Maybe. However, my wife is just over 5'1'' stood on the brake peddle at the Wausau dealer and I was able to get my fist under, i.e. between the bottom of the peddle and the mat.

Another point: As their photo showed, the carpet (by the way, I'm sure the photo was staged) was over the bottom of the accelerator, so I don't think enough leverage could be applied by the carpet(s) to depress the accelerator.

When I got to the car, the engine was off. My wife was alongside the Prius. After hearing of the event, I got into the car and started it - No racing of the engine. If she kicked the carpet away without realizing it, than how did it manage to crawl up that accelerator?

Finally, this thread is not about my Prius, it's about a new TCH. I realize that my event distracted from the original intent of the thread.

 

Thanks for the info. My '06 Prius' seem to have a cutout, i.e., the mat slips under the brake peddle and than descends down and around the accelerator. Unless the cutout is deeper. Or is it that the Camry's mat was designed differently than the Prius.

 

The original Camry mats did not have a deep cutout, the newer ones do.

For the original poster, I was asking the questions for a reason. If left foot braking, some people MIGHT lightly tap the accelerator pedal to ease a car into a garage or up a slight incline. There are a LOT of late model cars (including the TCH) that have an electronically controlled throttle body. When it gets dirty (not if, but when) it can "stick" in the closed position.

When that happens, the servo motor will try to slightly open the throttle and not be able too which causes an increase in torque applied by the servo to open the throttle. At some point the throttle WILL open and when it does an over rev condition will occur before the servo cuts the rpms back to what is desired.

My old 2000 S80 Volvo was known for this problem (I had to clean the Throttle body every 5,000 to 10,000 miles) and I suspect that is the issue here. Preventive maintenance on all of my vehicles includes cleaning the throttle body ever 40,000 miles (every other air filter change).

Note that this will NOT result in the engine being throttled up for an extended time period of 3 or 4 seconds or more but just a "blip" of maybe a second at the most. If you are not expecting it, you will be caught off guard and have a "boo-boo". Your throttle body might need to be cleaned more often if used in dirty/dusty conditions, used with a “oil” type filter or if the airbox is not sealed correctly.

If you right foot brake, the only way this could happen is if you remove your foot from the brake and pressed the accelerator or you “heel and toe” like you would with a manual shift car. I would hope that you would remember doing that….

 

Lubo said, he did not have the factory mats. I passed them up myself due to the price, when I bought my new '07 TCH. My wife bought some just fit gray carpet at Walmart that cost $5 per side. I replace them annually to keep them looking new.

I did own a new 2006 Ford Five Hundred. I had a similar problem getting the car to stop at some red lights. I discovered my brake pedal on the Ford was near to the floor. I found I was stepping on the brake and the accelerator at the same time. I had some close calls with red lights and stop signs due to this problem. I could hear the engine trying to pull while I was frantically trying to stop the car.

I called and talked to the Ford shop foreman. When I mentioned the low brake pedal on the new Ford, he asked if I used the emergency brake when the car is parked. I said, I used to on my Chevy but decided not to on the new Ford.

He said, even though the Ford has 4 wheel disk brakes it still uses the emergency brake to adjust up the rears. I started using the emergency brake and sure enough within 3 or 4 days the brakes were full up and so much easier to stop. This also eliminated my problem of pressing the brake and accelerator at the same time.

Our TCH has a similar rear drum brake within the main disk brakes. I have no idea if using the emergency brake on the TCH when parked would help your particular problem. I do know if your main brake is down very low when pressed, that makes it possible to press the accelerator and brake at the same time. I never have looked at the brake and accelerator separation.

If your main brake pedal is low, have the dealer check it out. I have never had any problems like this at all with my 15,550 mile TCH.

 

The "cutout" doesn't "cut" it...!!!

The problem is that an "untethered" floor mat slips/slides forward (might take weeks or even a year), covers the gas pedal, and then when you apply the brakes you get braking and engine acceleration.

 

ok, let's say, the mat caused the acceleration,
why did the brakes fail? Trying shutting down TCH (completely)
and press on the brake. No power, no brake.
Is my floor mat responsible for that too?

Lubo

 

1-TCH does not have disc-drum setup, it's all DISC, front and rear.
2-TCH driver side floor mat has a hook and eyelet setup. If the hook is
set it, you could dance on it and the mat will stay attached. The reason,
the hook is on a swivel base, wherever the carpet goes, so does the hook.
Result, my floor mat has never, ever seperated, or moved from its intended
location, i.e. under my feet rather that accelerating on the gas, and doing
the reverse on the brake.
Don't you think at all odd, that not only must the mat slide over the gas
pedal, but also, slide under the brake. Come on folks, a little common sense
here, a mat is a mat is a mat. Not Houdini, or some Barnum & Bailey contortionist!

Lubo

 

What R U smoking? Your #1 is waaay off! The TCH uses a disk-drum setup on the rears for the park brakes, read up!!!

 

With the TCH shut down, the brakes still work, it just requires more pressure (a lot more). The feel is similar to a conventional car when the power brakes fail.

 

thanks Nash,
Just checked with Toyota dealer. There are 2 potentiometers, one in the accelerator, and the other on the throttle body. If they don't match, it's auto-shut down time, and an system error code is transmitted.
But thanks, it was a good idea, but the technology has changed. For the better, at this point, I don't know.

Lubo