On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:04:57 -0500, mm
wrote:

On Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:46:43 -0600, Dean Hoffman
wrote:

mm wrote:
OT Toyota

If it's not the carpet that's causing Toyatas to speed up, then how
can replacing the gas pedal help?

I couldn't find the article I saw this in again. The problem is
moisture getting into the accelerator somehow. Symptoms of a possible
problem include the accelerator being harder to depress, not operating
smoothly, and or not returning to the upper position.

Well none of that is the pedal. They were still talking about the
actual pedal on Friday, the thing your foot rests on, right?

Then today Saturday they announced something but it's still about the
pedal, right?
It is the pedal ASSEMBLY - which includes the pedal, proper, a
bellcrank type linkage with a damper, on a pivot, with a return spring
and a throttle position indicator.. This whole assembly fits into a
separate case, or box, that goes through the firewall

Apparently, if all the right (or wrong) conditions occur, condensation
can form and get into the damper mechanism part of the pedal assembly,
causing it to swell or deform, increasing the friction to the point
eventually the return spring cannot ovcercome it to return the pedal
to idle.
They are working on a "field fix" to avoid having to replace all the
throttle assemblies of this type currently in the "wild". Apparently
it may be as simple as inserting a stainless steel shim into the
damper assembly to prevent the clearance from closing up and
increasing the friction.