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Toyota And Lexus Recall: Everything You Need To Know

By Bengt Halvorson
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Toyota's diagram showing how to properly install floor mats

Toyota's diagram showing how to properly install floor mats

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Own a Toyota or Lexus vehicle and not even sure if or how it's affected by the recent massive recall efforts?

Looking back at the headlines of recent weeks and months—especially in this era of fast-moving, encapsulated news—it's easy to be confused over what's happened and what cars are covered. Well, that's understandable: There are two very different recall efforts, both pertaining to the idea of unintended acceleration or the perception that the throttle pedal is sticking. The Toyota accelerator-pedal recall is entirely separate from the ongoing Toyota/Lexus recall affecting floormats and pedal entrapment—as well as the electric power steering issues that have affected other Toyota vehicles and engine issues affecting some Lexus models.


At this point about 5.4 million vehicles in all are affected by these recalls in some way, with 2.3 million covered by the sticking-throttle-pedal recall and 4.2 million covered by the pedal-entrapment (floor mat) issue. And about 1.7 million vehicles are covered by both recalls.

Here's a run-down of all the models currently affected by the recall efforts. And below that, please browse our timeline and story index for the latest news and all the up-to-date details, as well as the play-by-play on how the story has developed:

2009 Toyota Prius

2009 Toyota Prius

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Models affected by pedal-entrapment recall (floor mats):
2004-2009 Toyota Prius
2005-2010 Toyota Avalon
2005-2010 Toyota Tacoma
2007-2010 Toyota Tundra
2008-2010 Toyota Highlander
2009-2010 Toyota Corolla
2009-2010 Toyota Venza
2009-2010 Toyota Matrix
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe
2007-2010 Toyota Camry
2007-2010 Lexus ES 350
2006-2010 Lexus IS 250 and Lexus IS 350

2010 Toyota Tundra Platinum Package

2010 Toyota Tundra Platinum Package

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Models affected by sticking-accelerator-pedal recall:
2005-2010 Avalon
2007-2010 Camry (some, and not Hybrid models)
2007-2010 Tundra
2010 Highlander (except Hybrid models)
2009-2010 Corolla
2009-2010 Matrix
2009-2010 RAV4
2008-2010 Sequoia
2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

2010 Toyota Yaris

2010 Toyota Yaris

Enlarge Photo

Not affected by either recall: Toyota Sienna, Solara, Yaris, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, and some Camry models; all Lexus models except ES and IS; all Scion models

[Please follow to the next page for a complete index of stories related to these recalls.]



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Comments (36)

  1. jane smith Posted: 1/28/2010 5:53pm PST

    Thanks for th info!! This Toyota recall has been getting a little bit ridiculous with details and news changing everyday.
     
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  2. Dave Posted: 1/29/2010 6:41am PST

    Toyota is ignorant! I heard on the news that they may of known about this issue for 2 years! The tides are turning.The big 3 will start to dominate again along with the Korean auto makers. This will hurt Toyota for years to come!
     
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  3. fb_1407053852 avatar Gregory Vivarttas Posted: 8/21/2011 4:59pm PDT

    unfortunately,Toyota outsold all other manufacturers combined in America during their recall! go figure,the cars were being recalled and Americans thought the price too good to turn down!
     
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  4. Greg Rohloff Posted: 1/29/2010 9:53am PST

    We have a 2003 Matrix. What design changes did Toyota make that means the 2009-2010 Matrixes are recalled but earlier models are not?
     
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  5. bengt avatar Bengt Halvorson Posted: 1/29/2010 3:24pm PST

    Greg, while newer Matrix models (the ones affected) have a drive-by-wire throttle, I believe your 2003 Matrix has an old-style throttle, with a physical connection that carries through from the accelerator to the actual throttle/FI. So completely different design and type of linkage...
     
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  6. Greg Rohloff Posted: 1/29/2010 4:03pm PST

    I'm satisfied about the drive-by-wire explanation, but the illustration of the floor mats on the web site looks just like the floor mats that we have. Should I return the floor mats, and do the mats wrap tightly around a brick for aforementioned return?
     
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  7. aville888 avatar aville888 Posted: 1/30/2010 9:12am PST

    When I was driving my daughter's 2006 Scion XA, I had same experienced several times where the RPM got stuck at high rev even though my foot was off the accelerator pedal. I am sure it wasn't the floor mat either. So how come Scion is not included in Toyota's recall?
     
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  8. bengt avatar Bengt Halvorson Posted: 1/30/2010 12:22pm PST

    The Scion xA isn't covered by the floor mat recall, and I'm quite sure its accelerator mechanism isn't produced by the affected supplier, CTS. But Greg and aville88, these are both questions you should present to your dealership ASAP.
     
