WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling optional "all-weather" floor mats in 55,000 Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry passenger cars because the mat could interfere with the gas pedal and lead to a crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer advisory about the heavy-duty rubber floor mats, noting that if unsecured, the map could move forward and trap the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably.

NHTSA urged drivers of other vehicles, including the Avalon and Prius, to check the driver-side floor mats to ensure they were properly installed. NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said it was taking the step "because we believe potentially it is a very serious safety issue."

Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong said the automaker had not received any complaints about the Avalon and Prius. In some cases, he said the floor mats - used to collect rain water, mud and snow - were stacked on top of the original carpet mats and wedged up against the accelerator.

The vehicle has hooks on the floor that can only secure one mat at a time.

Toyota has received 22 complaints and learned of six accidents allegedly connected to the issue. Kwong said they did not know of any injuries linked to the mats.

The Japanese-based automaker plans to notify owners in early October and expects replacement mats to be available at dealerships by late November.

In a statement, Toyota advised owners to regularly check that their floor mat is properly secured and said "under no circumstances should more than one floor mat ever be used in the driver's seating position."

Owners can contact Toyota at (888) 270-9371 or (800) 331-4331 and Lexus owners can call (800) 255-3987 for more information.

 

So the issue seems to be related primarily to improperly secured mats. The implication is that if one has the mat properly secured by the hooks, and not resting on top of another mat, there should not be any problem. So, why the recall?

 

When I bought my wife's TCH last summer, I also got all-weather floor mats from the dealer which were made for the TCH. The hooks in the floor are not long enough to pass through the carpet & all-weather mats at the same time. If any one places the all-weather mats over the carpet mats without locking them in place deserve to have an accident as far as I'm concerned. This is not a Toyota issue, it's an owner issue.

 

I bought my all weather mats last fall and the instructions specifically warned not to install them over any other floor mats. They also came with another clip or set of clips.

 

Welcome to 21st century America!

We can't be bothered to read - that's too hard!
Just sue them. That's much easier!


Same thing with these "killer" toy recalls. Yes, if you have a 2 year old, you should stick the magnetic toys in the closet for a few years. The problem are the ignorant parents confiscating the toys from 7 year olds.

Makes me wonder how I managed to grow up. Erector sets!?! Sharp edges, tiny screws, gears. Yikes! And I'll bet there was plenty of lead in my Matchbox cars too!

 

Probably!
I grew up with lead house plumbing and even played with mercury that my electrician father brought home from old mercury switches! I even used Brylcreem hairdressing that was reputed to be made from old transformer oil, you know their stuff with all the PCB's! I can't believe I'm still here to talk about it!

 

I wonder if that's why they told me to stop eating them

 

oddly enough I have my all-weather mats (Canadian version) over my carpet mats and they hook up just fine AND do not interfere with my accelerator WHICH is actually longer than stock because I put aftermarket "sport" pedals over my stock rubber ones.

So technically, I am running the worst case scenario by doing everything I'm not supposed to do and I have no issues..... so I'm really questioning those that say they have issues with the mat.

 

I just bought a set of Weathertech mats for my TCH, and I tried to install them over the carpet mat just to see if it would work, but the hooks were not long enough to go through both. You must have longer (higher) hooks in the Prius. (or the Weathertech mats are thicker).

 

I agree with what has been said. I fail to see how a replacement will do anything except for protect less.

Before driving from NY to NC I put the all-weather mats in to keep the sand off the carpet. I drover over 1500 miles with absolutely NO problem. I do not feel there is a need for a replacement. But if they give me a second set (which they probably just replace the driver mat), I wont complain. Otherwise, I'll keep the ones I have.

The clips work well.