It's been a rough ride for Toyota this year - not long after posting the largest loss in the company's history, they're now planning to issue their largest recall ever, affecting almost four million Toyota and Lexus models. The culprit? Potentially deadly floor mats. The problem seems to be that if "improperly installed" - the driver's floormat can cause the accelerator pedal to stick - an issue that's been linked to a deadly accident involving a Lexus that crashed at an estimated 120 mph this summer near San Diego.
Unlike most safety recalls, this one has a simple solution: throw out the floor mats. That's the advice from Toyota for now until they come up with some sort of replacement mat or other solution.
So far, analysts estimate the company probably won't have to spend much more than $100 million to deal with the floor mat debacle, less than a drop in the ocean when compared to the recent $4.9 billion loss Toyota posted earlier this year and the $5 billion loss expected for the fiscal year through March 2010. Better make that at least $5.1 billion, perhaps more if you take into account the potential damage to the brand.
Toyota's perennial Belle of the Ball, the Prius, which had been universally recognized until now as one of the safest hybrid or green cars around, is on the list of models being recalled going as far back as 2004.
The Toyota models being recalled include the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2007-2010 Tundra. The Lexus models facing the safety recall are the 2007-2010 ES 350, and the 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350.