Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that the Prius involved in a highly publicized acceleration incident on a California freeway along with hundreds of thousands of others will be recalled to prevent floor mats from pinning down the gas pedal.
But the recall hasn’t been issued because Toyota “hasn’t developed the remedy yet,” said Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons.
In November, Toyota recalled several models including the Toyota Camry and Avalon sedans and the Lexus ES sedan to reshape the floor and gas pedals to prevent unsecured or ill-fitting floor mats from entrapping the pedal in an open position.
As part of those recalls, Toyota said Prius hybrids from the 2004 to 2009 model years would be recalled in the future to address the same issue. The company advised owners of those Priuses to remove their floor mats in the meantime to prevent the gas pedal from becoming trapped, said Mr. Lyons.
Toyota sold about 745,000 Priuses from the 2004 to 2009 model years, according to Autodata Corp.
The recall follows an incident on Monday when the driver of a 2008 Prius called police when his car would not slow down on a San Diego County highway.
James Sikes, 61, was driving on the busy Interstate 8 freeway outside San Diego when he noticed his car was starting to accelerate of its own accord, the California Highway Patrol said.
The terrified motorist was helpless as the car hurtled out of control along the road at speeds of more than 90 miles per hour.
CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT COULD COST TOYOTA $3 BILLION
However Sikes was able to call police, and officers using a loudspeaker talked him through the process of slowing down by using his emergency brake and then turning off the engine.
Police then pulled in front of the car as it decelerated and rolled to a stop, then put the rear bumper of the squad car against the front of the Prius.
The incident came as Toyota staged a technical demonstration on Monday to attack allegations that problems with its electronics may cause its cars to speed out of control.
In recent months, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide due to acceleration issues.
The latest incident in California was a chilling echo of an incident last August where off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor was killed along with his wife, her brother and the Saylors’ 13-year-old daughter when the accelerator of the Lexus ES350 they were in got stuck.
Minutes later, the Toyota-manufactured vehicle slammed into the back of a sport utility vehicle at about 100mph, veered off the freeway, overturned and burst into flames. All four family members died.
– MarketWatch and AFP contributed to this report