ID :
83451
Wed, 10/07/2009 - 15:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/83451
The shortlink copeid
Toyota issues safety recall on 3.8 mil. vehicles over floor mat
NEW YORK, Oct. 6 Kyodo -
Toyota Motor Corp. told the U.S. government Monday of a decision to issue a
''safety recall'' on 3.8 million vehicles in seven models, including the Prius
hybrid car, due to the risk that a loose driver-side floor mat could slip
forward and jam the accelerator pedal.
Toyota said in a document to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
that it will forward mail to owners of the vehicles asking them to remove the
floor mat while it works on a countermeasure.
It is one of the largest safety recalls Toyota is implementing in the United
States. It also concerns the Camry sedan, the top-selling passenger car in the
United States, as well as the Lexus ES350, IS250 and IS350 luxury sedans.
Industry observers warn that the safety recall may deal a blow to the Japanese
giant automaker.
The NHTSA said it has received reports of 100 related incidents, including 17
crashes and five fatalities involving Toyota vehicles.
In an earlier advisory, the federal guardian of traffic safety had urged owners
to ''make sure the driver-side floor mat is properly secured to the retention
hooks on the floorboard.''
Toyota said in a Sept. 29 release, ''Recent events have prompted Toyota to take
a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the
full open position due to an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.''
''A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and
make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious
injury or death,'' it said.
But the automaker said the ''safety recall'' essentially differs from the usual
recall automakers implement in the event that their vehicles contain a
safety-related defect.
Detailed causes of the accidents have yet to be identified, Toyota said, adding
no similar floor-mat problem has been found in the same models sold in Japan.
Both Toyota and the NHTSA have been urging owners to remove the floor mats
through their official websites and other communications channels since Sept.
27.
In August, a California man and three members of his family were killed in a
high-speed crash of a Lexus ES sedan. Before the crash, the driver made an
emergency call to report that the accelerator pedal was stuck.
The accident has caused the floor-mat issue to come under widespread mass media
scrutiny.
==Kyodo
Toyota Motor Corp. told the U.S. government Monday of a decision to issue a
''safety recall'' on 3.8 million vehicles in seven models, including the Prius
hybrid car, due to the risk that a loose driver-side floor mat could slip
forward and jam the accelerator pedal.
Toyota said in a document to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
that it will forward mail to owners of the vehicles asking them to remove the
floor mat while it works on a countermeasure.
It is one of the largest safety recalls Toyota is implementing in the United
States. It also concerns the Camry sedan, the top-selling passenger car in the
United States, as well as the Lexus ES350, IS250 and IS350 luxury sedans.
Industry observers warn that the safety recall may deal a blow to the Japanese
giant automaker.
The NHTSA said it has received reports of 100 related incidents, including 17
crashes and five fatalities involving Toyota vehicles.
In an earlier advisory, the federal guardian of traffic safety had urged owners
to ''make sure the driver-side floor mat is properly secured to the retention
hooks on the floorboard.''
Toyota said in a Sept. 29 release, ''Recent events have prompted Toyota to take
a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the
full open position due to an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.''
''A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and
make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious
injury or death,'' it said.
But the automaker said the ''safety recall'' essentially differs from the usual
recall automakers implement in the event that their vehicles contain a
safety-related defect.
Detailed causes of the accidents have yet to be identified, Toyota said, adding
no similar floor-mat problem has been found in the same models sold in Japan.
Both Toyota and the NHTSA have been urging owners to remove the floor mats
through their official websites and other communications channels since Sept.
27.
In August, a California man and three members of his family were killed in a
high-speed crash of a Lexus ES sedan. Before the crash, the driver made an
emergency call to report that the accelerator pedal was stuck.
The accident has caused the floor-mat issue to come under widespread mass media
scrutiny.
==Kyodo
