[101lifts2]

IMO...it's not the pedal...rather the pedal design.

When you push an accelerator pedal, it doesn't return with as much force as before. If it did, you would have a hard time controlling the throttle. Therefore, there is a hysterisis going on. This is the reason why Toyota is putting a piece of metal behind the pedal to limit how far the pedal can go on the hysterisis curve (meaning more force on the return stroke).

Honestly, I don't think Toyota knows what is going on, but I also don't think these pedals are defective. They could be spec'd out incorrectly.

Denso pedals FWIW, uses a different hysterisis approach.