Here's the full press release. We'll be on a conference call in a few minutes to get more details on this non-recall recall of approximately 4 million vehicles. Anyone have any questions they want us to ask?

Toyota Announces Details of Remedy to Address Potential Accelerator Pedal Entrapment

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ — Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS) announced today details of the vehicle-based remedy to address the root cause of the potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals in certain Toyota and Lexus models. Toyota issued a consumer safety advisory on September 29 on this issue and has, as an interim measure, commenced the mailing of safety notices to certain Toyota and Lexus owners on October 30.

The models involved are: 2007 to 2010 MY (model year) Camry, 2005 to 2010 MY Avalon, 2004 to 2009 MY Prius, 2005 to 2010 MY Tacoma, 2007 to 2010 MY Tundra, 2007 to 2010 MY ES350, 2006 to 2010 MY IS250, and 2006 to 2010 MY IS 350.

The specific measures of the vehicle-based remedy are as follows:

1. The shape of the accelerator pedal will be reconfigured to address the risk of floor mat entrapment, even when an older-design all-weather floor mat or other inappropriate floor mat is improperly attached, or is placed on top of another floor mat. For the ES350, Camry, and Avalon models involved, the shape of the floor surface underneath will also be reconfigured to increase the space between the accelerator pedal and the floor.
2. Vehicles with any genuine Toyota or Lexus accessory all-weather floor mat will be provided with newly-designed replacement driver- and front passenger-side all-weather floor mats.

In addition, as a separate measure independent of the vehicle-based remedy, Toyota will install a brake override system onto the involved Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES350, IS350 and IS250 models as an extra measure of confidence. This system cuts engine power in case of simultaneous application of both the accelerator and brake pedals.

Toyota is in the process of completing development of these actions and for the ES350, Camry, and Avalon will start notifying owners of the involved vehicles via first-class mail by the end of this year. The remedy process regarding the other five models will occur on a rolling schedule during 2010.

Dealers will be trained and equipped to make the necessary modifications to these models starting at the beginning of 2010. Initially, dealers will be instructed on how to reshape the accelerator pedal for the repair. As replacement parts with the same shape as the modified pedal become available, they will be made available to dealers for the repair, beginning around April 2010. Customers who have had the remedy completed will have the opportunity to receive a new pedal if they desire.

In the meantime, owners of the involved vehicles are asked to take out any removable driver's floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat until they are notified of the vehicle-based remedy, as notified in the consumer safety advisory and the interim notice.

The brake override system will be made standard equipment throughout the Toyota and Lexus product lines starting with January 2010 production of ES350 and Camry and is scheduled to be incorporated into new production of most models by the end of 2010.

The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern and Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any defect trends that are identified.

Owners who have further questions are asked to visit www.toyota.com or www.lexus.com or contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1 800 331-4331 or Lexus Customer Assistance at 1-800-295-3987.

Toyota Announces Safety Recall on 2000 through 2003 Tundra Frame Rear Cross Member

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. will launch a Safety Recall involving approximately 110,000 Tundra vehicles sold in the United States.

Certain 2000 through 2003 model year Tundra vehicles operated in cold climate areas with high road salt use, may exhibit excessive corrosion on the frame rear cross- member. In the worst case, the spare tire stowed under the truck bed may become separated from the rear cross member. Spare tire separation will create a road hazard for following vehicles and increase the likelihood of a crash.

Eventually, excessive corrosion of the rear cross-member may also affect the functionality of the rear brake line at the proportioning valve. If this occurs, it can lead to the loss of the rear brake circuits which will increase vehicle stopping distances and the risk of a crash.

