Since first announcing a recall of more than 3.8 million vehicles in October 2009, Toyota has been in the international spotlight for two additional automobile recalls to bring the total of affected vehicles to over 9 million. The latest recall featured more than 300000 Toyota Prius hybrid models and Lexus HS 250h models, and has led to a national class action lawsuit based out of California. The lawsuit will focus on any hybrid vehicle produced by Toyota, including Lexus models. The recall occurred due to a defect in the electronic brake systems that was causing a dangerous delay between the pressing of the brake pedal and the actual stopping. This recall is unrelated to the aforementioned October 2009 recall, which occurred due to a floor mat issue that was causing gas pedals to stick and resulting in sudden unintended acceleration. In January, Toyota recalled another 2.3 vehicles, which included eight different top-selling models, due to an unrelated gas pedal problem. The second recall occurred because of friction that was causing sudden unintended acceleration. Toyota has since announced solutions to both the October 2009 and January recalls, however no solution has been announced for the Prius recall yet. Toyotas President has also issued an apology as the head of the worlds No. 1 automobile manufacturer. If you or a loved one owns one of the affected Toyota models and have experienced problems with sudden unintended acceleration, stuck accelerators, or defective …

Trying to move floormatt with my feet. It’s impossible for this floormatt to get bunched up under the gas pedal and prevent someone from braking. It has huge rubber spikes on the bottom. ————————- Data point to Toyota’s throttles, not floor mats. Amid widening concern over acceleration events, Toyota has cited ‘floor mat entrapment.’ But reports point to another potential cause: the electronic throttles that have replaced mechanical systems. November 29, 2009. Los Angeles Times articles.latimes.com Toyota last fall blamed the episodes on floor mats that entrapped the gas pedals, leading to a massive recall. Then last week Toyota said sticking gas pedals were also causing sudden acceleration by not springing back into idle position, triggering another recall. January 30, 2010. Los Angeles Times articles.latimes.com

Toyota has had a huge recall because of a tendency for the gas pedal to become stuck in the downward position on certain models. This video helps to let you know what to do if it happens to you! If you want the MP3 message me, and pass on to anyone you know with a Toyota.

Mark describes the difference between “unintended acceleration” and “sudden unintended acceleration” as well as why it happens. He also offers controversial advice on how to keep yourself safe by driving with two feet when driving an automatic transmission equipped car.

Close in look at rug and accelerator – 2009 Camry. Floor mat has less movement than in the Tacoma – and that was plenty secure. In any case about 3 fingers from pedal to floor as in Tacoma.

November 3, 2009, 3:48 pm Toyota Acceleration Problem Is Still Unresolved By Christopher Jensen (The New York Times) Toyota said on Tuesday that a press release it issued on Monday was not intended to give the impression that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had cleared 3.8 million of its vehicles of having an unintended acceleration defect. Indeed, the federal agency said it was still investigating the exact cause of the acceleration problem. Toyota and the safety administration issued a warning in September to the owners of the Toyota and Lexus vehicles to remove the driver-side floor mat because it could jam the accelerator pedal. The warning was issued after the problem led to the death in August in California of four people in a Lexus. The company said in Mondays release that it would send letters to vehicle owners warning that an unsecured floor mat could jam the accelerator. But the release went further, implying that, apart from the floor mats, the agency found no other problem. Toyota wrote: The letter, in compliance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and reviewed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also confirms that no defect exists in vehicles in which the drivers floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured. The wording is subtle, but it could give the impression that the safety agency had found no safety defect beyond errant floor mats. Some news articles certainly interpreted …

This is an in depth look at the accelerator and floor mat on a 2009 Toyota Tacoma, 5 speed, manual transmission. Toyota is claiming that problem is accelerator getting caught with floor mat. You can see though that floor mat has some distance from accelerator and that mat is secure – this is official Toyota floor mat. I believe problem is the electronic setup for accelerator – that has no safety override. Toyota is putting safety override on a rolling basis on all new manufactured vehicles from Jan. 2010 forward.