Toyota Canada To Recall 200,000 Vehicles With Faulty Accelerator Pedals

November 26, 2009 6:09 a.m. EST

Toronto, Ontario (AHN) - Toyota Canada may recall 200,000 vehicles with faulty accelerator pedals that get stuck in floor mats. The official announcement of recall - expected on Wednesday - is in line with Toyota parent company's recall of 3.8 million vehicles in the U.S. for the same problem.

Toyota will reduce the length of the gas pedals beginning January, while the automaker develops replacements for the problematic pedal. The replacements are expected to be ready by April. In addition to the new pedals, Toyota will install brake override systems in some vehicles as a safety precaution.

Among the Toyota models with problem pedals are the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Toyota Tacoma, 2007-10 Toyota Tundram 2007-10 Lexus ES350 and the 2006-10 Lexus IS50/350.

In a statement issued last month, the Japanese carmaker said, "Toyota takes public safety very seriously. It believes its vehicles to be among the safest on the road today."

Until the new pedal comes out, Toyota Canada advised car owners to take out any removable driver's floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat. The company issued a seven-point guideline for motorists on what they should do if their automobile continues to accelerate even if they had released the accelerator pedal.