired. On that model Lexus, you must hold the on/off button for 3 seconds for it turn the motor off. Also, I have read of similar problems where the driver attempted to shift into neutral and it would not shift. There is more to this story than meets the eye. Be careful about jumping to conclusions.

 

[peter78]

The car the officer was driving was a loaner while his was being repaired. On that model Lexus, you must hold the on/off button for 3 seconds for it turn the motor off. Also, I have read of similar problems where the driver attempted to shift into neutral and it would not shift. There is more to this story than meets the eye. Be careful about jumping to conclusions.

That is just too complicated, three seconds is a looooong time when you have to stop. Also, I wonder if the steering wheel would lock up. When you turn off the key on a running car, you can't take it out, thereby, you don't have a locked steering wheel.

Maybe they need to re-think all these new, better ideas.

 

[gqr1c3boi]

The consumer alert affects 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350
"

Does the Taco have different floormats than our 4Runners?

Not sure about the Taco, but the 4Runner has 2 hooks on the drivers side that are supposed to hook into the factory floor mat thus preventing it to slide foward. Maybe those models listed do not have this. I also have an RX350 w/ the same setup. Only on the driver's side though.

 

[warpwr]

I wondered about the 4Runner mats too.
I also have a Tacoma and as far as I can tell the mats are identical. Same hook and eye deal.
I thought maybe the gas pedal might be different but I haven't really checked yet. The 4Runner went to work with my wife.

Lots of discussion over here too....
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/of...ta-recall-3-8million-vehicles-tacoma-too.html

 

[gm350reratliff]

Hasn't happened to me yet(in the 4runner anyway). I'll have to ask the wifey if she knows what to do it this were to happen. Way back I had a '78 Lebaron that the floor mat would slide up and collapse the brake linkage and then you had no brakes. Its pretty funny now that I look back. I'm glad I didn't live in the city when that happened!

 

[Scoobs]

another example of why we should not jump to conclusions. I am no big fan of the CHP but they are among the best drivers in the world. Their training is used world wide.........seriously. I have the feeling that there is more to this story other than a floor mat.

Unfortunately I doubt that it is anything more than it appears to be, a stuck floor mat. The chances of the throttle sticking wide open, while at the same time the shift linkage failed and could not be put in neutral or dropped down into a lower gear, while at the same time the brakes faded and could not stop the vehicle when properly applied?

Toyota had numerous other complaints by other owners about floor mats pushing the accelerator but chose to do nothing about it, that is not until 4 people were killed. Found this comment that I thought hit the nail on the head

Comments from Toyota reps in an Automotive News article today were also very revealing. Basically, they admitted they've known about the problem, but four people getting killed "prompted us to look more closely at reports from the field of similar incidents." Read: Now that people have died, we better do something, fast. Damage-control in high gear.

This is the same company who stonewalled their steering problem for nine years ... "appropriated" important battery technology from Energy Conversion Devices to help make the Prius a commercial reality (only to settle quietly out of court without a formal admission of guilt ... other than the estimated $150 million they paid to ECD) ... and who stated repeatedly that their vehicles did not have "sludge" problems, only to finally cave and issue a recall.

As far as sharing a design, again, do your homework. In the same Automotive News article, Toyota executives in Japan stressed that only U.S. vehicles feature mats with this (flawed) design (implying that other markets already have a better design). But, buyers in their largest market don't get (or is it deserve?) the best and safest design? Incredible.

 

[cv4runner]

Unfortunately I doubt that it is anything more than it appears to be, a stuck floor mat. The chances of the throttle sticking wide open, while at the same time the shift linkage failed and could not be put in neutral or dropped down into a lower gear, while at the same time the brakes faded and could not stop the vehicle when properly applied?

There were eyewitness reports of the wheels being basically on fire from the brakes being continually applied. I find it hard to believe an experienced CHP officer wouldn't have tried everything within reason to get the out of control car with his wife and daughter inside stopped.