SEATTLE – Toyota says that a report in the Wall Street Journal that it is about to announce a new recall on 2004-2009 models of the Prius due to unintended acceleration is wrong.
The Journal reported Tuesday that a Prius which raced out of control on a San Diego-area freeway would be part of a future recall along with hundreds of thousands of other cars. The focus of the reported recall was to prevent floor mats from pinning down the gas pedal.
In a press release, Toyota said there was no new recall being planned. Toyota says the 2004-2009 Prius "was part of Toyota’s November 2, 2009 announcement of a voluntary safety recall campaign to address floor mat entrapment in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles."
Owners of the recalled vehicles are being instructed to take out their driver's side floor mats and not to replace them until Toyota comes up with a solution.
Some 745,000 Priuses have reportedly been sold between 2004 and 2009.
Owners who have further questions are asked to visit www.toyota.com or www.lexus.com or contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Assistance at 1-800-255-3987.
