the "other" unintended decelearation affair

[Hayes Myers]

With factory mat this can't happen. With aftermarket it can...problem here
is that only the Toyota has this problem with the aftermarket mats...orat
least sucha public one. (crappy aftermarket mats wreak havoc in any car
imho).  Now all car companies must insure their design will deal with a
plethora of mat designs...or at least qualify what mat dimensions will work
and which are no go for their vehicle.  So while Toyota's design does take
into account the floor mat..it didn't take into account the aftermarket.
Lesson learned..and an expensive fix.

-----Original Message-----
From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On
Behalf Of Louis-Alain Richard
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2009 1:23 PM
To: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: the "other" unintended decelearation affair

Well, looks Toyota is indeed confirming the theory of the badly placed
accelerator pedal that is accidentally triggered by the floor mat.

I wonder if they will be as affected as Audi was in this story ? They follow
the same route, not accepting any blame for a design deficiency but
proposing to reconfigure the pedal cluster. I know it’s difficult to
recognize such a thing, but I’d think that they should at least accept the
fact that their cars were the only one experiencing this problem among
millions of others. It should mean something.

Louis-Alain



Press release :

November 26, 2009 (Toronto) – Following an advisory to Canadian customers in
late September to request the removal of any driver’s side floor mats from
certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles, Toyota Canada Inc (TCI) today announced
completion of its investigation into potential accelerator pedal entrapment
due to incompatible or unsecured all-weather floor mats.  Toyota Canada has
worked closely with Transport Canada during this investigation.  There is no
risk of accelerator pedal entrapment when compatible Toyota and Lexus
Canadian-designed all-weather floor mats are properly used in the affected
models as they are different in design and material composition from the
Toyota-supplied mats in the U.S.A.  Properly installed and secured
compatible carpet floor mats also do not give rise to pedal entrapment. 

Although no vehicle defect has been identified, given the importance Toyota
attaches to customer confidence in their Toyota vehicle, as an extra measure
of confidence, a safety improvement campaign will be initiated for Canadian
customers to provide:   

1.  reconfiguration of the accelerator pedal for the 7 affected models 
2.  reconfiguration of the shape of the floor surface to increase the space
between the accelerator pedal and the floor for the Lexus ES 350, Camry and
Avalon models 
3.  installation of a brake override system for the Camry, Avalon and Lexus
ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models3 

Unique to Toyota Canada, a safety campaign will also be initiated for Toyota
Venza vehicles equipped with a genuine Toyota Canada driver’s side
all-weather floor mat.  Until owners of Venza vehicles receive their notice
of the campaign, Toyota recommends that they take out any genuine Toyota
drivers’ side all-weather floor mat in the vehicle.  Toyota has determined
that the genuine Toyota carpeted floor mat is compatible with the vehicle
and recommends at this time that only the original equipment carpet floor
mat be installed using the retaining clips provided.  Customers should also
ensure it is properly installed and secured, that it is not flipped over
with the bottom-side up, and that one floor mat is not stacked over another.
If a customer does not know or is not sure whether the driver’s side mat(s)
in the vehicle is correct for or compatible with their vehicle, the customer
should remove it.  For additional information about floor mats, customers
can visit their Toyota dealership, toyota.ca or the Transport Canada website
at www.tc.gc.ca. 

Finally, Toyota Canada will also be providing an educational advisory to
other Toyota and Lexus customers providing information on proper mat
installation procedures. Toyota Canada reminds all its customers to register
any address or ownership changes to allow for prompt notification. 

The safety of our owners and the public is of utmost importance to Toyota
Canada and we will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate
measures to address any trends that are identified with respect to this
issue. 


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