At least one aspect of Toyota's recent recall of Toyota and Lexus vehicles has come to an end: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has, by denying the petition from Jeffrey A. Pepski of Plymouth, Minn., for a formal investigation, closed one probe into the sudden-acceleration issues that prompted the massive recall of almost 4 million vehicles.

Pepski had experienced an unintended acceleration from 60 mph to more than 80, despite attempts to dislodge the stuck accelerator and fully deploy the foot brake; he decelerated only after putting the vehicle into neutral and killing the engine. This is similar to a problem that allegedly contributed to a fatal Lexus crash in San Diego that killed a CHiP officer and his family.

Toyota has blamed its floor mats which, it says, can slide forward and jam the accelerator. The company has instructed Toyota and Lexus drivers to remove those floor mats until they have been taken through the full recall process. Toyota is looking into longer-term solutions for the issue, which has plagued them for almost a decade (this marks the fifth time NHTSA has denied a petition for an investigation into unintended acceleration issues since 2000).