Stuck: An accelerator in a Toyota car is seen stuck to a floor mat. NHTSA/KYODO PHOTO
As a temporary step, Toyota will have dealers shorten the length of the gas pedals beginning in January while the company develops replacement pedals for their vehicles, the Transportation Department said in a statement. New pedals will be available beginning in April, and some vehicles will have brake override systems installed as a precaution.
They said owners of the ES350, Camry and Avalon would be the first to receive notification because the vehicles are believed to have the highest risk for pedal entrapment.
Toyota plans to install a brake override system on the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES350, IS350 and IS250 models as an “extra measure of confidence,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The brake override system, commonly called a “smart brake,” will ensure the vehicle will stop even if both the brake and the accelerator pedals are applied simultaneously.
Dealers will be instructed on how to modify the pedals before the end of the year and will begin shortening the accelerators in 2010. New replacement pedals are expected to be available for some models beginning in April and will be provided even if the vehicles have already received a modified pedal under the recall. – read more at The Japan Times…
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