Government checks Ford sedans for gas pedals trapped by floor mats

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into reports of accelerator pedals being trapped by floor mats in the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans.

NHTSA says its probe covers about 249,000 cars from the 2010 model year. There have been three complaints about pedals being trapped by all-weather floor mats. There are no reported crashes or injuries related to the issue.

Floor mats trapping the accelerator pedal was cited by Toyota as a key reason for reports of unintended acceleration in several vehicles. Toyota recalled 5.4 million cars to fix the floor-mat issue.

The problem, NHTSA says, occurs when consumers stack the all-weather floor mat on top the standard carpeted floor mat. The agency says that the carpeted floor mat should be removed before installing the all-weather mat.

A Ford spokesman said the automaker does not recommend stacking the floor mats.

By Dale Jewett