Prius Might Be Recalled for Faulty Floor Mats

You might recall "Hybrid Hell," our April cover story about how the Toyota Prius's accelerator sometimes has a mind of its own. Well, now Toyota might recall the Prius.That eco-friendly pedal may be saving our skies, but it doesn't seem to have the same regard for human life. The National Highway...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

September 30, 2009

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You might recall "Hybrid Hell," our April cover story about how the Toyota Prius's accelerator sometimes has a mind of its own. Well, now Toyota might recall the Prius.

That eco-friendly pedal may be saving our skies, but it doesn't seem to have the same regard for human life. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a safety notice for all 2005-2010 Priuses.

The problem: floor mats.

The floor mats on Priuses and six other Toyota and Lexus cars have a habit of coming loose if they're not installed correctly, which could cause them to interfere with the accelerator, leaving the pedal unintentionally to the metal.

The other models in question: the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, and 2007-2010 Tundra, as well as Lexus's 2007-2010 ES 350 and 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350.

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