[Photo: The Lexus Enthusiast]

Luxury cars may all be well-equipped with the safest of amenities, but it only takes a single mistake to get everything wrong. That seemed to be what happened to California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three members of his family who died in a tragic vehicle accident while driving a Lexus ES350 that was loaned by a dealer while their car was being serviced—a road accident that could have possibly rooted from a simple floor mat mismatch.

The accident occurred last month, with the victims being able to call the police seconds before the crash to inform them that the accelerator was stuck and the brakes were not working.

Investigation of the accident revealed that the all-weather floor mat in the car was longer than the supposed mat for a Lexus ES350. It was believed to be a mat for another Lexus model, and it might have slipped and interfered with the accelerator pedal, thus the uncontrolled acceleration.

Because of the said accident, Toyota is instructing all its dealers to immediately and carefully inspect their vehicles and ensure that the floor mats used are correct for the vehicle and are properly placed to avoid similar accidents in the future.

It appears that this isn’t the first case of a floor mat problem involving a Lexus ES350 (although this seems to be the most fatal), as there have been previous complaints about unintended accelerations because of the same reason.

If you have a Lexus ES350 and you’re not sure about its floor mats or their placement, you must have your vehicle inspected at the dealership.