The Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that it is recalling 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, to address the reported 102 incidents where a removable floor mat that causes the accelerator pedal to get stuck open resulting in a very high speed vehicle, making it difficult to stop, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.  The recall will involve popular models such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid.

Specific models affected include:

• 2007-2010 Toyota Camry
• 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon
• 2004-2009 Toyota Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra
• 2007-2010 Lexus ES350
• 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.

Toyota is working with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a solution to the problem. In the meantime, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood issued the following statement “For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.”

Toyota has warned owners that if they think their vehicle is accelerating out of control, they should check to see whether their floor mat is under the pedal. If a driver can’t remove the floor mat, Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet until the vehicle slows and then try to put it into neutral and switch the ignition to accessory power.  For vehicles with engine start/stop buttons, Toyota said the engine can be shut off by holding the button down for three seconds.

If you have questions or want more information, please contact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s hotline at (888) 327-4236, Toyota at (800) 331-4331 or Lexus at (800) 255-3987.  To read more information on the Toyota recall of 3.8 million vehicles due to a driver’s floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal, view the following: Toyota Pressroom, Forbes - Runaway Toyota Recall, CBS - Toyota to Issue Largest Recall Ever and Associated Press.