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  9. aprgirl Posted: 2/1/2010 11:08am PST

    Can you tell me why, specifically, the models that are not included in the recall are not affected and are considered safe? We drive a 2007 Sienna and it makes me nervous to put my children in every day...
     
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  10. Valerie Posted: 2/2/2010 1:41pm PST

    I have a 2007 Prius--have there been any accelerator mechanism failures with this year/model?
     
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  11. roman Posted: 2/2/2010 5:00pm PST

    When did toyota start implementing the "drive by wire throttle"/"electronic Thorttle control"? Does the Highlander 2005 have a "drive by wiere throttle"?
     
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  12. bengt avatar Bengt Halvorson Posted: 2/2/2010 7:19pm PST

    Roman: Yes, your 2005 Highlander does have an electronic throttle. Toyota phased them in on much of the lineup 5-8 years ago.
     
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  13. Tanya Posted: 2/3/2010 9:05am PST

    So a 2001 Lexus IS should be okay? Are all the older models, pre-04, okay?
     
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  14. sandy Posted: 2/3/2010 7:19pm PST

    was thinking of buying the RX 450 hybrid. given toyota/prius isssues is that still a goo choice or should wait and watch
     
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  15. wendy Posted: 2/5/2010 11:01am PST

    Thank you so much for the recall info. I don't drive a Toyota but Honda. These days, what we could rely on even they're reputable brands. MASS PRODUCTION no longer guaranteed good quality. Not just cars, look at all short life span of electronic gadgets. I have Sxxx most expensive models of camcorder and laptop. Guess what..both broken and recall due causing blast, can't help.
     
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  16. Karl Posted: 2/7/2010 10:21am PST

    I had a 2002 Lexus GS 350 that had the sudden acceleration problem at least 6 years ago. This car is not on any recall list.
    The Service manager took one look at the car and said "Floor Mats" and walked away like he did not care.
    He obviously knew then that floor mats were a problem!!!!!!
    I was never sure that this was the whole cause of the incident as I was in heavy traffic and never depressed the pedal far enough to get the acceleration we felt. Also, it stopped on its own after I reached a parking lot. I did not move the mat to get the pedal from under the mat!
     
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  17. Blonde Stranger Posted: 2/8/2010 10:24am PST

    Just yesterday, my 2008 Rav4 engine revved when I stepped on the brake. Only after the revving stopped (a few seconds) did the braking finally work. It scared me to death. Luckily I was not in heavy traffic. The 2008 is not on the recall list. I am frightened to drive it. I am taking it to the dealership today, but am afraid they will try to minimize what happened because it is not on the recall list.
     
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  18. Raymond Johnson Posted: 2/9/2010 5:59am PST

    Throttle-by-wire in automobiles is a bad idea. Unlike the airline industry, automobile design from concept to production is precipitously undertaken everywhere. There is no excuse for the failure of such an important device. Why would any auto manufacturer move from the time-tested cable operated throttle to something that could be so inherently dangerous.
    Also, I cannot believe that Toyota did not provide any safety measures into their design. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that an electronic throttle control could and will eventually go awry. Something as clear and simple as a software sub-routine that would override the throttle by application of the brake pedal is mandated into this design. It would also break people of the habit of riding the brake. I hope Toyota gets raked across the coals for this one - they deserve nothing less.
     
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  19. TexasGlen Posted: 2/13/2010 7:19pm PST

    I have worked on fly-by-wire aircraft for 20 years. As Raymond says, control-by-wire is tricky. The sets of symptoms I have read about do not sound like any kind of linkage problem. It sounds more like electronics or software failure. Aircraft use sophisticated (and expensive) hardware/software configurations to guarantee that a single (or even two) failures can not cause a life threatening condition. I suspect that auto companies feel that solution would be too expensive. I’d bet that there are just 1 or 2 companies making the chips and software for all drive by wire cars. Caveat Emptor
     
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  20. anthony Posted: 2/14/2010 5:15pm PST

    Is the 2008 IS 250 safe from the audden accelation issue I toll out the floor mat
     
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  21. Terese Posted: 2/16/2010 8:34pm PST

    My Pontiac Vibe 2009 has had "rabbit starts" since I got it (former rental car; puchased July 2009). I thought I should just adjust myself to it. Today I was slowly turning into a parking spot and it suddenly accelerated and I crashed into the bordering fence. It stopped when I took my foot off accelerator. Luckily I didn't go down the hill because my wheels were already turned. Does this qualify for the recall? Thanks.
     
