Barklet Posts

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall millions more vehicles in the United States, its second massive recall in four months, this time to fix potentially faulty accelerator pedals.

The following models and years are affected:

The newest recall, affecting 2.3 million vehicles, marked an acknowledgment that potential problems with dangerous acceleration on Toyota vehicles run deeper than the automaker had first announced and broadened a recall that already ranked as its largest ever.

The recalls have damaged Toyota’s reputation for market-leading quality and safety at a time when the automaker’s U.S. sales remain under pressure.

Toyota had previously maintained that there was no evidence of a mechanical fault linked to reports of unintended acceleration that prompted the recall of about 4.2 million vehicles last year.

The automaker said the recall announced on Thursday was separate from the earlier action, which Toyota said was aimed at addressing the risk that the accelerator pedals could become entrapped by loose or improperly installed floor mats. About 1.7 million vehicles are subject to both recalls.

As recently as November, Bob Carter, Toyota’s U.S. brand chief, had said there was “no evidence” to support claims that the reported safety problems could be caused by anything other than loose floor mats interfering with the accelerator pedal.

NHTSA had received reports of 100 incidents at the time of Toyota’s first recall. Those reports included 17 crashes and five fatalities possibly linked to floor mats and accelerator pedals in Toyota cars and trucks.

Toyota’s earlier recall covers the Camry and Avalon sedans, the Prius hybrid, the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks, and the luxury Lexus models IS250, IS350 and ES350.

NHTSA had conducted a similar investigation of floor mats in Toyota vehicles that began in 2007 and resulted in a recall of more than 50,000 cars.

That probe focused on the Lexus ES350 and concluded that grooves in the floor mat could trap the accelerator if the mat was not secured with retaining hooks.

The recall announced last year is ongoing. Toyota has started repairs on the ES350s and plans to address the Camry and Avalon next, Lyons said. Those vehicles account for more than half the vehicles subject to that recall, he said.

Toyota plans to reshape the accelerator pedals and floors in the Camry, Avalon and ES350, Lyons said.