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Automotive Consumer
AUTOS: More Toyotas Added To Floor-Mat Recall
1.1 million more vehicles have problem, Toyota says; two recalls, sales stoppage taking their toll.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted January 28, 2010   Detroit, MI
Camry is among the popular vehicles affected by Toyota's unintended-acceleration crisis. (Photo: Toyota)
Beleaguered Toyota added 1.1 million more vehicles to its original floor-mat-related recall of 4.3 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles for an unintended acceleration snafu.

This latest action comes on top of the sticking-accelerator crisis that resulted in the voluntary recall of 2.3 million Toyotas and the unprecedented move of stopping sales of the vehicles at Toyota dealerships.

Added to the floor-mat recall are 2009-2010 Corollas, Venzas and Matrixes, including the Pontiac Vibe variation of the Matrix, and 2008-2010 Highlanders. Drivers are warned to remove driver-side floormats, which can become entangled with gas pedals, and take the vehicles to Toyota dealers to have the accelerator pedals reshaped or replaced.

Meanwhile, the sales stoppage involving the sticking-accelerator recall has left Toyota dealers devastated and stuck with inventory they can’t sell, among them Toyota’s most popular models. The recall and sales stoppage effects 2009-2010 Corolla, Matrix and RAV4; 2007-2010 Camry and Tundra; 2005-2010 Avalon; 2010 Highlander; and 2008-2010 Sequoia.

Manheim, the nation’s large auction of used vehicles to dealers has stopped offering the recalled vehicles, according to an Automotive News report, and some rental-car companies have temporarily removed them from their fleets.

The two recalls are essentially unrelated, the original one involving floor-mat interference with accelerator pedals and the other involving a mechanical flaw in the throttle mechanism.

The recall of the 2.3 million Toyota cars, trucks and SUVs focuses on pedal mechanisms that can wear and become stuck in the open position, resulting in dangerous unintended acceleration. The recall and sales stoppage are voluntary actions taken when the automaker investigated reports of the problem and determined that it was separate from the floor-mat situation.

Toyota and the U.S. supplier of the pedal mechanisms, CTS Corp., are preparing accelerator replacements for both the recalled vehicles and those stalled on the assembly lines.

The sales stoppages and recalls have cost Toyota dearly, industry analysts say.

“In the past two weeks, purchase intent for Toyota has fallen from 13.9 percent of the market to 13.1 percent," said David Tompkins, Edmunds.com senior analyst. "In the same period, Honda and Chevrolet have experienced the largest gains. We anticipate that the brand will continue to experience decline for some time until the Toyota recall is resolved.”

Edmunds.com has created a free information resource regarding the two Toyota recalls, at Toyota Recalls.

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