Major Toyota events leading up to runaway Prius (AP)

• March 8 — Driver James Sikes speeds along a San Diego County freeway in a 2008 Toyota Prius for 20 minutes, reaching 94 miles per hour, before a Highway Patrol officer helps slow down the car. Toyota, the California Highway Patrol and federal safety officials say they will investigate.

• March 2 — U.S. Prius sales rise 10 percent in February despite earlier recalls over faulty brakes and floor mats that can trap gas pedals, causing unwanted acceleration.

• Feb. 24 — Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologizes for the Toyota's millions of recalls before House Oversight and Reform Committee.

• Feb. 23 — Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. President Jim Lentz says recalls may not "totally solve" sudden acceleration problems.

• Feb. 17 — Toyota president says the automaker will have a brake-override system in all future models, so the brakes will override the accelerator in an emergency.

• Feb. 8 — Toyota recalls the 2010 Prius and other hybrids worldwide because the brakes can appear to fail momentarily.

• Jan. 27: Toyota expands an earlier floor-mat recall by 1.09 million vehicles.

• Jan. 26: Toyota temporarily suspends U.S. sales of eight models whose accelerator pedals assemblies can become sticky.

• Jan. 21: Toyota recalls 2.3 million Toyota vehicles in the U.S. because the accelerator pedal assembly can become sticky, causing unintended acceleration. The Prius isn't included in that recall.

• Nov. 25: Toyota announces a plan to fix the floor-mat problem by shortening the accelerators so they won't get caught in the floor mat. It also expands the number of vehicles involved to a total of 4.2 million.

• Oct. 5: Toyota recalls 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the U.S. because floor mats could catch the gas pedal. The recall includes 2004-2009 Prius hybrids.

• Sept. 30: Toyota warns owners to remove floor mats from their vehicles because of the potential for them to trap the accelerator, causing sudden acceleration.

• Aug. 28, 2009: Fatal crash in Santee, Calif. involving loaner 2009 Lexus ES350 with all-weather floor mat from another Lexus product. Previous driver of loaner vehicle had reported entrapment incident to dealership.

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