Toyota/Lexus Recall

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renbac_IHB

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From USA Today:



"Toyota is launching its biggest recall ever to prevent sliding floor mats from jamming accelerator pedals, a problem that may have killed four in the crash of a runaway Lexus.

The automaker on Tuesday warned the owners of 3.8 million late-model Toyota and Lexus vehicles to immediately remove any driver's side floor mat. Official notice will go out to owners next week.



The federal government, which also issued a "safety alert" on the mats, says it has 102 reports of jammed accelerators in Toyota and Lexus models, including 13 crashes, five deaths and 17 injuries.



Four died Aug. 28 in a Lexus driven by an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer that crashed at an estimated 120 mph. In a panicked 911 call, the doomed passengers said the accelerator was stuck and they were unable to turn off the engine. The Lexus was a dealer service loaner that may have had mats from another model.



That accident "was certainly an eye opener for all of us," said Irv Miller, a vice president of Toyota's U.S. sales operation.



Toyota has had scattered reports of "unintended acceleration" in various models beginning with the 2004 model-year Prius. In September 2007 it recalled all-weather mats, a dealer-installed accessory, that might pull loose in Toyota Camrys and Lexus ES 350s. The problem was fixed with firmer securing points for the mats.



This time, Toyota asked owners to remove any driver's side mat. Replacing it even with a paper mat could be worse, since it can slide and jam, spokesman John Hanson says. Toyota is working on a replacement mat or other solution.



An additional factor in the recall decision was that many affected models have stop-start buttons that must be pushed for three seconds to shut off the engine.



Makes, model years of the 3.8 million Toyotas with floor mat issues:

2007-10 Camry

2005-10 Avalon

2007-10 Tundra

2005-10 Tacoma

2004-09 Prius

2007-10 Lexus ES 350

2006-10 Lexus IS 250/350



Source: Toyota Motor"
 
For crying out loud, simply stick the transmission into neutral, use the brakes to stop the car, and turn the damn thing off! The engine will bounce off the rev limiter and you probablly won't even hurt it!



Am I the only one here who ever had a stuck throttle?
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1254453656]For crying out loud, simply stick the transmission into neutral, use the brakes to stop the car, and turn the damn thing off! The engine will bounce off the rev limiter and you probablly won't even hurt it!



Am I the only one here who ever had a stuck throttle?</blockquote>




No.. but probably the the very few who are smart enough to think of anything to do.



Sheesh people, grow an intellegence and stop blaming manufacturers for your moronic mistakes...

Even the Mush has a driver's side floor mat AND YES... it has gotten stuck.

[steps off of high horse]



-bix
 
I agree with the "throw it in neutral" but is there a car made today that will not TURN OFF when you turn the key back? The key may not come out completely (since that would lock the steering) but the engine should shut down.



What absolute terror those people must have felt. How very sad...
 
[quote author="GeorgeO" date=1254459151]I agree with the "throw it in neutral" but is there a car made today that will not TURN OFF when you turn the key back? The key may not come out completely (since that would lock the steering) but the engine should shut down.



What absolute terror those people must have felt. How very sad...</blockquote>


The researchers also found that consumers were likely to have problems shutting off the engine because the Lexus uses a start button instead of an ignition key.



?That removes the ability to instantaneously shut off the engine in the event of an emergency while the vehicle is in motion,? it said.



The problem is that with the vehicle in motion the button must be depressed three seconds to cut off the engine. That?s a safety measure to prevent the engine from being shut off inadvertently, Toyota said. But the report said owners would probably not know that because the owner?s manual has no mention of the three-second requirement."



Well, that answers my question...
 
Irvine population in frantic mode:



2007-10 Camry

2005-10 Avalon

2007-10 Tundra

2005-10 Tacoma

2004-09 Prius

2007-10 Lexus ES 350

2006-10 Lexus IS 250/350
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1254453656]For crying out loud, simply stick the transmission into neutral, use the brakes to stop the car, and turn the damn thing off! The engine will bounce off the rev limiter and you probablly won't even hurt it!



Am I the only one here who ever had a stuck throttle?</blockquote>




I must have had my throttle stick in my old 70 Bronco a dozen times. (I still have the beast in my building at work)



Then the other day I listen to this. This guy is a Veteran CHP Officer ? Either he was frozen with fear or just not thinking. Very sad.



<a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/10/bn10-911call-fatal-crash/?metro&zIndex=163775">http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/10/bn10-911call-fatal-crash/?metro&zIndex=163775</a>
 
[quote author="no_vaseline" date=1254453656]For crying out loud, simply stick the transmission into neutral, use the brakes to stop the car, and turn the damn thing off! The engine will bounce off the rev limiter and you probablly won't even hurt it!



Am I the only one here who ever had a stuck throttle?</blockquote>




Witnesses of this accident said that flames were coming out from the wheel wells, and that they had burned through both the regular and the emergency brakes. The family was on the phone with 911 when they crashed and it was horrifying to listen to. They tried to put the car in neutral but we not able to.
 
[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254461181]Irvine population in frantic mode:



2007-10 Camry

2005-10 Avalon

2007-10 Tundra

2005-10 Tacoma

2004-09 Prius

2007-10 Lexus ES 350

2006-10 Lexus IS 250/350</blockquote>
It's the Japanese trying to help the U.S. find their Lost Decade. If they kill off all the FCBs... housing prices won't stay inflated.
 
[quote author="GraceOMalley" date=1254468939] They tried to put the car in neutral but we not able to.</blockquote>


I have an '08 Toyota product. I can get mine in neutral while the engine is running - no problem. This isn't a recall for defective shift linkage - it's a recall for FLOOR MATS.
 
The same shift-to-neutral trick also work for the opposite situation. I carpooled with a coworker sometimes and he was driving one day. We were surrounded by cars and trucks near downtown LA, and all of a sudden, his engine just died. He put on the blinker, and you can tell he is a bit panic since we are trapped. He tried to restart the engine, but it would work since it was on the D. At this point, I told him to shift to neutral, then try it again. He did that, and the engine came back to life. We drove on the freeway for a little and got off on the next ramp.
 
Yeah, not so sure it was the mats. If you have time to call 911 and start talking, you're likely trying a number of things at that point. If I could not shift into N, then R and P would be my next choices. If not then, I would surely be reaching under the gas pedal and yanking upward. Beyond that, you might be able to turn off overdrive, then try 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st. The mechanical rev limiters would surely force the wheels to spin slower as you progressed downward in your gears. I would rather crash at 35 mph than 120.
 
<a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/31/bn31chp-lexus-crash/">http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/31/bn31chp-lexus-crash/</a>



It's not known whether Saylor, a 19-year CHP officer whose job entails vehicle safety inspections, tried to shut off the engine or put the car in neutral ? the two most common ways to slow down a vehicle with a stuck accelerator.



Car experts said it's not always that simple.



An electrical or mechanical failure could have made it impossible to shift into neutral, said Daniel Vomhof III, a vehicle accident reconstructionist with La Mesa-based Expert Witness Services.

Shutting off the engine also can be tricky because most modern vehicles will then lock the steering wheel, leaving the driver unable to steer, Vomhof said.
 
You can shut off the engine, and have the steering wheel lock for a few seconds, then turn it to ON (not Start) to unlock the steering wheel. The road is pretty straight, and you may move over a few lanes, but doable.. But the fact of the matter is that we can talk all we want, but when thing like this happens to us, we can get all panic and don't know what to do. I know a EMT who got completely blank out when her child was drown and pull out of the pool and someone else have to do the CPR.
 
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