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NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Recall Query RQ10-003: Unintended and Uncontrolled Acceleration

  • Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ10-003 on February 16, 2010 and closed it on March 1, 2011. NHTSA's investigations file lists 12 models from 2 makes for it and links 3 recalls to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number
RQ10-003 (also written RQ10003)
Investigation type
Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
Status
Closed March 1, 2011
Opened
Closed
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Components
Electrical System — Software; Vehicle Speed Control — Accelerator Pedal
Recalls linked by NHTSA
  • 11V-112: FLOOR CARPET COVER AND RETENTION CLIPS, reported
  • 11V-113: PEDAL ENTRAPMENT, reported
  • 11V-115: FLOOR CARPET PAD, reported
Vehicles and equipment
12 models from 2 makes, including the Toyota 4Runner and Toyota RAV4

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ10-003.

On February 16, 2010, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened RQ10-003 to determine whether the scope of prior Toyota recalls relating to potential unintended acceleration were sufficiently broad, including, among others, Toyota recalls 07E-082, 09V-388, 10V-017, and 10V-023.

NHTSA also requested information regarding potential electronic causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

I. Pedal Interference from Floor mats, Carpet Covers and Plastic Pads in Carpets.

During the RQ10-003 investigation, ODI reviewed a large volume of documents to assess whether additional vehicles should be recalled.

Following the agency's analysis, NHTSA requested that Toyota recall additional vehicles.

Toyota complied with the agency's request.

The details of these recalls are set forth more fully in Toyota's reports to NHTSA pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573.

These recalls are as follows:Recall 11V-112: (1) model year (MY) 2004-2006 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid; and, (2) MY 2004-2007 Lexus RX330,RX350, and RX400h (hybrid model). The total estimated population under this recall is 769,379 vehicles.

This recall remedies potential accelerator pedal entrapment caused by a loose floor carpet cover (trim panel). Recall 11V-113: (1) MY 2003-2009 through 2009 Toyota 4Runner; (2) MY 2006-2010 Toyota RAV4; and, (3) MY 2008-2011 Lexus LX570.

The total estimated population under this recall is 1,381,000 vehicles.

This recall supplements recall 09V-388 and remedies potential accelerator pedal entrapment by an unsecured floor mat.

Recall 11V-115: (1) MY 2006-2007 Lexus GS300 (all wheel drive vehicles); and, (2) MY 2006-2007 Lexus GS350 (all wheel drive vehicles). The total estimated population under this recall is 19,647 vehicles.

This recall remedies potential accelerator pedal entrapment caused by inadequate clearance between the pedal linkage and a plastic pad embedded in the vehicle's carpet.

II. Potential Electronic Causes of Unintended Acceleration.

After NHTSA opened RQ10-003, NHTSA launched a ten-month study of potential electronic causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

NHTSA launched the study in the spring of 2010 in light of concerns aired in Congressional hearings.

NHTSA enlisted engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with expertise in areas such as computer controlled electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity to assess whether electronic systems or electromagnetic interference played a role in incidents of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

That study has concluded.

Two reports are associated with the study and are available on NHTSA's website.

NASA's report is entitled Technical Support to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the Reported Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Unintended Acceleration (UA) Investigation, NESC Assessment No. TI-10-00618 (Jan. 18, 2011).

NHTSA's report is entitled Technical Assessment of Toyota Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) Systems (Feb. 2011).

Both reports should be read in conjunction with each other. As stated in its report, NASA did not find an electronic cause of large throttle openings that can result in unintended acceleration incidents. NHTSA did not find a vehicle-based cause of unintended acceleration incidents other than the physical pedal interference causes that are being addressed by Toyota's recalls. This RQ is closed.

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ10-003. 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

All Lexus recalls

Toyota

All Toyota recalls

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.

Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Sources

NHTSA's investigation record for RQ10-003

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.