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  22. Matt Posted: 2/18/2010 10:09am PST

    I have a 2007 Lexus IS 250, which your article states is affected by the recalls. However, when I called my dealership, they said it was not affected. Who's right?
     
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  23. lexus Posted: 2/19/2010 10:20am PST

    The media is not reporting the exact facts. I work for a Lexus dealership and to answer the concerns about the floor mats for the IS and ES, it's not a recall on the actual floor mat. It's the fact that people are not properly securing their floor mats in, you must clip them in. They are getting stuck up under the gas and brake because people are not clipping them in. The deadly crash that happened in CA was due to a loaner ES 350 that was given to the family with Toyota floor mats in them, not Lexus floor mats. So these floor mats were not specifically made for the car. All they are doing at the Lexus dealerships in making sure you have the proper Lexus floor mats in your vehicle and they are securing them to the floor.
    As far as people complaining of RPMs going up when your foot isn't even on the gas, I have a Honda and mine does the same thing. If you look in your owners manual, more times than not it will talk to you about this. It's a non-issue, it's just a computer in the car that helps the car to brake when going downhill and some times kicks in while going up hill. It depends on the speed and the incline at which you are going. But this is now in most cars, not just the brands you are talking about here.
     
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  24. BB Posted: 2/21/2010 12:29pm PST

    Lots of speculation. Drive by wire having more problems? Cable operated have more problems and issues - sticky cables, cables wearing through, need constant lubrication and adjustment. Drive by wire more problematic is nonsense. The engineers, designers and manufactures understand this. The public in not as intelligent. Same in the past with ABS brakes and air bags. Many thought this technology dangerous and even wanted to have removed from new cars! There will always be a percentage of people out there who will continually come to false conclusions in life. Drive by wire is an extremely simple electrical path. It is similar to your household temperature rheostat. It just doesn't turn itself up or down. Or your volume control on the stereo. To speculate universal electrical physics does not apply under a Toyota nameplate is very very far out thinking.
     
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  25. BB Posted: 2/21/2010 12:52pm PST

    Those who have put their foot on the brakes and not touched to accelerator and still have the engine roar to life all have one thing in common. They do not believe or accept that the two mechanisms are completely separate with no common connections. They ALL have very little if any mechanical knowledge to accept the impossibility. Again, it is like turning up the heat in your home and having the kitchen fan turning on full tilt. If it occurs simultaneously, it may appear linked. It is often our first conclusion when two events coincide at exact same time that they must be linked. Throughout history, mankind (or womankind) have made these false conclusions based on this principle, often in tragic pursuits.
     
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  26. BB Posted: 2/21/2010 1:05pm PST

    Response to aircraft drive by wire "tricky". The only thing "tricky" about it is that it must be wired correctly when working on. If wrong wire to mechanism, of course it will not work as designed. But aircraft require much more maintenance and replacement of parts or taking apart and putting back together can be "tricky" for less skilled. If competent mechanic, they should not have any problems working on. If do, yes it would make any aircraft very dangerous and for this mechanic who finds it "tricky", I hope he is not working on the plane I fly on next. Come on and get real. They would never use drive by wire in airplanes if less safe.
     
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  27. chrismcenroy Posted: 2/24/2010 11:18am PST

    I had a 99 GS300 that this happened to me... went to JM Lexus in Pompano, FL and at the time they didn't know what the issue was. Was the scarriest experience of my life... car was totally out of control. Wondering if anyone else has had issues with an older GS300?
     
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  28. Bill Trem Posted: 2/27/2010 12:24am PST

    I’m an expat in Taiwan and about 7 months ago I ran in to an acceleration problem driving an 2006 IS250. The IS250 is owned by the president of the company I work for and she is shorter than I am and therefore has a different driving position than I do and sits closer to the wheel.
    Anyway I pulled the car out of the factory gave it some gas going up the side of mountain and the pedal jammed and the car wouldn’t slow. Thinking it was something I did I restarted the car, now in park the pedal was still jammed so the engine started racing. I shut the car down again I looked down at the pedal and sure enough the floor mat had jammed under the accelerator pedal. Here is the thing–The owner because of typhoon season had rubber mats over the existing mats. The reason I am submitting this is that the factory mats on the Taiwanese version of the 2006 IS250 are already snapped to the floor so they can’t slide. Was this a quick fix to the problem they new about back in 2006 ?
     
