WASHINGTON — Toyota recalled 2.17 million vehicles in the United States on Thursday to address accelerator pedals that could become entrapped in floor mats or jammed in driver’s side carpeting, prompting federal regulators to close their investigation into the embattled automaker.
The Transportation Department said it had reviewed more than 400,000 pages of Toyota documents to determine whether the scope of the company’s recalls for pedal entrapment was sufficient.
“As a result of the agency’s review, (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) asked Toyota to recall these additional vehicles, and now that the company has done so, our investigation is closed,” said David Strickland, NHTSA administrator.
Toyota has recalled more than 14 million vehicles globally to fix gas pedals and other safety problems since 2009. The company has received intense scrutiny from the government since August 2009, when four people were killed in a high-speed crash involving a Lexus near San Diego.
U.S. regulators largely cleared the company this month, saying that electronic flaws were not to blame for reports of unintended acceleration that led to hundreds of complaints.
Newly recalled vehicles include:
• About 600,000 4Runner SUVs from the 2003-09 model years.
• 761,000 RAV4 compact SUVs from the 2006-10 model years.
• 17,000 Lexus LX 570s from the 2008-11 model years.
• 372,000 Lexus RX 330, RX 350 and RX 400H vehicles from the 2004-07 model years.
• 397,000 Highlander SUVs and hybrids from 2004-06.
• 20,000 Lexus GS 300 and GS 350 all-wheel-drive vehicles from 2006-07.
