Toyota recalls four million vehicles in safety check

Toyota is to replace accelerator pedals on four million vehicles in the United States after fears they could catch on floor mats and cause an accident.

The Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Prius, the best-selling petrol-electric hybrid, are among those recalled.

Also included is the luxury Lexus ES350, the model involved in a fatal accident in California that focused public attention on the danger.

Toyota, the world’s largest car maker, has told owners to remove the driver’s side floor mats to prevent the accelerator from potentially becoming jammed.

The recall and extensive fix is the latest problem to confront the Japanese firm’s sterling reputation for quality during a period of rapid growth, and it prompted top executives to push for improved quality controls.

A Toyota spokesman said the company was “very, very confident that we have addressed this issue.”

The recall only involves vehicles in North America.

It was prompted by a high-speed crash in August involving a 2009 Lexus ES350 that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family near San Diego. The Lexus hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, struck another car, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames.

A family member in it made a frantic emergency call moments before the crash, saying that the accelerator was stuck and the driver could not stop the car. The call ended as someone was overheard urging others to hold on and pray, followed by a woman’s scream.

Investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, and could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal.

The government has attributed at least five deaths and two injuries to floor mat-related unintended acceleration in the Toyota vehicles and has received reports of more than 100 incidents in which the accelerator may have become stuck.