Toyota car mats suspected of causing 5 deaths

drunkmonkey

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE58S69820090930

I can see how this could happen, i've thrown floor mats of of cars before because they stick under the pedals and could put you in a scary situation.

Will it effect toyota cars here?

barrymcloughlin

I suppose it could be a problem for them over here too, though the article claims it's just America; that should probably be taken that with a grain of salt.

I presume they're talking about the mats that come with the car when it's bought new, and that they don't suspect the underlying carpet is so Teflon like that all floor mats are a problem.

I drive a Yaris (insert your own jokes here) and the mat fairly regularly winds up creeping its way behind the accelerator, sometimes preventing it from pressing down as far as I want it to go. And there was one time when it somehow ended up covering the accelerator too, but it's the sort of problem that I'd consider to be my fault since I haven't bothered securing them, am using cheap mats, and sometimes forget to check that they're correctly in place before setting off. (Can't drive without one either, the rubber pad on the car's carpet is too slippy).

Tipsy Mac

There was one case in the US where one of the passengers of a car with the throttle stuck called 911 to alert them prior to the crashing the car. Now call me nieve but if it happened to you would your first action not be to turn off the ignition to kill the engine.

EPM

There's a simple solution to problems like this - make it cumpolsory to have anchor points for all mats. Only a few screws really and would avoid situations like that. I wouldn't put unsecured mats near my car

Zube

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

Now call me nieve but if it happened to you would your first action not be to turn off the ignition to kill the engine.

Well, in this country, your Toyota would generally be manual, and you could just push in the clutch and brake. Even in an auto, lamping on the brakes should prevent it from reaching 120 miles an hour as reported.

Tigger

EPM wrote: »

There's a simple solution to problems like this - make it cumpolsory to have anchor points for all mats. Only a few screws really and would avoid situations like that. I wouldn't put unsecured mats near my car

i agree

thats all i have to say really its just that clear

Seth Brundle

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

There was one case in the US where one of the passengers of a car with the throttle stuck called 911 to alert them prior to the crashing the car. Now call me nieve but if it happened to you would your first action not be to turn off the ignition to kill the engine.

I presume you mean this one (BMW in the UK!)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1512707/The-accelerator-has-jammed-the-brakes-have-burned-out-and-Im-trapped-in-my-BMW-doing-130mph.html

Sounds like a good way to have some fun on a Saturday afternoon!
"Hello is that the Gardai? My car is going really fast eh its out of control and eh I can't stop it! Anyhow, I'll keep driving it for a while. See ya!"

JimmyCrackCorn!

kbannon wrote: »

I presume you mean this one (BMW in the UK!)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1512707/The-accelerator-has-jammed-the-brakes-have-burned-out-and-Im-trapped-in-my-BMW-doing-130mph.html

Sounds like a good way to have some fun on a Saturday afternoon!
"Hello is that the Gardai? My car is going really fast eh its out of control and eh I can't stop it! Anyhow, I'll keep driving it for a while. See ya!"

If he had long enough to call the police he had long enough to turn off the ignition.


I was on a motorbike that a throttle stuck on while it wasn't fun a couple of whacks and it freed before i could get to the key.

Stevie Dakota

kbannon wrote: »

I presume you mean this one (BMW in the UK!)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1512707/The-accelerator-has-jammed-the-brakes-have-burned-out-and-Im-trapped-in-my-BMW-doing-130mph.html


That's an hilarious article, I'd buy another BMW he says, it saved my life, classic. Look at the poor fecker now in his Punto, hard to know which is worse, a working Punto or an out of control BMW.

Gregor Samsa

JimmyCrackCorn! wrote: »

If he had long enough to call the police he had long enough to turn off the ignition.


I was on a motorbike that a throttle stuck on while it wasn't fun a couple of whacks and it freed before i could get to the key.

Motorbikes don't have a stering wheel lock when you turn the wheel with the ignition off, though. I wouldn't like to be travelling at 130kmh with no steering :eek:

EDIT:

Although, it seems that his story didn't add up, and he was later arrested:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1521763/130mph-driver-who-claimed-cars-throttle-was-jammed-is-arrested.html

MagicMarker

This is why I don't have car mats, they're a pain in the arse.

Gregor Samsa

I know someone who got a new(er) car a few years ago, after owning a clapped out banger for ages. It came with nice, clean mats, and she wanted to keep them that way. So what did she do? She put the mats from the old car on top of the new ones, to protect them.

I tried to point out that if she really wanted to keep the new mats in pristine order, it might be better to just use the old mats and keep the new ones in the shed or somewhere, but no. The two sets of mats are still in the car to this day.

Dannyboi3k

I remember saying to the fireman, 'Don't cut my car, you'll damage it' but they were saying, 'Don't worry about that mate, it's written off'.

lol

Del2005

I noticed the mats in my car where moving around and getting up behind the accerator (not an issue) and brake(issue). So after a few weeks of constantly pulling them back I stuck them down with velco and no problems since. There is an hole in the mats for an anchor but the car doesn't have anywhere to anchor to.

EPM

Del2005 wrote: »

I noticed the mats in my car where moving around and getting up behind the accerator (not an issue) and brake(issue). So after a few weeks of constantly pulling them back I stuck them down with velco and no problems since. There is an hole in the mats for an anchor but the car doesn't have anywhere to anchor to.

Plastic screw straight into the carpet should hold them in place no probs