As part of its continuing dialog with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Toyota has agreed to voluntarily recall an additional 2.17 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to address potential problems that could occur as the result of improper or incorrectly installed floormats causing interference with the accelerator pedal. Over 1.71 million of those are Toyota 4Runner, Highlander and RAV4 models produced between 2003-2009, 2004-2006 and 2006-2010, respectively. Other models affected include the 2006-207 Lexus GS 300 and GS 350 AWD, 2008-2011 Lexus LX 570 and 2004-2007 Lexus RX 330/350/400h. Specific fixes will vary from model to model, but as in the past, owners will be notified and corrective actions will be made at no charge.
In commenting on the recalls, NHTSA administrator David Strickland stated that the organization had gone over more than 400,000 pages of information provided by Toyota. "As a result of the agency’s review, NHTSA asked Toyota to recall these additional vehicles, and now that the company has done so, our investigation is closed." Earlier this month, an extensive NHTSA study completely cleared the automaker of any claims that so-called uncommanded acceleration had been caused by a fault in its electronic throttle control system.
