WASHINGTON - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling optional "all-weather" floor mats in 55,000 Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry passenger cars because the mat could interfere with the gas pedal and lead to a crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer advisory about the heavy-duty rubber floor mats, noting that if unsecured, the map could move forward and trap the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably.

NHTSA urged drivers of other vehicles, including the Avalon and Prius, to check the driver-side floor mats to ensure they were properly installed. NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said it was taking the step "because we believe potentially it is a very serious safety issue."

Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong said the automaker had not received any complaints about the Avalon and Prius. In some cases, he said the floor mats - used to collect rain water, mud and snow - were stacked on top of the original carpet mats and wedged up against the accelerator.

The vehicle has hooks on the floor that can only secure one mat at a time.

Toyota has received 22 complaints and learned of six accidents allegedly connected to the issue. Kwong said they did not know of any injuries linked to the mats.

The Japanese-based automaker plans to notify owners in early October and expects replacement mats to be available at dealerships by late November.

In a statement, Toyota advised owners to regularly check that their floor mat is properly secured and said "under no circumstances should more than one floor mat ever be used in the driver's seating position."

Owners can contact Toyota at (888) 270-9371 or (800) 331-4331 and Lexus owners can call (800) 255-3987 for more information.

 

Well, apparently the Prius dealer didn't contact Toy on the matter involving our car because, probably they didn't believe the problem was the mat.

 

I don't think there's a problem either but I think there is a difference btwn the Canadian and US all-weather mat (probably do with the snow vs. rain/mud hence the different design to capture the different elements). I have mine on top of the carpet mats AND have my accelerator extended (because I have aftermarket "sport" pedals) and it still doesn't touch the mat.

 

With the bottom carpet anchored, and the all weather mat placed atop it, there is still about a 1/4" between the top of the mat and the bottom of the peddle.

As I pointed out, we kicked, and squeezed and tried to slide that mat up to the peddle.

It didn't happen.

All that said, how was it that the Wausau, WI dealer got a photo of the mat over the bottom of the peddle? Call it a set-up?

 

"As I pointed out, we kicked, and squeezed and tried to slide that mat up to the peddle.

It didn't happen.

All that said, how was it that the Wausau, WI dealer got a photo of the mat over the bottom of the peddle? Call it a set-up?"

I don't take it light when I see a possible safety issue with the car I drive, I also have the same all weather mats.
This happened to me as well, and it happens from getting in and out of the car over a period of time. All we need to do is anchor the all weather mats to prevent it from happening. Hyperdriving techniques are usefull in that they make you develope lots of sensitivity on you right foot, had I not had such sensitivity when it happened, I may have had an accident. My pisctures were taken with an old cell phone, but if you definitely want proof, I can go ahead and take better ones and even a video. Again, just troubleshooting in advance for someone else and leaving an electronic trail about it.