OK, I don't get it. Just take the OEM mats out!

I too have mats, in my case the Toyota "winter" mats, but took the OEM mats out when I put these in. In the summer, I take the winter mats out and put the OEM mats back. It takes all of 5 seconds to take the OEM ones out, and they stay perfectly clean in my basement, so I just don't get why people are putting two sets of mats in their car at the same time???

With the Toyota winter mats installed properly (on the factory hooks) there is "no way, no how" you can get them to interfere with the accelerator pedal no matter how hard you try. On the flip side, there is "no way, no how" you can properly install two sets of mats at the same time. The factory hooks will simply not secure both sets of mats.

Now, if there is something "breaking" that's causing this, then that's a different story, but so far the accidents seemed to have been related to improperly installed mats.

Am i missing something???

Dang

 

Crows....

This is another excellent point. Audi showed that even with the accelerator floored, you could easily stop the car with the brakes. Assuming they are working properly, brakes can always overpower the engine. But lets assume the brakes overheated or something and couldn't stop the car. My car has this wonderful thing called a shift lever. Put the shift lever in neutral, and the engine no longer sends any power to the wheels and the car will coast to a stop (or use the service or parking brake). Sure, the engine will redline, so what? Shift lever broke as well? My car also has this neat thing called an ignition switch. (ok, it's a button in my car). Push it, and it turns the engine off! There is no reason to just let a car accelerate out of control no matter what happens to the throttle.

It's incomprehensible that a CHP officer of all people didn't know these very very basic functions of a car. That they killed their family in the process, is just tragic.

Sad....

Dang

 

At the risk of repeating myself...the mats are just a scape goat.
No one wants to admit it's a software glitch or bug, so they look for an easy to understand physical culprit.

 

When you hear hoof beats in California you don't look for zebras. There is a LOT more to this story and it's not related to floor mats.

 

The molded carpet panels under the OEM mats are stiff and thinly constructed. The aftermarket mats have spikes to hold them in place. Unlike your Toyota winter mats, which presumably are made to fit the hooks, this combination doesn't work so well.

The OEM mats have two mechanical hooks to hold them in place and they have a good thick pile, into which the spikes on the aftermarket mats can dig in quite well.

Thus, the combination of spiky aftermarket mats over OEM mats, in turn hooked to the floor.

I realize it's a bit weird, but does it make sense?

The OEM mats area also terribly expensive. I have big feet and work around transportation facilities. Every couple of weeks I peel out the aftermarket mats and shake them out. About once per year, I just throw them away and put in new ones.

 

I simply do not believe that a modern throttle system would have a bug that would cause a stuck full-throttle condition, after more than ten years of testing and five years of production. In the particular example, they found an oversized floor mat on top of the gas pedal, and fused to the gas pedal. Occams Razor applies -- the simple, obvious explanation is almost certainly the real explanation.

Hence, the main thing that is needed is due care by the driver. Airplane pilots do a 'pre-flight' checklist, to look at a bunch of safety-related things before taking off. That pre-flight check is critical in an airplane. After you take off in an airplane, you WILL be landing, it is only a question of where and in what condition.

I do a short 'pre-drive' checklist before starting to drive. I look at the tires and the windows. I look for failure indicator lights on the dash, check that I have enough fuel for the trip, and that there are not loose objects in the cabin that might cause a problem. It doesn't really take any time. It's mostly just a matter of not being preoccupied by something else.

If you look at your floor mat each time you get into the car, it is easy to verify that they will not interfere with the controls. That falls in the category of loose objects that might cause a problem.

 

McGyver.....

That's a fair comment. The Toyota mats are very expensive, you can get mats at your local auto shop that are a fraction of the price. The Toyota ones do correctly use the hooks. Sounds like the ones you have that dig into the carpet should work. If they don't interfere with the controls, you're good! Sounds like you got ones that work, but it still peaves me that you and I are paying for people that didn't take the trouble to do that. (I don't think the "recall fairy" is going to pay for 3.8M throttles!)

Cheers!

Dang

 

How many owners of the 3.8 million cars recalled are likely to participate and have their gas pedal shortened?

1. You think this isn't a floor mat issue, that something else is to blame. If so, you won't be participating.

2. You do think this is likely a floor mat problem, but only when they aren't secured properly or the wrong mats are used. Since you're too smart for either to be an issue, you don't need to participate.

3. Who's left? People who find floor mats complicated, or those who aren't paying attention and just march off to their dealer because they're told to do so.

Maybe group 3 is larger than I think. But the idea of letting someone cut off part of your accelerator pedal is too goofy to take seriously.