NHTSA Complaint #10307384 — 1999 LEXUS RX300

ACCELERATOR ENTRAPMENT IN AFTERMARKET FLOOR PAD OF A LEXUS RX 300 LAST SEPTEMBER. (I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF FLOOR PAD, I BOUGHT IT IN 1999 AND INSTALLED IT THEN, IT IS ONE OF THE THICK ONES THAT IS GOOD A HOLDING SNOW AND WATER.) I FIGURED OUT THAT THE FLOOR PAD WAS THE PROBLEM WHILE THE ENGINE WAS REVVING TO 90 MPH AND THE BRAKES WOULD NOT STOP THE CAR. LEXUS COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG BUT SAID NOTHING TO ME ABOUT THIS BEING A PROBLEM IN TOYOTA PRODUCTS. NO CRASH AND NO INJURY SINCE I FIGURED IT OUT; THE FLOOR MAT FELT THICK TO MY FOOT SO I YANKED IT OUT FROM UNDER THE PEDALS. JUST REALLY SCARY.... SPECIFICALLY, I CAME OUT OF A SIDE STREET ON TO A MAIN ROAD AND NEEDED TO GET AHEAD OF TRAFFIC SO I STOMPED IN THE ACCELERATOR PRETTY HARD- NOT MY TYPICAL DRIVING STYLE- AND THEN THE ACCELERATOR STUCK, THE CAR REVVING AND GOING TO 90- 100 MPH. I STOOD ON THE BRAKES BUT IT WOULD NOT STOP. I TRIED TO THROW IT INTO PARK ( BUT THANKFULLY THE CAR WOULDN'T LET ME- I WAS THINKING ABOUT TRYING TO USE THE PARKING BRAKE TO STOP IT, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE A HAND BRAKE SO THAT'S WHY I WAS SO STUPID AND TRIED TO THROW IT IN PARK. THE NOISE FROM THAT WAS SO HORRIFYING I DID NOT PUT IT IN NEUTRAL). THEN I FELT THE LUMPY FLOOR MAT AND YANKED IT OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE PEDALS. IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT AND THERE WERE NO CARS ON THE ROAD SO I HAD A MILE OF CLEAR ROAD TO WORK THIS OUT. CAR HAD ABOUT 275,000 MILES ON IT. BUILT IN JULY 1998, JT6H10U7X0032830 IS SERIAL I CAN'T GIVE YOU THE EXACT DATE BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND THE SERVICE RECEIPT- SORRY!