Page 98 - Toyota Under Fire

THE RECALL CRISIS

The crashes occurred in vehicles using a new all-weather floor
mat that had been designed by engineers at Toyota Motor Sales
(TMS) in California and that could be added by the dealer.
An investigation of the complaints found that the design and
material of the new floor mat created a lip near the bottom of the
accelerator pedal. Pushing the pedal to the floor, especially when
the all-weather floor mat wasn’t secured or was installed on top
of the regular floor mat, could cause the accelerator to get stuck.
Ironically, the problem was exacerbated by the high quality of
the rubber used, which was very thick and rigid. While investiga-
tors from Toyota and the NHTSA looked into other possibilities,
the new all-weather floor mats were determined to be the cul-
prit and were recalled in 2007. That recall affected about 55,000
customers—only those who had ordered the specific all-weather
floor mats sold through Toyota dealerships. The recall didn’t
cover placing floor mats from a different vehicle into a Camry
or a Lexus ES 350 or stacking floor mats on top of each other
(which, of course, could trap a pedal in any vehicle). That recall,
though, was enough to cast a shadow on Toyota when floor mats
were again implicated in the Saylor accident.
While the NHTSA and Toyota had agreed in 2007 that the floor
mat recall was sufficient to deal with the issue, the Saylor accident
illustrated that using the wrong floor mats (e.g., ones that were too
large, designed for a different vehicle) without properly securing
them could still cause pedal entrapment. Rather than wait until a
full study of the potential issues and solutions had been completed,
Toyota announced a recall and what is known as a Consumer Safety
Advisory to drivers of eight models, including the Camry, Avalon,
Tacoma, and Lexus ES and IS. A safety advisory, as distinct from a
recall, is essentially a letter to the public warning of dangerous behav-
ior and advice on how to avoid potential problems. In this case, the

67