Sexy and Stupid

To quell rising consumer worries from its largest ever recall, Toyota Motor Corp. will shorten the gas pedal and install a new brake system on some of 3.8 million vehicles recalled because of the risk they may accelerate without warning.

The problem, which allegedly has caused more than a dozen fatalities and resulted in more than 100 formal complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has presented the most serious challenge yet to Toyota’s reputation as the auto industry’s quality leader.

Wednesday’s announcement came one day after Toyota recalled 110,000 Tundra pickup trucks from model years 2000 through 2003 which have experienced underbody rust that in some cases may loosen spare tires mounted beneath the trucks.

For 2005 through 2010 model year Toyota Avalons, 2007 through 2010 Camry and Lexus ES350, the automaker will reconfigure the floor surface beneath the pedal to create more space between the pedal and the floor.

The action is designed to address the root cause of the unintended acceleration, which Toyota previously blamed on floor mats becoming trapped between drivers’ feet and the gas pedal.

The brake over-ride system that will be offered on the Camry, Avalon and Lexus ES and IS models should ensure the car stops if both the accelerator and brake pedals are applied at the same time. Many of the reported incidents involved sudden increases in speed when the cruise control system is engaged. Drivers have reported that their brakes could not stop their vehicles when they experienced the phenomenon.

Toyota intends to make the brake over-ride feature standard throughout the Toyota and Lexus product lines beginning in January 2010.