Toyota Asks Dealers to Tie Down Deadly Mats

Finding itself in the eve of an all out storm regarding one of the largest recalls it has even been forced to do (3.8 million vehicles), Japanese manufacturer Toyota advised its dealers to attach the floor mats on the driver's side to the seat frames, to prevent them from inteffering with the vehicles' throttle.

“We have reviewed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration what we’re calling a semipermanent floor mat installation process, and we’re providing these instructions to our dealers,” Brian Lyons, Toyota spokesman was quoted as saying by Autonews.

"This allows dealers to continue selling and delivering both new and used vehicles. I would expect that all dealers have that information and have started making the modifications.”

Toyota is sending out instructions on how this simple operation should be conducted since the beginning of the month. According to the instructions, the mats will be secured to the seat's frame using nylon self-locking wire ties.

A label will be attached to the wire, through which customers and dealers will be warned not to stack other mats. toyota is also warning dealers not to place wrong mats in vehicles or flip them over.

The vehicles involved in this massive recall are 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2007-2010 Tundras. Lexus, the carmaker's luxury division, has to recall 2007-2010 ES 350, 2006-2010 IS 250 IS 350.

So far, Toyota has somewhat confirmed the death of four people in the US as a result of the faulty mats. The four were killed in an accident which took place near San Diego.