The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged drivers of recalled Toyotas earlier this week to park their cars if they noticed stiffer than normal gas pedals. By the time that recommendation was issued, Ruth Hart was already wary of her Camry after receiving a pair of recall notices.
“I’ve really been squeamish about driving it if I didn’t have to,” she said.
Hart is now driving her second Camry. Her first was totaled six months ago when it plunged off of Lover’s Leap in Hannibal, Mo. While she initially thought the mishap was her fault, the recall notices warning that gas pedals could get trapped under floor mats or become stuck on their own have convinced her the accident was not her fault.
The NHTSA said it was unaware of injuries or deaths associated with the sticking accelerator problem, although there were confirmed reports that five people in two separate accidents had died as a result of gas pedals that become tangled with floor mats.
The first recall notice did not arrive at Hart’s Milan, Ill., home until after she had bought another Camry.
“I guess what bothered me as much as anything is the fact I tried several cars and still liked the Camry best. Thinking that it wasn’t the car’s fault, I went and bought another Camry. Now I’m stuck with that,” she said.
After receiving the first recall notice in October about the floor mats, Hart took matters into her own hands.
“Even though it was fastened in good, I took the floor mat out and threw it in the trunk. I thought, ‘At least it won’t be the floor mat,’” she said. “That just settled down a little bit and then, boom, this gas pedal sticking thing comes up.”
Hart believes hers was one of the first Toyotas in the Quad Cities area to have the accelerator fix installed earlier this week.
“At least that’s OK unless they come up with something else,” she said. “Last night on the news they were talking about the (Camry’s) electrical system and computer. You can’t get any piece of mind.”
Earlier this week it was revealed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is trying to determine if electromagnetic interference may be causing the throttle system to malfunction. Toyota said it has ruled out electronics as a cause.
