Toyota Madness

MacTroll intended on taking our new RAV-4 back to the dealer today for the big Toyota gas pedal recall. When we called to make sure it was okay to come by, we got forwarded to the service manager's voicemail. Anne Button, who I like very much and used to work with when she as at the VW service department, called back right away.

And here's the scoop that Toyota is telling their service departments that may or may not be different than what you've read or heard. There is one, ONE, confirmed finding that shows that a gas pedal in a Toyota car got stuck in the halfway depressed position due to a mechanical failure. That one occurrence was with a car where the gas pedal had been assembled within the U.S. not those made in Japan. I'm guessing any other reported incidents have been found to be either user error or related to the problem with the all-weather heavy plastic floor mats sliding/getting pushed underneath the gas pedal. Those mats were recalled before I bought my car last fall. Apparently, if you have an issue, the gas pedal will feel VERY HARD to push down. If that happens, stop driving the car and call your dealership. They'll come get the car and get you a rental no cost to you right away.

Currently, Toyota is preparing for recall service work in the coming weeks. They will inspect my gas pedal, see where the pedal was made and, if it's the troublesome kind, replace the dubious part. If you have the all-weather floor mats because your kid -- like my kid -- is a messy little monster (Trust me, I tried to get them, but they hadn't redesigned new ones yet in November when I took my new car home), they'll take them away from you and get you new cloth ones until new all-weather ones are made.

So right now we wait for the parts to come in. Then Toyota will call us and arrange for me to bring in my car. I did find it funny that Anne asked me to specifically call her for information as she heard two incorrect reports on local news radio on the way to work this a.m. It's always amusing (and a little sad) for an old newspaper person to hear someone say, "Please don't listen to the media. They're not reporting correct information at all."