Toyota says it will immediately tell owners of seven Toyota and Lexus vehicles over several model years to bring them to dealers to have part of the accelerator pedal cut off. The work is intended to be a stopgap fix to keep slipping floor mats from jamming them wide open. A redesigned permanent replacement pedal is expected to be available to install next spring.

On some – but not all – of the recalled models, Toyota also is promising changes to their computers to create what the industry calls "smart pedals." The system shuts off an engine if a driver stomps on the gas and brake pedals at the same time, as could happen in a panic situation such as a runaway car.

The recall follows the death of a California Highway Patrol officer and three family members in a runaway Lexus ES 350 last August. A passenger calling police from the speeding car before the crash reported that it couldn't be stopped.

Primary blame went to an improperly secured floor mat jamming the accelerator. But a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report also found that in such a situation, this Lexus' brake pedal would require 150 pounds of pressure to stop, that there was no warning that the engine start-stop button must be held for three seconds for shut off, and that neutral was hard to find on the shifter. "It was the perfect storm" of snafus, says Jake Fisher of Consumer Reports.

Toyota's fix-it plan announced Wednesday with NHTSA doesn't fully address sudden-acceleration issues, safety advocates say. They assert that:

•Other models are at risk for jammed floor mats. Owners of Toyota and Lexus models beyond the seven models covered by the recall have complained of jams and runaway vehicles, says Sean Kane of Safety Research & Strategies.

"If Toyota says they are having an unintended acceleration issue, why are (those other vehicles) not being recalled, as well?" he asks.

•Floor mats are not the only issue, so more models should get smart pedals. Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, says Toyota has had unintended acceleration complaints – including in models where floor mats are not an issue – for a decade now, starting with a Lexus model in Great Britain.

"We do not believe this is just a floor-mat problem," he says, and says Toyota should expand the range of vehicles getting the smart pedal to include all with electronic throttle linkages.

Given how the problem has dragged on, lax enforcement by an underfunded NHTSA may also be an issue, says Sid Shapiro, a Wake Forest University regulatory law expert. Toyota, he adds, could try to be more "transparent" about the troubles.