Toyota to replace 3.8 Million gas pedals

[Bruce Nunnally]

Washington -- Toyota Motor Corp. will replace gas pedals on 3.8 million recalled vehicles in the United States to address problems with sudden acceleration or the pedal becoming stuck in the floor mat, The Associated Press has learned.

As a temporary step, Toyota will have dealers shorten the length of the gas pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles, the Transportation Department said in a statement provided to the AP. New pedals will be available beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, was expected to provide more details today on the fix. The Japanese automaker announced the massive recall in late September and told owners to remove the driver's side floor mats to prevent the gas pedal from potentially becoming jammed.

Read more: Detroit News

[KHE]

I'm surprised this even made the newspaper considering how the media protects Toyota.

Dealers will shorten the gas pedals - are they going to use a Sawzall and hack off a piece of the pedal?

[Bruce Nunnally]

We have a Prius, so I have been following this. First we got instructions to take the floor mat out; now they are looking at the pedal length.

My impression from reading some of the crash reports is that there may be some fault related to the cruise control, so that it does not disable when the brake is pressed perhaps? But it is not just the Prius involved.

Also complicating the issue at least for the Prius is that the PRNDL selection for the Prius is non-standard and requires that you move the lever to a position, then allow it to go back to rest position, noting on the electronic dash that the car has changed to the selected gear. Since it does not use a key, to turn it off you get into park then press a button. AND it turns out you have to hold the button for 3 seconds:

-If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.

So if one DOES experience unexpected acceleration, it is harder in the Prius to remember how to get the car out of gear or turned off. Some reports suggest the owners tried to floor the brakes but were unable to stop the car regardless. That seems counter-intuitive, since normally the brakes can overcome the engine, so more investigation is still needed I guess.

Toyota Site Advisory Matt fix: http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota-...ory-102565.aspx

Toyota Site Advisory Pedal Fix: http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota/...ory-102572.aspx

ABC News: http://blogs.abcnews.com/gma/2009/11/toyota-recall.html

[Bruce Nunnally]

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota/...ory-102572.aspx

The specific measures of the vehicle-based remedy are as follows:

1. The shape of the accelerator pedal will be reconfigured to address the risk of floor mat entrapment, even when an older-design all-weather floor mat or other inappropriate floor mat is improperly attached, or is placed on top of another floor mat. For the ES350, Camry, and Avalon models involved, the shape of the floor surface underneath will also be reconfigured to increase the space between the accelerator pedal and the floor.

2. Vehicles with any genuine Toyota or Lexus accessory all-weather floor mat will be provided with newly-designed replacement driver- and front passenger-side all-weather floor mats.

In addition, as a separate measure independent of the vehicle-based remedy, Toyota will install a brake override system onto the involved Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350, IS350 and IS 250 models as an extra measure of confidence. This system cuts engine power in case of simultaneous application of both the accelerator and brake pedals.