Toyota Camry

For those who have no idea what is going on, there is currently a massive recall of Toyota vehicles. This has been due to problems relating to the floor mat and stuck accelerators which has resulting in unintentionally acceleration.

These accelerations have been caused by the pedal either been pushed down by the floor mats, or the pedal being unable to move quick enough back to its idle and unused position due to stickiness on its spring. This stickiness has been attributed to long time use of the car. Further, questions have arisen if it not necessarily a mechanical problem, but a problem in the electrical system. But until any investigations have been released, Toyota has advised drivers to remove their driver floor mat, place it in the truck, until they can have the pedal and floor mat replaced at their nearby Toyota dealership.

While the number of accidents in relation to the amount of the cars has been extremely low, some of the accidents that have occurred have been disastrous. According to San Diego NBC, a stuck accelerator in a Lexus resulted in four dead.

Mother of senior Austin Quon also almost crashed due to a stuck accelerator.

According to Austin Quon, “My mom was driving down the 55 freeway towards the beach. The accelerator in the car got stuck and the car sped up to 80mph. She put the E-brake and rammed the car brake in an attempt to slow down but it wasn’t working. She tried to shift the car into lower gears, but it still wasnt slowing down. Finally she was able to get the car to slow down while it was in park, but she was running out of freeway. When the freeway turned into street, the uphill slope slowed her down a bit. She was about to rear-end a car infront of her, but luckily the car turned right, so she was able to continue going straight. She finally was able to turn into a nearby 7-Eleven parking lot. We don’t know why or how the accelerator got stuck. Lexus has sent investigators to check the car out for any problems that might have caused it, but have been unsuccessful in any diagnosis.”

For a company whose reputation is based of reliability and safety, its stock and reputation has taken a hit. Further, while they have been quick about fixing the problem, and today Jim Lentz President of U.S Toyota announced that they have fixed the problem, many people are still worried about the problem and the Department of Transportation is still investigating any other possible causes.

Junior Nelson Chen said, “My family have been long time Lexus users, but since this recent recall we have been reconsidering buying a Lexus.”

While others have remained faithful to Toyota. Junior Devon Hoppe, who drives a Toyota Camery, said, “I’m not really concerned about my safety because only a few accidents have happened, and more accidents occur because of mistakes then this.”

And others Toyota drivers have remained unaffected. Junior Jeff Dyess, who drives a Prius, said, “I’m debating whether or not to care.”

From the press release by Toyota. “Toyota vehicles affected by the recall include:

• Certain 2009-2010 RAV4

• Certain 2009-2010 Corolla

• 2009-2010 Matrix

• 2005-2010 Avalon

• Certain 2007-2010 Camry

• Certain 2010 Highlander

• 2007-2010 Tundra

• 2008-2010 Sequoia

Further, no Lexus Division or Scion vehicles are affected by these actions.  Also not affected are Toyota Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Highlander hybrids and certain Camry models, including Camry hybrids, all of which remain for sale. Camry, RAV4, Corolla and Highlander vehicles with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) that begin with “J” are not affected by the accelerator pedal recall.”