Toyota is reportedly on the brink of deciding to make accelerator pedals shorter in millions of vehicles, as a fix to a problem with floor mat sticking that has led to a 4-million-vehicle recall.

Kyodo News reported that Toyota has set aside about $5 million to cover the cost of the change and would make it for free at U.S. dealerships. However, Toyota safety and quality communications manager Brian Lyons told Consumer Reports that the company is "not ready to announce anything." He said Toyota is "still developing vehicle-based remedies and still in open discussions with NHTSA."

The vehicles recalled for the floor mat issue are the 2007-'10 Camry, Tundra and Lexus ES 350; the 2005-'10 Avalon and Tacoma, 2004-'09 Prius, and 2006-'10 Lexus IS 250. At least one fatal accident has been blamed on the sticking mat causing the accelerator pedal to become stuck in the fully engaged position.

Toyota Motor Sales' official statement about the recall says: "Recent events have prompted Toyota to take a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position due to an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. A stuck-open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death."

The Canadian publication Wheels said today that Toyota still has not sent letters to Canadian customers about the floor mat issue. The publication quoted a Toyota Canada spokesman as saying the company is still conducting a review with Transport Canada before sending out any notification but has issued an alert on its Web site to tell Canadian customers about the issue.

Source: InsideLine