Toyota Orders Recall of 3.8 Million Vehicles

A few weeks ago I wrote about a California Highway Patrol Officer and his family who died as a result of a horrible car crash. Specifically, the Lexus rental car the family was riding in had an inappropriately sized floor mat that got caught on the gas pedal, causing the car to speed at 120 mph on the highway. Unfortunately, the driver was not able to get control of the car and he and his entire family died.

As a result, Toyota ordered all of its dealers to check the floor mats in all Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Now, Toyota has decided to recall a large number of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, 3.8 million to be exact. The recall represents the company’s largest U.S. recall in history and is meant to address the problems associated with a driver’s side removable floor mat that could get caught on the accelerator, leading to a crash.

Toyota also announced that it is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a remedy for the problem with the floor mats. Toyota spokesman, Irv Miller, also urged consumers to remove the floor mat on the driver’s side entirely until the automaker can come up with a plan to fix the problem.