Toyota Floor Mat - Acceleration Problem Nightmare

Toyota is facing the ultimate nightmare - a potential system wide problem causing uncontrolled acceleration in its cars. It is claiming a floor mat problem, but others are not sure.

Toyota was once the brand of choice when it came to reliability. The small pickup trucks of the 1980s were legendary. Change the oil every so often and the truck would run forever. Alas, things have changed dramatically. The brand has been nothing less than a disaster this decade. Quality has been seriously questioned and recall after recall has happened. Just when it seemed things could not get worse, they have.

You've read the news. Certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been reported to suffer uncontrollable instances of acceleration. The stories were summed up when highway patrolman Mark Saylor and his family were killed when their Lexus ES 350 accelerated out of control. In response, Toyota has suggested that the problem is floor mats that jam the gas pedal. To cure the problem, the company has recalled 3.8 million cars for retrofitting.

Uncontrolled acceleration is not an unheard of problem. Audi had the same problem with one of their models in the 1980s. Various news investigation reports nearly forced the company to close its doors. Toyota is too large for that, but this clearly puts another huge chink in the reputation of the company. Once again, the CEO of Toyota has apologized for the problems. Apologies, however, only go so far.

The latest news out of Toyota is even more troubling. There are now serious concerns that the floor mat problem may not be the only safety issue with the car. There is criticism that the ignition and other speed control systems are designed in such a way that safety is seriously compromised. Given the latest deaths, Toyota is apparently now considering a redesign.

That, of course, doesn't help the Saylor family much.

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