Toyota plans recall of 3.8 million vehicles

By Soyoung Kim and John Crawley

DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it will recall some 3.8 million vehicles because of the risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that killed five people.

"This is an urgent matter," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The U.S. government said it has received reports of 100 related incidents that include 17 crashes and 5 fatalities involving Toyota vehicles.

Toyota and U.S. safety regulators warned owners to remove all driver-side floor mats from eight Toyota and Lexus models manufactured in the last six years -- including the Prius hybrid -- as an immediate safety precaution.

The safety recall would be the largest ever such step for Toyota, the top global automaker that has built a reputation in the U.S. market for safety. Toyota said it was too early to provide a cost estimate for the recall.

In August, an off-duty California state trooper and three members of his family were killed in the San Diego area in a crash of a 2009 Lexus ES350.

Before the crash, a passenger in the car had called 911 and told dispatchers that the accelerator was stuck and the car had reached 120 miles per hour (193 km per hour).

The recall will cover the Camry and Avalon sedans, the Prius hybrid, the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks and luxury Lexus models, the IS250 and the IS350 as well as the ES350.

Toyota's largest previous largest recall was in 2005 for a problem with steering rods. That recall covered about 900,000 vehicles.

The pending recall will cover more than twice Toyota's annual sales in the U.S. market. The automaker sold 2.2 million cars and light trucks in the United States last year. Sales this year dropped to 1.2 million vehicles through August.

INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

Toyota's sweeping recall stems from a safety issue that has been under review for the past several years.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed an investigation into floor mats in Toyota vehicles that began in 2007 and resulted in a recall of more than 50,000 cars.

That investigation, which focused on the Lexus ES350, concluded that grooves in the floormat could trap the accelerator if the mat was not secured with retaining hooks.

Federal investigators also found many owners were not aware that it takes three seconds to turn off the electronic ignition button that comes standard on that model and the Prius.