The unintended acceleration problems continue to persist and haunt Toyota as federal safety regulators said on Friday that they have asked the company to recall around 154,000 Lexus RX SUVs from the 2010 model year after discovering a potential issue with the driver’s floor mat that could lead to the accelerator pedal being entrapped.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued this statement on the matter:
“After carefully reviewing the available data—including both consumer complaints and information provided by the manufacturer—NHTSA requested that Toyota conduct an immediate recall of model year 2010 Lexus RX 350 and RX 450 H vehicles for a serious safety issue involving potential pedal entrapment by the floor mat.”
The safety agency said it “does not currently believe” the issue involves any other models other than the 2010 Lexus RX350 (approximately 131,800 vehicles) and 2010 Lexus RX450h Hybrid (about 22,200 unit).
However, NHTSA noted that it is currently investigating Toyota to see if the automaker waited too long to report these latest problems.
“NHTSA approached Toyota regarding this issue late last month after the agency observed an increase in consumer complaints and other reports regarding pedal entrapment in these vehicles,” said the agency.
“When Toyota confirmed last week that it had received a significant volume of complaints on the same issue, NHTSA asked the manufacturer to conduct a recall. NHTSA is requesting additional documentation from the manufacturer and is considering opening an investigation into whether Toyota met its obligation to notify the agency and conduct a recall in a timely manner,” NHTSA added.
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