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TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- Toyota has ordered dealers to inspect their cars after a floor mat was suspected of snaring the accelerator pedal of a Lexus that crashed in San Diego County and killed four.
Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA announced Monday that dealers must make sure all Lexus and Toyota vehicles have the proper mats.
California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife, 13-year-old daughter and an in-law died Aug. 28 when a Lexus ES 350 loaned by a local dealer crashed.
Witnesses say the car was doing more than 120 mph when it went off an embankment. The family's screams were heard in a 911 call.
A preliminary investigation found that their loaner car had a mat from another Lexus model that may have caused the accelerator to get stuck.
TOYOTA STATEMENT:
On August 28th, 2009, California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three members of his family tragically lost their lives on a highway near San Diego California, while driving a 2009 ES 350 loaned to them by a local Lexus dealer. Our deepest sympathies go out to the friends and family of Mark, Cleofe, Mahala, and Cleofe’s brother Chris Lastrella.
Preliminary information from law enforcement investigators indicates that the cause may have been an all-weather floor mat from a different Lexus model which, if installed incorrectly in the ES 350, could cause it to interfere with the accelerator pedal.
All-weather floor mats are installed by dealers or customers as an accessory item.
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. takes public safety very seriously and will fully cooperate with any investigation. We believe our vehicles to be among the safest on the road today.
In 2007, Toyota and Lexus conducted a Safety Recall on all-weather floor mats for the 2007 and early 2008 Camry and ES 350. During our investigation prior to the recall, it was noted that driver’s floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal is possible in any vehicle make with any combination of floor mats when the floor mat is not properly secured or if it is not the factory designed floor mat for your vehicle.
We are instructing all of our Lexus and Toyota 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.
**IMPORTANT UPDATE**
Toyota puts out a recall on 3.8 million vehicles
WASHINGTON – Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, the company's largest-ever U.S. recall, to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash.
The recall will involve popular models such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid.
Toyota said it was still working with officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a remedy to fix the problem and said owners could be notified about the recall as early as next week. Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said until the company finds a fix, owners should take out the removable floor mat on the driver's side and not replace it.
"A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop a vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death," Miller said.
NHTSA said it had received reports of 102 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck on the Toyota vehicles involved. It was unclear how many led to crashes but the inquiry was prompted by a highspeed crash in August in California of a Lexus barreling out of control. As the vehicle hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, family members made a frantic 911 call and said the accelerator was stuck and they couldn't stop the vehicle.
"This is an urgent matter," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration."
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.
Toyota's previously largest U.S. recall was about 900,000 vehicles in 2005 to fix a steering issue. The company declined to say how many complaints it had received about the accelerator issue.
The Japanese automaker warned owners that if they think their vehicle is accelerating out of control, they should check to see whether their floor mat is under the pedal. If a driver can't remove the floor mat, Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet until the vehicle slows and then try to put it into neutral and switch the ignition to accessory power.
For vehicles with engine start/stop buttons, Toyota said the engine can be shut off by holding the button down for three seconds.
In the August incident near San Diego, the fiery crash of a 2009 Lexus ES 350 killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, 45, and three members of his family on State Route 125 in Santee. The runaway car was traveling at more than 120 mph when it hit a sport utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and 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.
NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, something that could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.
Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the final report had not yet been submitted in the California case.
"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," Hanson said.
In mid-September, Toyota ordered 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide to ensure that each new, used and loaner vehicles had the proper floor mats and that the mats were properly 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.
For more information, consumers can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's hotline at (888) 327-4236, Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Lexus at (800) 255-3987.
I don't get why he ever allowed the car to reach that speed? He could have just tried breaking and putting the car in neutral. I feel bad for the 13 year-old.
I've read about the issue with the accelerator like last year... there are lots of complaints but all the dealer would say is its the floor mats, one guy has had that problem and he didnt even have floormats when it happened but the dealer insisted it was or something along those lines. I think its a problem with the drive-by-wire and ecu.. very common problem with the ISx50 first time hearing this happen to an ES series
throw the b1tch in sport mode, throw it down to 1st gear, blow the engine, you ain't going nowhere.
put the ebrake on and skid (or drift) your ass around, might get yourself into an accident or you might be a good enough driver to know how to control a FWD car while its spinning, use your breaks too and you'll prolly get onto the side of the road better than hitting it 120 mph head on.
i feel bad for them but i mean i drive home from college everyday now and almost everyday i have an idiot do something stupid that can cost me my life if i don't slow down immediately or go around them quickly. its just the quality of the drivers i suppose, don't go past 50 mph if you don't know what your doing.
either way, as stated before, i feel bad for the 13 year old
throw the b1tch in sport mode, throw it down to 1st gear, blow the engine, you ain't going nowhere.
put the ebrake on and skid (or drift) your ass around, might get yourself into an accident or you might be a good enough driver to know how to control a FWD car while its spinning, use your breaks too and you'll prolly get onto the side of the road better than hitting it 120 mph head on.
i feel bad for them but i mean i drive home from college everyday now and almost everyday i have an idiot do something stupid that can cost me my life if i don't slow down immediately or go around them quickly. its just the quality of the drivers i suppose, don't go past 50 mph if you don't know what your doing.
either way, as stated before, i feel bad for the 13 year old
At those speeds, the occupants in the car you hit won't survive either.
I have a 2008 camry v6 se after a very hot day last sumer the standard floor mat warped up in a corner, the car did not come with the hold down clips.
I was on the freeway going 70mph and all of a sudden the car is floored and I am freaking out, I put the car in neutral, the engine is at full rpms bouncing off the rev limiter with the engine cutting out and then turning on, finally slowed down and turned the key off, finally the mat slipped off the gas peddle, did not realize the problem till afterwords. Get those clips!
It is not just the all weather guard mats .
Last edited by 1956kiteboarder; 09-17-2009 at 09:19 AM.
wow thats a bad story. luckly you survived and knew what to do. i think a solution to this is to include all weather floor mats standard and make sure they are secured in the clips, include instructions and a liability clause in the purchase of the all weather mats, or to add a extra clip up there thats not removable that can prevent this from happening.
about 5months or so ago I did receive a letter from Toyota saying if I have the floor mat from Toyota they will replace it for free cause it can get caught with the gas paddle. I'm not sure if this is the same incident.
I think its a problem with the drive-by-wire and ecu.. very common problem with the ISx50 first time hearing this happen to an ES series
Yea, I think it's the drive-by-wire too.
No way a floor mat can floor just your accelerator pedal, I mean, you can tell when you're driving if something feels different when you step on the gas, if something is blocking or got stuck on it.
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