'Runaway Car' Owners Don't Believe Toyota's Explanation

Many Toyota owners don’t buy the company’s claim that floor mats are behind an accelerator malfunction, ABC reports. Toyota has ordered a 3.8 million-car recall for a problem that has vehicles suddenly and uncontrollably accelerating to high speeds, offering the explanation that an oversize floor mat pins down the accelerator pedal. Safety analysts have looked at 2,000 incidents in models including Camry, Lexus, and Prius.

"I'm absolutely certain that in my situation, it was not the floor mats," says one Prius owner who had an accident. Many of the victims blame a bug in the cars’ electronic control systems—an explanation Toyota denied in a statement, saying there was “no evidence” to support the theory. The federal Department of Transportation has been investigating and says its inquiry remains open.
(More Toyota stories.)