I'm confused. I spoke with my dealer today and he said no Camry Hybrids are involved with the pedal or mat recall. The toyota.com web site supports this claim as well. I have received no notice. So what are you folks doing? Just going in and requesting the retrofit on your own?

 

As soon as I saw the press, I called the dealer and spoke to a service manager to inquire as to whether my car was involved. He took my VIN, fed it to a Toyota database and announced that my car (a 2009 TCH) was included in the 90L recall.

I asked why I had not yet received a letter. He said that the letters were in the process of being sent out.

When he asked whether I wanted to make an appointment, I jumped on it, hoping to beat the rush, and made an appointment for the following morning. When I arrived, they had two lines a half an hour long full of others trying to beat the same rush.

When I picked up the car, they explained that the 90L recall includes only the carpet and pedal modifications for the Camry (and other) Hybrids but that the same recall (90L) includes those plus the BTO flash for other models.

All owners of the included cars who have any all weather or auxiliary mat of any kind apparently also get free redesigned all weather mats.

 

Had my 90L recall done. They took my all weather mats and are replacing them (when they get them). My foot slips off the gas pedal more frequently but I imagine I'll adjust over time. I put the carpeted mats back in as it is low with nothing but the original carpet. These new mats will be my third set from Toyota. The originals (without the holes to secure them) were a toss in to get me to sign. The second had the holes and never moved at all. I wonder what the new ones will be like.

 

In advance, and in all due respect to those who may have experienced the floor mat gas pedal entrapment situation, I must say that this may not be a popluar post, but I feel the need to say it, and welcome any and all comments with an open mind.

I contend that the floor mat entrapment situation is getting out of hand. The driver has the ultimate responsibility to check to be sure nothing is going to interfere with his/her ability to control the pedals in his/her car. Anyone who gets in his/her car to drive, before starting the car and driving away, should be aware enough to see if there is anything that would cause the pedals to not perform as expected. Would you drive forward if there was an obstruction in front of you? NO! You check to see first. There is NO defect in the design of the gas pedal. PERIOD!

If a woman drops her purse on the driver's side floor, it would certainly get in the way of safe driving. Should Toyota modify the pedals so this can't cause inteference? Extreme example? Yes, but I think I have made my point.

When this whole issue is looked back upon, I suspect Toyota will be recognized as having taken the extreme HIGH ROAD to try to protect it's customers from themselves.

With all this said, if you feel your gas pedal should be modified, then by all means get it modified!

 

While what you say is essentially correct, there are mats (specifically the clear thin winter cover mats) that 'traveled' on drivers. That is, they moved forward. In that situation, it's not necessarily the driver's fault, since the mat moved during the trip.
Not arguing, since I agree with your main point, but there are mats that haven't remained stationary.

 

Thanks to Larry for coming to the defense of us floor mat UA victims. The point that he makes is exactly right.

I'm not critical of jbolt jeff's posted opinion. His position is actually quite reasonable, and one that I might very well have taken myself prior to my own mat-induced UA incidents.

I'm often careful to "pre-flight" inspect my car inside and out before driving, but I must admit that upon my first UA incident I wondered whether I might have missed a dangerous situation beforehand.

On to the second incident, however, I am certain that the mat was properly positioned and (doubly) secured beforehand.

Having reacted to that second experience by bolting my mats down, I must also say that I was initially disinclined to have the dealer modify my pedal.

At the time I received the first letter from Toyota on this issue and read in the press and blogs about the planned modifications, I figured that I would try to avoid the pedal shortening, confident that my mat bolt-down would be sufficient for my car.

But by the time the recall actually came, I had reconsidered, reasoning that one should not consider any safety related recall to be discretionary.

Another thought that did occur to me was that the bad press and reputation on this whole UA business might stick for a very long time, and lack of completion of all applicable recall work on any Toyota car from this era might be a problem ($) at re-sale time -particularly in the case of a private sale.

Still another thought that occurred was that after my ownership, the car might wind up in the hands of someone unaware of the problem and of the proper mat safety precautions. By getting this done now I might just possibly be saving someone's life in the future.

How could I want to miss that opportunity ?

 

John...First, let me say that I agree and disagree. But before I get into that...

Let me ask this...What is the purpose of floor mats? I am refering to the carpeted mats that are included with most new car purchases. To protect the carpet. Why do we need secondary floor mats to protect the floor mats???

This is my thinking. Why even put oneself in the position of possible danger by placing anything on top of the original floor mats? Ever before this became a media issue, I never placed a secondary floor mat in my cars. Yes, my mats do get dirty, the carpet underneath stays clean. Every season, (eh, maybe I'm getting older and lazy and it is now twice a year!) I take them out, get them wet from a hose, spray some Formula 409 on them, scrub them with a brush or push broom, then hose them off, hang to dry for a few hours, and they look good. When I trade the car in after 3 years or so, the dealer likely throws them out. The carpet still looks great! If I keep the car, and the mats look poor, I can replace the factory floor mats for around $100.

So for me, as I have said, the pedal modification is not necessary.

Now this is where I agree with you to a point...at resale time....If I trade it to a Toyota dealer, which is very likely, considering I have had nothing but Toyotas in recent memory, the dealer will perform any necessary recalls before placing that car for sale on their used car lot. If I decide to sell privately, or pass the vehicle along to a family member (unlikely, but possible), I will have the recall performed at that time. I doubt there will be an expiration date for the work to be done. This eliminates your concern for potential reduced resale value.

Regarding your point "..after my ownership, the car might wind up in the hands of someone unaware of the problem and of the proper mat safety precautions. By getting this done now I might just possibly be saving someone's life in the future."

I have no argument for this, other than what I just said. I will get the recall done before the car leaves my possession if it does not go to a Toyota dealer.

With all this said, I am sorry that you had to experience this UA (twice). I'm sure it was very scary! But I am glad that you were not injured, and you had the sense to understand what happened and take steps to prevent it from happening again.

Jeff

 

Jeff states his position well.

A great thing about this forum is that differences of opinion are so often discussed with such courtesy.

 

Why should it be any other way?

 

My '07 TCH is impacted by this recall.
It's being worked on while I type.
Interestingly the service rep says the recall involves replacing both of my nice heavy OEM Toyota all weather mats with thin junkie ones. He suggested if I want to keep the originals I remove them from the car and hide them in the trunk AND set the trunk to Valet mode (physical key in verticle ?) so the mechanic can't find them. He actually helped me remove them and stash them in the trunk, locked the trunk and gave me the physical key to hold on to.
ALSO my recall DOES involve reprogramming an ECU contrary to previous postings here.
He says allow 3 hours.