NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE07-016: ACCESSORY FLOOR MAT
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE07-016 on March 29, 2007 and closed it on August 8, 2007, the day it opened Engineering Analysis EA07-010, whose summary cites it. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2007 Lexus ES350 for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE07-016 (also written PE07016)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed August 8, 2007
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Corporation
- Component
- Vehicle Speed Control — Accelerator Pedal
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2007 Lexus ES350
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-016.
COMPLAINANTS INTERVIEWED BY ODI STATED THAT THEY APPLIED THE THROTTLE PEDAL TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE THEN EXPERIENCED UNWANTED ACCELERATION AFTER RELEASE.SUBSEQUENT (AND SOMETIMES REPEATED) APPLICATIONS OF THE BRAKE PEDAL REDUCED ACCELERATION BUT DID NOT STOP THE VEHICLE.IN SOME INCIDENTS DRIVERS TRAVELED SIGNIFICANT DISTANCES (MILES) AT HIGH VEHICLE SPEEDS (GREATER THAN 90 MPH) BEFORE THE VEHICLE STOPPED (ODI NOTES THAT MULTIPLE BRAKE APPLICATIONS WITH THE THROTTLE IN AN OPEN POSITION CAN DEPLETE THE BRAKE SYSTEM'S POWER (VACUUM) ASSIST RESERVE RESULTING IN DIMINISHED BRAKING).
THE SUBJECT VEHICLES HAVE AN ENGINE CONTROL BUTTON INSTEAD OF A TRADITIONAL IGNITION KEY. SOME DRIVERS REPORTED THAT THEIR ATTEMPTS TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF BY PRESSING THE CONTROL BUTTON WERE UNSUCCESSFUL.IN THESE CASES IT APPEARS THE DRIVERS WERE UNAWARE THAT THE BUTTON'S FUNCTIONALITY CHANGES WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION REQUIRING THAT IT BE DEPRESSED FOR 3 SECONDS (INSTEAD OF MOMENTARILY) TO STOP THE ENGINE.ODI HAS OBSERVED THAT AN UNSECURED LEXUS ACCESSORY ALL WEATHER FLOOR MAT CAN TRAP THE THROTTLE PEDAL IN AN OPEN POSITION RESULTING IN SIGNIFICANT UNWANTED ACCELERATION.UNSECURED FLOOR MATS HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE MAJORITY OF INCIDENT VEHICLES.IN ADDITION, ODI HAS INSPECTED TWO INCIDENT VEHICLES DOCUMENTING BRAKE DAMAGE DUE TO OVERHEATING. IN THE FIVE ODI CRASH INCIDENTS THE OPERATORS ALLEGE THEY EXPERIENCED UNWANTED ACCELERATION AND WERE UNABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE TO AVOID THE COLLISION.FOUR OF THE FIVE CRASHES ARE MULTI-VEHICLE (ONE INVOLVING 7 VEHICLES) AND TWO RESULTED IN TOTAL LOSS DAMAGES (ONE INVOLVING A FIRE).
ONE INJURY, WHICH RESULTED FROM A ROLL-OVER CRASH, WAS SIGNIFICANT AND THE INJURED PERSON CONTINUES TO SHOW SYMPTOMS.ONE INJURY INCIDENT IS NOT CRASH RELATED (COMPLAINANT ALLEGES A KNEE INJURY DUE TO OVEREXERTION DURING BRAKE APPLICATION). IN THEIR RESPONSE TO ODI'S APRIL 5, 2007 INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER, TOYOTA ACKNOWLEDGES THAT SOME OF THE ALLEGED INCIDENTS ARE LIKELY RELATED TO IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE DRIVER SIDE ALL WEATHER FLOOR MAT RESULTING IN INTERFERENCE WITH ACCELERATOR PEDAL MOVEMENT.TOYOTA DESCRIBES VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE LABELING OF THE ALL WEATHER MAT (INCLUDING A STICKER FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE MAT AND ENLARGING THE STATEMENT ON THE VISIBLE SURFACE) AND THE PACKAGING USED FOR SALES OF THE MATS, AND HAS NOTIFIED ODI OF AN OWNER MAILING TO SUBJECT VEHICLE OWNERS WARNING OF THE DANGERS OF IMPROPER MAT INSTALLATION.TOYOTA BELIEVES THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND THE ALL WEATHER MAT DO NOT CONTAIN A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT AND THAT THE ACTIONS THEY HAVE TAKEN ARE SUFFICIENT TO ADDRESS ANY FUTURE CONCERNS. THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE AND TO ASSESS THE ACTIONS TAKEN BY TOYOTA.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-016. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Lexus
Lexus ES350
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Lexus VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE07-016
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.