In addition to the District of Columbia, the involved cold climate states with high road salt usage are: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

Beginning in December 2009 through early 2010, owners of the involved vehicles will receive a Safety Recall notification via first class mail asking them to take their vehicles to a Toyota dealer for an initial inspection of the rear cross member. During this inspection, the rear cross-member including the surrounding components such as, the brake line at the proportioning valve (which is mounted on the cross-member assembly) will also be inspected. Based upon the inspection, Toyota will do one of the following at no charge:

Tundra

If there is no significant corrosion of the rear cross-member assembly or the rear brake line at the proportioning valve, owners will be notified of that fact and requested to subsequently bring their vehicle back to the dealership so that a corrosion-resistant compound can be applied to the rear cross-member. Toyota will notify the owner when the corrosion-resistant compound is available.

If significant corrosion is detected such that the rear cross-member can no longer safely support the spare tire and replacement components are available, the cross- member assembly will be replaced. In the event replacement components are not available, a temporary solution, such as the removal of the spare tire and securing it to the truck bed, will be performed until parts are available.

In those relatively rare cases where the rear cross-member is significantly corroded and can no longer safely support the spare tire, but the rear cross-member cannot be replaced due to excessive frame corrosion at the mounting location (e.g., if the side rails are too damaged), Toyota will develop an appropriate remedy for those vehicles on a case-by- case basis.

This inspection will take approximately 20 minutes depending on dealer scheduling.

Until your vehicle is inspected, you may minimize the risk of the spare tire separating from the rear cross-member by removing it. If you choose to do so, please be sure not to be under the rear cross-member or spare tire carrier during the lowering process. In addition, if placing the spare tire in the truck bed or other area of the vehicle, it should be secured when driving.

Customers with questions are asked to call the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1 800 331-4331.

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[Toyota via PickupTrucks]

The ongoing recall now includes the 1995-2002 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, 1995-2003 Ford Windstar, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Ranger, 2000-2003 Ford Excursion with diesel engine, 1992-2003 Ford Econoline vans, 1993-1997 F35 motor homes and 1999-2003 Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks with diesel engines.

The cruise control deactivation switches were made by Texas Instruments and can overheat, creating a fire hazard even after the vehicle has been switched off. Warning signs of failure can include malfunctioning cruise control and brakes, unusual activation of brake lights and difficulty shifting out of "park." That sounds pretty scary and Ford is suggesting that vehicles included in the recall that haven't been fixed yet shouldn't be parked in garages or near homes. Two deaths have been linked to the fires, as well as several home fires.

Ford's fix is to have dealers install a fused wiring harness that will eliminate the risk of fire, but not replace the faulty switch itself. Concerned owners can call 888-222-2751 for more information.

Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons told Automotive News: "We have reviewed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration what we're calling a semipermanent floor mat installation process, and we're providing these instructions to our dealers."

Lyons says the mats are to be secured to the driver's seat frame with "nylon self-locking wire ties," described as plastic straps that loop back into themselves and lock when pulled tight. In other words "zip ties."

Dealers also are to attach a label to the wire tie warning dealers and customers to ensure that the mat is secured with restraining straps and not to stack one mat over another.

Although we always knew either duct tape or zip ties would save us all from fiery death, but we'd love to see some proof in the way of the "mat installation process" from a Toyota dealership. Anyone out there have the instructions or can find them for us? Similarly, anyone have pictures of the "semipermanent" solution in action?

Also, in case you're unsure whether your car is affected, here's our handy flow-chart. [AutoNews via TCC]

As you can see from the handy flow chart above, we're now at what you should do if your vehicle continues to accelerate rapidly after release of the accelerator pedal. Toyota tell us "this could be an indication of floor mat interference.," which is somewhat of an understatement. If this occurs, in addition to praying to your preferred deity, click "next" to see what Toyota recommends the driver do (The rest of the information below is is straight from Toyota — no added snark. Well, maybe just a little.).

Step One: If it is possible and safe to do so, pull back the floor mat and dislodge it from the accelerator pedal; then pull over and stop the vehicle. 

Step Two: If the floor mat cannot be dislodged, then firmly and steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet. Do NOT pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the effort required to slow the vehicle.

