Toyota to Replace 3.8 Million Gas Pedals; Edmunds.com Re-Enacts Problem
November 25, 2009
Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will repair and replace accelerator pedals on 3.8 million recalled Toyota and 
Lexus vehicles in the United States to address the issue of pedals being jammed by the floor mat, potentially causing unintended acceleration.
As an interim step, Toyota said it will have dealers shorten the length of the accelerator pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals, to be available in April. Some vehicles will have an engine management system-based brake override installed as well.
Based on Edmunds.com's re-enactment of the floor mat-pedal situation, these fixes should alleviate the problem.
"Our tests confirmed that an out-of-position floor mat can, indeed, cause the throttle to stick because of the shape and geometry of the current gas pedal," said Dan Edmunds, who was engineering manager of the chassis and brake development group at Hyundai America Technical Center and senior chassis development engineer for Toyota's Technical Center before joining Edmunds.com as director of Automotive Testing in April 2006.
"Temporarily shortening and replacing the accelerator pedals are viable solutions to alleviate the problem," Edmunds commented. Edmunds.com offers on its site advice on how to prevent the problem and what to do in case the throttle sticks.
Toyota advises owners to remove the floor mats altogether as they wait for the temporary and longer-term remedies to be made.
Dan Edmunds said dealers are expected to enablethe temporary fix by using a special tool to shorten the accelerator pedal by 20 mm and reshape the bottom of the pedal. In addition, new floormats and, for some models, lowering the carpet by using a new, thinner underlayment also will decrease the likelihood of interference between the pedal and the floormat.
Pedal, Floor Mat Combo Turns Deadly
The situation of the floor mat jamming the accelerator pedal is speculated to be the cause of a deadly high-speed crash in August. A California Highway Patrol officer and three of his family members were driving near San Diego when their 2009 Lexus ES350 hit speeds of more than 120 mph, struck an SUV, hit an embankment, rolled and burst into flames.
The accident prompted the largest recall in Toyota's history in the U.S.
Earlier this fall, Toyota told owners to remove the floor mats to prevent the problem that the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were studying further.
NHTSA attributes at least five deaths and two injuries to floor mat-related unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. It has received reports of more than 100 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck. Toyota admitted in a press briefing earlier this fall that the floor mat issue -- an issue Toyota executives said was prevalent across the entire auto industry -- had come to light a few years ago.
Recalled Vehicles
The vehicles on the recall list are among Toyota's biggest selelrs, including: 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry; 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius; 2005-2010 Toyota Tacoma; 2007-10 Toyota Tundra; 2007-2010 Lexus ES350; and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.
Owners of the Lexus ES350, Toyota Camry and Toyota Avalon will be the first to receive notification of replacement pedals. Those vehicles also will be have a new programming for the engine-management system to limit throttle engagement if the brakes are being used.
Owners of the other Toyota and Lexus involved will then be notified on a rolling schedule during 2010, Toyota said.
Toyota said the brake-override programming will become standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus lines starting with January 2010 production of the Lexus ES350 and Toyota Camry. Toyota will make the system standard in most of other models by the end of 2010.
Two for Two
Toyota's announcement to replace the gas pedals is the second move to fix a quality problem in as many days.
On Tuesday, Toyota announced the recall of 110,000 Tundra pickup trucks for frame corrosion that can damage brake lines and dislodge spare tires .The recall includes 2000 through 2003 models. Those mostly affected are those in northern states where salt and other de-icers are used on roads, NHTSA said.
NHTSA advised owers to remove spare tires mounted underneath the body of Tundras until they bring the vehicles to a dealer. -- Michelle Krebs, Senior Analyst and Editor at Large
Photo by Toyota
The best-selling Toyota Camry is one of a half-dozen Toyota and Lexus models being recalled to replace the gas pedals.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:07 AM under Featured , News , Toyota | Comments (5) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
I wonder what some on this site would say if it was Ford or GM who had such a large recall?
Posted by: guy1974 | November 25, 2009 at 11:12 AM
It is at once very sad yet incredible that a California Highway Patrol officer, trained in high speed vehicle events, did not have the presence of mind to turn off the ignition, whether or not the officer was actually driving the car.
In any vehicle with the ignition switch on the steering column, turning the key back ONE NOTCH ONLY will turn off the engine while maintaining steering and braking control. Keep in mind that steering and braking effort will become much greater once the motor is turned off, but still provide enough control to coast and brake to the side of the road.
Let's be safe and aware out there, friends. This was tragic and avoidable.
Posted by: fulcrumb | November 25, 2009 at 11:33 AM
This is total garbage by Toyota. Toyota needs a good wake up call now and bring its R&D back to Japan where the Japanese know how to produce better Japanese cars.
Posted by: alman08 | November 25, 2009 at 8:23 PM
alman08-this has nothing to with American R&D since the Lexus ES is built in Japan I think its just a company wide problem with the gas pedal I believe.
Posted by: carguy58 | November 26, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Tundra's are now being recalled for corrosion that can damage brake lines-I live in the Northeast I mean it hasn't snowed alot in 8 years here in NJ. I don't get it this either because these Tundra's are old from 2000-2003 MY's and now they are being just recalled?
Posted by: carguy58 | November 26, 2009 at 11:35 AM