Gary brings purported proof.
TOYOTA FAILS TO PROVE THAT PEPSKI SUA WAS CAUSED BY A FLOOR MAT
From SRS blog post nhtsa-denies-latest-toyota-sua-petition-floor-mats-blame
"NHTSA’s denial of the latest petition asking for a probe into Toyota SUA problems beyond the floormats was submitted by Jeffery Pepski, of Plymouth, Minn. who was able to keep his 2007 Lexus from crashing as it sped under its own command for several miles one February evening, until suddenly stopping. But the incident was so disturbing, he refused to drive the vehicle again and filed a detailed petition to the agency in March, describing his nearly uncontrollable drive home, reaching speeds of almost 80 miles per hour. Applying the brakes with all the force he could muster, Pepski was able to slow the vehicle to 40 mph.
In his original complaint to the agency, Pepski noted: 'I alternated between pumping the accelerator pedal and pulling up on it from the underside with my right foot as it became clear that the throttle was stuck in an open position. The vehicle continued to speed back up to over 65 mph with less pressure on the brake pedal.'
Pepski tried pressing the ignition button, and shifting the vehicle into neutral, without bringing the event to an end. Suddenly, the acceleration stopped. Toyota chalked it up to a misplaced floor mat, and denied Pepski’s request that it buy back the vehicle. In May, NHTSA and a Toyota representative inspected Pepski’s vehicle and concluded that Pepski’s OE carpet mat had entrapped the pedal.
Pepski was not persuaded:
'I was trapped in a runaway vehicle,' Pepski told SRS. 'I was able to push down on the accelerator as well as push up the accelerator with my foot. If the floor mat had been the cause, I would have dislodged it and the acceleration I was experiencing would have gone away and that didn’t happen.'
He asked the Toyota representative to demonstrate how the floor mat could encroach upon the gas pedal – and remain there while a driver pushed and pulled the pedal.
'They couldn’t demonstrate that,' Pepski says. 'If they can’t duplicate it, they say it didn’t happen, but computer glitches in cars can happen, just like they happen on your home computer. Glitches happen all of the time. Most have no serious consequences, but some do.' ”