Photo Credit: Deeleea @ Flickr

Step Three:Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.
 
If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF, or to ACC. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

Step Three-Point-One:If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.

Step Three-Point-Two:If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

Your Toyota or Lexus should now be stopped and fiery death avoided. Hooray!

Photo Credit: Billselak @ Flickr

Chinese companies have had a few issues with recalls in the past, so the news of just 1.84 million recalls in four years is a bit surprising. As a point of comparison, GM recalled 950,000 vehicles this August alone in the U.S. We have a feeling the number is artificially low given the Chinese legal system's favoritism towards Chinese-owned enterprises and the resulting lax view towards safety and quality.

Because this is Xinhua, there's a fairly strong anti-foreign bias in the piece in the form of this tidbit:

Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. made the single largest recall, which involved more than 420,000 Accords in March 2007.

Mercedes-Benz conducted the most frequent recalls: 19 between February 2005 and December 2008, involving 38,657 vehicles.

We'd point out the Guangzhou Hondas are Chinese-built, though Japanese designed. Perhaps the reason they had more recalls is because they're actually interested in recalling cars for safety or performance issues. Though the number feels low to us, the fact China is recalling vehicles at all is a sign they're at least attempting to hold themselves to the same standards as the rest of the world.

[Gasgoo]

It turns out the fault lies in the column shifter which "may become disengaged from the steering column mounting bracket and cause an incorrect transmission gearshift position display." The concern is that an unwitting officer could goose it in the wrong gear and wreak a bit of the old ultra-violence. It would have been a great excuse for the gentleman who mowed over that Crown Victoria in his Camry. "I don't know what happened officer, the display said D!"

On the other hand, somebody better warn Jake and Elwood.
[GoodCarBadCar Via Autoblog]

Anyone with a heated washer fluid system on a GM product, as Microheat was the only manufacturer used. Specific vehicles include the Hummer H2, Buick Lucerne and Enclave, the Cadillac DTS and Escalade, the GMC Yukon, Sierra and Acadia, the Saturn Outlook and the Chevy Avalanche, Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban. No word yet on whether other manufacturers will discontinue the system — currently Microheat is only company making washer fluid heating products. They may not have a choice, however, since the GM complaint and resulting expenses are reportedly driving the supplier out of business in short order. [Automotive News; Sub. Req.]

Identifying a defective valve stem is simple: Dismount each tire from its rim and check. That's right, folks: There's no outward marking to identify the defective valve stems, nor was any tracking system in place to determine who may or may not have received one. So, if you're part of the at-risk group, you probably want to keep both hands on the wheel until NHTSA sorts all this out. [Consumer Reports; Photo and tons of great valve stem info at Techno-Fandom.org]

Recalled vehicles:
2008 Buick Enclave, 2006-2008 Buick Lucerne, 2006-2008 Cadillac DTS, 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade EXT, 2007-2008 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban, 2007-2008 GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL, 2006-2008 Hummer H2 and 2007-2008 Saturn Outlook.

For more information, call:
Buick: (866) 608-8080
Cadillac: (800) 982-2339
Chevrolet: (800) 630-2438
Saturn: (800) 972-8876
GMC: (866) 996-9436
Hummer: (800) 732-5493

[Detroit News]

The most depressing part of this whole story comes from an analyst at J.D. Power & Associates who claims it shouldn't hurt Journey sales because owners are so used to minor recalls that they're immune to them. "Quality is job... it's a job for someone... it's a new day." [AutoNews subs. req.]

...2005-2006 versions of the pick-me-up equipped with the 5.4-liter engine. 600,000 of the trucks are in the United States and around 50,000 are in Canada. The rest? Who knows? Zimbabwe, maybe? Although Ford says there have been 11 minor accidents, no injuries have been tied to the issue. Except maybe Toby Keith's ego. Well, maybe that's more a problem with this post than the actual recall.

Concerned owners cant contact Honda at (800) 999-1099