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  29. Glenn Windham Posted: 3/1/2010 12:35am PST

    I have a 2007 Pontiac Vibe. Recently my wife was parking the Vibe on the street, in front of our house and hit the back of a parked car. She said the Vibe just suddenly lurched forward during the parking maneuver. I looked for a throttle cable and found nothing but electrical wiring going to the throttle body. This worries me a lot.
    This whole "sudden acceleration" problem sounds electrical to me. How is a steel bar on the pedal going to fix that?
     
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  30. george Posted: 3/12/2010 6:14am PST

    I don't buy for one moment that the floor mats is the problem. I have had a couple of cars where the floor mats get in the way but the never made the accelerator stick and reach speeds of 120mph. The problem lies with the drive by wire. Electricity interferes with electronics point blank there is some unknown frequency/anomoly affecting the accelerators whether it's an ipod or wireless phone signals something electronic is causing this drive by wire set up to go crazy.
     
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  31. Toyotarecallpage Posted: 3/13/2010 10:45am PST

    Good information. I hope you don't mind if I post a link on our site about sudden acceleration to this information.
     
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  32. Rita Garrobo Posted: 5/13/2010 7:48pm PDT

    Bought a Lexus IS250 which I really like at Lexus Clear Lake on Saturday May 8th 2010. This is the third car I bought from the salesman who sold me the Lexus. Tuesday a tire pressure light came on and I took the car in to have that one issue fixed. They proceeded to tell me My Lexus had a recall on it and needed to be fixed but that it could wait until my next appointment. So instead of letting me know ahead of time before I took the car home when it was first sold to me they neglected to tell me the car was not already fixed, the dealership was willing to let me drive around in a car where I could have got seriously hurt. I have lost faith in Lexus.
     
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  33. Larry Posted: 12/30/2010 11:51am PST

    In response to the post by (BB) and post # 24 above:
    Chrysler in fact knew they had an issue with anti-lock brakes and was informed by Bendix Corp (The vendor for the system) about the issues with the systems before they put the systems on their vehicles. Chrysler weighed the odds of legal issues with failures verses profit and went ahead with installations of the systems, before the issues were corrected. This was evident for example and in the fact that when brakes were applied when the vehicle’s tires hit sand or debris on pavement, the computer would process that the car was on ice and in fact release the brakes accordingly, causing failure to stop issues on dry pavement.
    I have met engineers over the years that thought they knew everything. I’ve heard them say: “That is not possible! The way the system is designed, there is no way that could happen!”
    The key words here are “The way the system is designed.”
    But guess what, they are not God and things or a series of events they could never image take place and cause weird things to happen! Have they or you ever heard of computer glitches?
     
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  34. Larry Posted: 12/30/2010 12:04pm PST

    As to the posts by BB in #s 24, 25, and 26 as to the drive by wire interpetations.
    BB’s applying the drive by wire as to the same as operating a thermostat in your home: it is a false application.
    The thermostat in a person’s home is turned up or down physically by the person’s hand: not by a wire.
    But please note that a wire operates the throttle: it is not open or closed by hand! The return of the throttle plate or plates to the closed position can be assisted by a return spring and in some cases the spring’s rating may not be strong enough to affect the complete closure of the throttle in all circumstances.
    We all know and have to or should admit that we don’t know everything! Corporations have the final say when it comes to the amount of monies to be spent on a product before it comes to the market place. Sometimes and more often than not, they error on the profit margin side of the equation! More engineering time, etc (R&D) or even a penny more for a heavier spring added to the cost of total production numbers and affect the Corporations overall profit line! And, as in the case with Chrysler’s Bendix anti lock brakes system, Corporations error and opts on the profit margin side.
     
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  35. Fairfax victim Posted: 2/8/2011 12:22pm PST

    My wife was parking in a parking lot. Her foot was off the accelerator and off the brake, as shown by the black box printout, provided to us by an engineer sent by Toyota. She was slowly moving into the parking space. The car engine suddenly roared (two witnesses were startled by the roar) and the car accelerated quickly. The parking spot was in front of a low curb and slight inclined grassy area. About 5 feet later the car hit the tree at 18 miles per hour.
    This is a 2007 Camry Hybrid. Seems clear to me that the car has a software problem.
     
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  36. jjohnt avatar jjohnt Posted: 12/7/2011 12:38pm PST

    Its funny just when Toyota was about to take over as the worlds number one auto maker, this mysterouis brake issue comes about. Then when they admit to it and call it some crazy floot mat issue all the sudden the accidents have all but disappeared. I have owne Toyota and Lexus products all my life and they are the most reliable cars in the WORLD. This was all a scam to get people to buy American cars in a recession. Ask Camry owners if they will go out and buy another one and their answer will be Yes every single time....
     
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