Toyota, Nissan issue safety recalls in U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) Toyota Motor Corp. says it will recall optional "all-weather" floor mats in 55,000 Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry passenger cars in North America because they could interfere with the accelerator and cause an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a consumer advisory about the heavy-duty rubber floor mats — used to collect rainwater, mud and snow — noting that they could shift forward, trap the gas pedal and cause the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably if unsecured.

In a separate move, Nissan Motor Co. said it was recalling almost 420,000 sport utility vehicles because of possible corrosion in the tube used to fill the gasoline tank.

The recall involves Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs from the 1997 to 2001 model years. More than 370,000 of the vehicles under recall were originally sold or are registered in 22 "cold weather" states and Washington D.C. Another 45,000 of the vehicles are in Canada.

Nissan said the recall was prompted by an inadequate amount of coating on a bracket beside the fuel filler tube assembly. In states that use road salt during the winter, a mixture of snow, water and salt could cause corrosion on the bare metal part of the tube and allow fuel to leak.