Tech & Biz

Toyota Recall September 2009: 3.8 Million Cars Affected

by Annina Bergman | September 29, 2009 at 12:57 pm

11595 views | 23 Recommendations | 3 comments

Toyota recalls nearly 4 million cars in its biggest vehicle recall in US history. Owners of certain vehicles are advised to remove their floor mats and not replace them with other mats.

Toyota cars are being recalled due to a construction flaw where the floor mat can become lodged under the accelerator pedal, making it impossible to halt the vehicle. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported they have received 102 complaints involving stuck Toyota accelerator pedals.

The affected vehicle models are:

Toyota Camry 2007-2010
Toyota Avalon 2005-2010
Toyota Prius 2004-2009
Tacoma 2005-2010
Toyota Tundra 2007-2010
Lexus ES350 2007-2010
Lexus IS250 2006-2010
Lexus IS350 2006-2010

Owners of these car models are advised to remove their floor mats on the driver's side. The recall comes following a Lexus crash which killed four in California. Inspectors found that the mat used in the Lexus was slightly longer than the one that came with the car, and could have caused the accident.

Toyota ordered dealers to inspect their cars for mismatched floor mats after a mat was suspected of snagging a gas pedal on a runaway Lexus in California. The August crash killed four family members

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.

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Colonel Boyle

at 07:15 on September 30th, 2009

Hell - I drive a Corrolla (don't know which model that equatest to in the the US) and I've had this happen loads of times... I just thought I was an awful driver!

Barbara McPherson

at 09:17 on September 30th, 2009

This is an important story. That car crash with the Lexus was a horrible one.

Michael McLean (not verified)

at 08:48 on December 1st, 2009

Why is it that when an American car company has a recall it is all over the news and when Toyota has one of the largest recalls ever you have to go searching for it on the Internet.