Toyota Recall: Deadly Floor Mats

By Amanda Pendolino on September 30th, 2009

camry-1 Toyota has issued a recall affecting 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles, CNN reports. The culprit: deadly floor mats.

Okay, car crashes aren’t funny. But you have to admit that’s a little funny, no? It’s not the engine…it’s not exhaust valves or heat sensors or anything like that. It’s FLOOR MATS! The carmaker released a statement today saying that car owners need to remove the mats so they don’t interfere with the accelerator pedal and cause it to stick. ”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,” said Toyota in its statement.

The Toyota models being recalled include the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2007-2010 Tundra. The Lexus models facing the safety recall are the 2007-2010 ES 350, and the 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350.

Toyota also recalled accessory all-weather floor mats in 2007 for similar problems, but reports of vehicles accelerating rapidly even after the release of the pedal have continued. “There is an urgent matter,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.”