A fatal crash involving a Lexus ES 350 dealer loaner car stirred up much of the heat surrounding Toyota's recent floor mat/accelerator pedal recall. This is the accident in which a California Highway Patrol officer, Mark Saylor, and three of his family members were killed when he was unable to regain control of the car when an ill-fitting all-weather floor mat became bunched under the gas pedal.
Now it seems another Lexus customer experienced a stuck throttle in the very same car loaned out by Bob Baker Lexus in El Cajon, California, only days before the ES was given to the Saylors.
In a report taken by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Frank Bernard, 61, told investigators that he had the car on Aug. 24 and 25. Bernard reported that while merging onto Interstate 15, he took his foot off the gas and the car kept accelerating up to 85 mph.
He said he pressed long and hard on the brakes and was able to slow the car and pull over. He put the transmission into neutral, but the engine continued to race. After unsuccessful attempts at shutting off the engine, he realized the floor mat was jammed under the gas pedal, slid his foot under the accelerator, dislodged it and had no further problems, according to the report.
Understandably rattled, Bernard returned the ES 350 to the dealer and reported the incident to the receptionist. He said he became anxious when she didn't seem to grasp the severity of the problem. It's unclear at this point whether the car was checked out by service technicians before going back out on loan (it was driven by two other customers without incident before the Saylors got it), much less whether the brakes were inspected for wear.
acbayard says:
05:07 PM, 12/ 7/09
Slam dunk case for the Bernard family.
cr_driver says:
05:41 PM, 12/ 7/09
Crap receptionist.!
billt9 says:
10:52 PM, 12/ 7/09
I still don't understand why this warrants a recall.
Stop putting freakin aftermarket crap in the car.
And receptionists aren't expected to understand what a car doctor understands.
If only it were easier to get in touch with a mechanic.
brn says:
06:40 AM, 12/ 8/09
"And receptionists aren't expected to understand what a car doctor understands."
True, but when a customer says the car is deadly, he/she should tell someone.
bankerdanny says:
08:51 AM, 12/ 8/09
There was another similar incident involving a Camry where the driver attempted to shut off the engine, but couldn't because of push button stop/start system, which requires that you hold the button own for 3 seconds before the car will shut off.
3 seconds doesn't seem like a lot, but in a sudden accelleration situation, I imagine it's a lifetime.
This whole push button start trend can die at any point. It's a silly affectation with little functional value and just provides more electrical parts to fail.