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Toyota Fix for the Floormat


Catalepsy

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Boy, this really exemplifies those "think smart" commercials Toyota uses to convince customers that buying a Toyota is the smartest thing you can do these days. My prediction is someone will cut the zip ties to clean the mats (most likely at a car wash) and they will NOT be replaced causing another stuck accellerator. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

WAY TO GO TOYOTA!!

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I imagine the people at the dealer level would be looking to resolve this in some way other than this. They can't be serious. WTF is going on in Japan? Are they all doing ludes?? You can't tell a customer of a 40K+ vehicle that their floor mats need to be held in place by a couple of ugly looking obviously multi-after thought tie wraps!! Some people wouldn't want to see that on their basement FLOOR let alone the floor of their PREMIUM Lexus $45,000 vehicle. That is truly rediculous. I can't even imagine F'ed up GM doing this on their WORST DAY!

 

Come on Toyota...REALLY??? :redcard:

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Ok, I STILL do NOT understand the problem here. The mat in the Lexus in the Jalopnik story clearly shows the "hook" and the grommet in the mat. Is this "semi-permanent" solution supposed to be a failsafe against an owner who didn't properly install the mat in the first place?

 

What is to stop the owner from snipping the ties to clean the mats, etc and (just like they are too stupid to reattach the mat originally) are too stupid to "re-tie" the mat? To the point: Even if my mat was not properly istalled, the only way it could "pin" the accelerator is by going and over the top of it. It doesn't (and can't) "catch" the accelerator through interference (like the commonly circulated image has shown).

 

I would never purposely defend Toyota, but I do feel nearly all of this really is driver error. Either by 1) not attaching the mat correctly, 2) putting an aftermarket, all-weather mat on top of the carpeted mat or 3) using a mat from a different model altogether. I know that with my WeatherTechs, those are a serious bitch to get hooked, but I don't quit until I get it done right---those are rigid and could easily pin the accelerator (if the driver is a Toyota owner, I mean a complete moron, I mean...uhhh).

Edited by BrewfanGRB
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I believe the hook itself was coming off, so even if the mat were properly installed/hooked in, the problem still existed, so while some instances may've been driver error, certainly not all were.

 

Oh. I didn't know that, thanks. The hook must not be installed the same way ours is, then, because mine sure feels like it's bolted into the floor.

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The whole floor mat issue in vehicles has always been a pain in the ass for the customer.

 

In places that see winter you need winter mats to catch all the crud and to date NO manufacturer has ever allowed for this from the factory. Something so simple that has never been adressed.

 

What I would like to know is why no one has used the Weathertech Floorliner style mats as factory equipment ?

 

 

Weathertech tech floor liner floor mats

 

( Ford are you listening ?)

 

They are basically molded to the shape of the floor pan and will not move even if the hook comes out.

These mats do have allowance for the hook but even if the hook comes out the mats will still not move too jam the accelerator. The mats are pretty rigid and will not fold or bunch up.

I have had them in almost everything I have owned. And just about the very first thing I do when I get a new vehicle is toss the factory mats right in the garbage and install Weathertech floor liners.

 

They are with out a doubt one of the best aftermarket items you can put in a vehicle.

 

 

As for Toyota and the zip ties.

 

2 points

 

#1 They are not using UV resistant cable ties according to the picture. :doh:

 

In a year or two at most (if the owner does not pull them before then) they will go brittle and break.

So I guess part of Toyota's schedualed maitanence from now on will include floor mat cable tie replacment. :finger:

 

#2 They are using the cheapest ones they could find.

 

These style of cable ties are notorious for breaking off the molded in locking barb and not staying secure. The plastic tit that locks the tie breaks off, and you can bet your ass where it gets anything colder than -15 that is exactly what will happen.

 

 

Since they did decide to hillbilly the fix the least they could done was use Thomas & Betts UV resistiant Ty-Raps that have a stainless steel locking barb.

Not only did Toyota come up with a "Forrest Gump Auto Repair" fix for the problem , but they even manged to screw it up.

 

If this is the "NEW" Toyota, Ford or even Chysler for that matter has nothing to worry about.

 

 

Matthew

Edited by matthewq4b
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The whole floor mat issue in vehicles has always been a pain in the ass for the customer.

 

In places that see winter you need winter mats to catch all the crud and to date NO manufacturer has ever allowed for this from the factory. Something so simple that has never been adressed.

 

What I would like to know is why no one has used the Weathertech Floorliner style mats as factory equipment ?

 

 

Weathertech tech floor liner floor mats

 

( Ford are you listening ?)

 

They are basically molded to the shape of the floor pan and will not move even if the hook comes out.

These mats do have allowance for the hook but even if the hook comes out the mats will still not move too jam the accelerator. The mats are pretty rigid and will not fold or bunch up.

I have had them in almost everything I have owned. And just about the very first thing I do when I get a new vehicle is toss the factory mats right in the garbage and install Weathertech floor liners.

 

They are with out a doubt one of the best aftermarket items you can put in a vehicle.

 

 

As for Toyota and the zip ties.

 

2 points

 

#1 They are not using UV resistant cable ties according to the picture. :doh:

 

In a year or two at most (if the owner does not pull them before then) they will go brittle and break.

So I guess part of Toyota's schedualed maitanence from now on will include floor mat cable tie replacment. :finger:

 

#2 They are using the cheapest ones they could find.

 

These style of cable ties are notorious for breaking off the molded in locking barb and not staying secure. The plastic tit that locks the tie breaks off, and you can bet your ass where it gets anything colder than -15 that is exactly what will happen.

 

 

Since they did decide to hillbilly the fix the least they could done was use Thomas & Betts UV resistiant Ty-Raps that have a stainless steel locking barb.

Not only did Toyota come up with a "Forrest Gump Auto Repair" fix for the problem , but they even manged to screw it up.

 

If this is the "NEW" Toyota, Ford or even Chysler for that matter has nothing to worry about.

 

 

Matthew

 

Not everybody wants rubber mats....

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Not everybody wants rubber mats....

They aren't even "rubber". They are a fairly hard plastic. I have a set in my Montego, because that is all I can find in a decent all weather mat. He's right, they stay put. I can dump a ton of snow and sand out of them. But they don't look as good as my Nifty Catch-All's. But the Nifty's will move, just like a stock mat.

 

However, back to the hooks. The hook in my Montego is solid. Feels like it's a bolt direct to the floor. It doesn't budge.

 

I for one would be pissed if Toyota's fix on my car is to zip tie the mats. In a situation where you have some loose wiring under the hood or car, no big deal. But with something as visible as the mat, and something I take out fairly often, ties wouldn't do it.

 

But I'm sure the Kool-Aid lovers will be touting that this is just a temporary fix until Toyota has a permanent one. Because Toyota is the best in the world and would never cut corners. Because they take care of their customers! They always do, forever and forever, amen...

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