Toyota in massive recall of faulty floor-mat cars after motorist and family killed
The world’s foremost carmaker, Toyota, will replace accelerator pedals on about 4 million recalled vehicles in the US because the pedals can get stuck in the floor mats. The recall was prompted by a high-speed crash involving a 2009 Lexus ES350 in which a California metro cop and three members of his family were killed. Toyota announced the massive recall late in September and told owners to remove the driver's side floor mats to keep the accelerator pedal from becoming jammed. Now it has also offered to shorten the length of the accelerator as a stop-gap measure for developing replacement pedals. Along with the luxury Lexus, popular models such as the Toyota Camry and the Prius gas-electric hybrid are among those getting a makeover. The move by Toyota makes it sound as if the floor mat was just one aspect of a faulty design. The cost of the recall will be astronomical, and makes one wonder what people will drive in the meantime, and how this will be financially structured. It also makes one wonder when the beleaguered “Big Three” US carmakers – Ford, GM and Chrysler - will get a fillip from this tragic incident. And what the settlement will be for those affected. Read more: AP
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