Toyota to Spend $440M on Loose Floor Mat Recall

Toyota's largest ever recall might cost the Japanese company around $440 million in case the manufacturer decides to inspect the vehicles and fix the accelerator pedals. Toyota has already advised owners of affected cars to remove the loose floor mats but the company is currently working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a recall and determine which and how many cars will need the fix.

The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper wrote that Toyota hasn't made a decision on the recall but further information is expected to be released very soon. Various reports are indicating that five people have already been killed by the loose floor mats which are blocking the accelerator pedal, thus increasing speed and raising the risk of a crash.

Last week, a Toyota spokesman said the company has instructed dealers dealers to attach the floor mats on the driver's side to the seat frames to prevent them from interfering with the vehicles' throttle.

“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,” Brian Lyons, Toyota spokesman was quoted as saying by Autonews. "This allows dealers to continue selling and delivering both new and used vehicles. I would expect that all dealers have that information and have started making the modifications.”

The vehicles involved in this massive recall are 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2007-2010 Tundras. Lexus, the carmaker's luxury division, has to recall 2007-2010 ES 350, 2006-2010 IS 250 IS 350.