Word: pedaled
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April 2003: Toyota internally deals with an "unwanted acceleration" incident that occurred during production testing of the Sienna. It determines the cause to be a missing clip that allowed the trim panel to trap the accelerator pedal. In the aftermath, Toyota concludes that it was an "isolated incident," according to the NHTSA report. Five years later, Toyota would inform the NHTSA about this incident when that administration makes a blanket information request. (See the 50 worst cars of all time...
...Another investigation, regarding the Sienna, overlaps with the Tacoma petition review for four months. This one gets bumped up to an engineering analysis, which leads to a recall of Siennas. In the event that the clip securing the floor-carpet cover is missing, the NHTSA report reads, the accelerator pedal can become stuck. It is the same problem that had been noticed and dismissed by Toyota...
August 2009: An off-duty highway patrolman and his family are killed when they rent a Lexus ES350 and have a runaway crash. The NHTSA and the California Highway Patrol investigate the incident and believe the floor mat snagged the pedal, causing the uncontrollable acceleration. (See pictures of the best-selling cars in China...
October 2009: Toyota recalls 3.8 million vehicles on the grounds that floor mats can trap the pedals. Despite reportedly suspecting problems with pedal design following the Lexus crash, the NHTSA denies the petition made in April; in its report, the administration says "the only defect trend" is the floor-mat problem, and since Toyota already issued a recall, the "contentions that any further investigation is necessary are unsupported...
...Toyota has now made two recalls in the U.S. The first, involving 4.9 million cars, was triggered by a problematic floor mat that could come loose and jam the gas pedal open. The second, of 2.3 million vehicles on Jan. 21, concerned a problem with the gas-pedal mechanism itself. Toyota told drivers to remove the floor mats; its fix for the sticky pedal requires a free 30-min. shop repair. The DOT has urged owners of the 11 recalled models to use caution and get to a dealer. Still unknown: whether an electronic problem is also a culprit...