In the wake of Toyota's huge floor mat recall, theorists have come up with several survival strategies designed to overcome a throttle that's stuck wide-open. Putting some of these theories to the test – and debunking several myths in the process – is the team over at Consumer Reports.
With a large test track and a fleet of vehicles at their disposal, the magazine's engineers initially focused on the "just step hard on the brakes" method of bringing the car to a halt. Interestingly enough, CR tested a Mercedes-Benz E350 and a Volkswagen Jetta Wagon – both fitted with drive-by-wire "smart throttles" that are designed to ignore conflicting inputs (throttle and brake at the same time). CR reports that these cars simply shut down to idle and came safety to a stop. The story was a bit different with a Toyota Venza and Chevrolet HHR, however. When the brakes on those vehicles were firmly applied at 20 mph, their transmissions downshifted to fight the deceleration. The vehicles were both eventually brought to a stop after the first test. However, when the test was repeated at 60 mph on brakes that had been cooled since the earlier run, both vehicles quickly suffered fade from their overheated brakes and were unable to come to a complete stop.
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Good news for those of you who happen to own a Toyota or Lexus vehicle sans floormats, as the Japanese automaker has reportedly come up with a solution to the 3.8 million-vehicle recall announced last week. We haven't reviewed the documentation ourselves, but it sounds as if the answer is to zip tie the driver's side floormat to the seat rails.
Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons tells Automotive News that dealers all around the country should have gotten the instructions on the so-called "semipermanent floormat installation process," which means they can continue to sell new and used vehicles with floormats in place.
Plus, dealerships are being instructed to attach a note to the nylon wire-tie instructing dealers and customers to ensure the mats are properly affixed. The warning also notes that owners should never stack multiple mats on top of one another(!). Apparently, this bit of discount MacGyvery satisfies the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If you own one of the recalled models, perhaps it's time to visit your dealership to get the fix taken care of.
