This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Driver concluded business at a drive through atm at a local shopping mall. Vehicle was shifted into 'drive' and at that instant the engine started racing at high speed and the vehicle accelerated rapidly. The driver depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not stop. The engine was still racing at top speed and the vehicle was picking up momentum. The driver pumped the brakes several times, but no feedback response could be felt. The rapid, unintended acceleration caused the vehicle to travel across the centerline and into the opposite direction of traffic. With opposing traffic approaching the driver turned the vehicle sharply to the right in an effort to avoid a collision. Seeing a number of cars stopped at the approaching intersection to the main road, the driver continued to steer the car hard to the right. The vehicle then went over an embankment and struck a steel light pole resulting in total loss of the vehicle and significant injuries to the driver. Total travel distance of the vehicle from acceleration to impact was approximately 300 feet. Total incident time and final speed are uncertain.
: the contact stated while driving 10 mph in a parking lot and attempting to maneuver into a parking space the vehicle accelerated to 30 mph without warning crashing into a pole and causing damage to a fence. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was taken and the dealer was notified. The vehicle was totaled by the insurance company. Updated 10/13/06.
Response to letter received from claims administrator, for Toyota, alleging that all systems were functioning properly for 2002 Toyota Camry. The manufacturer claimed that all systems were functioning properly when the consumer's vehicle suddenly accelerated and ended up inside a travel Agency. Several months before the accident, the battery went completely dead. The consumer was informed the battery would not hold a charge and a new battery was needed. Updated 02/23/10
3 incidents of sudden accelerations, the last one causing property damage. The dealer said nothing wrong with car. I found many other people on-line that had same problem. Someone is going to get killed in a crosswalk or parking lot. I'm afraid to drive it or sell it to another with this problem.
- Costa Mesa, CA, USA
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: the contact stated the vehicle has lurched forward six times since purchase. This happens with the brake pedal depressed and with the vehicle at a stop or while traveling. The vehicle has been to the dealership, but the problem could not be duplicated. The manufacturer has been alerted.
Car accelerated without driver input on two separate occasions. The last event resulted in smashing through a plate glass window of a travel Agency, injuring one employee. The car ended up totally in the Agency, halted by an interior wall. The police reported skid marks on the sidewalk in front of the Agency, as well as within the Agency as I attempted to brake the car. There is also evidence that the right front tire was rotating very rapidly, so much so that when the car stopped the tire burned a hole in the carpet. Carpet threads are embedded in the right front wheel tire. On the one hand, the marks on the carpet and sidewalk indicate that skid marks were made by all three wheels, while the right front wheel obviously was burning rubber. Updated 03/01/06
I had new car battery installed by local Toyota dealership late on 12/2/05. The car seemed to shift and sound markedly differently after driving the car off the lot with the new battery. Three days later my 4 cylinder, automatic 2002 4D-S Toyota Camry was left in "D" with the overdrive button remained engaged. My foot was on the brake pedal. I did not drift. I'd been stopped for a while at a "T" intersection for a while and not moving; nor were any other vehicles moving. This particular intersection is controlled by a long signal light. I was aimed straight ahead, but was the third car back from the stop line, signaling to turn left. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like an airplane engine roaring, getting ever louder. My foot was still on the brake. The engine raced, surged abruptly caused my car to accelerate forcefully into the stopped car in front of me. The car in front of me was pushed into an SUV in front of it. The force of impact caused my engine to shut down. The driver in front of me appeared to have a whiplash injury. All told, there was about $1500 worth of damage to my car and it was estimated the smaller and older car in front of me sustained about $2500 worth of damage. I had the car towed to the dealer. The local Toyota dealer informed me they "found nothing wrong with the car." The car was then towed to a shop for body repairs. Upon the return of my Camry, it still had a bit of a vibratory and auditory distortion that was atypical for the 3 previous years. I also realized that the brakes were barely working. At a return visit to the dealer, I was told my brakes were almost "completely gone" and that I needed new brakes. However, I am certain that the marked and sudden decline in my brake function was a result of the brakes attempting to hold my car back as the engine surged forward.
Problems with 2002 Toyota Camry. August 2003 - driving along. Husband began to stop slowly to pull up to a light and it felt like it was not breaking but car continued to accelerate so husband let off brake and reapplied the brake and it finally stopped the surging. 2. while getting gas we were driving around it to find an pump, we were pressing the brake and car was trying to accelerate against the brake as it was applied. Let off brake and reapplied quickly and car stopped normally. January 2004 husband began to pull into a parking space and as he started to brake again the car was trying to accelerate and so he let off the brake, reapplied it (all very quickly) and was able to park barely missing hitting vehicle beside him. March 27, 2004, we took our vehicle once again to dealership stating the vehicle was surging while driving. October 2004 on a trip to gatlinburg, Tennessee- husband applied the brakes, car continued to accelerate-reapplied the brakes- surging/acceleration stopped. October 3, 2005 trip to North Carolina on 7 separate occasions the car engine started racing and the car had to be put in neutral and the brake held tightly. On one occasion as while attempting to stop behind a school bus full of children, almost hit the bus from behind because accelerator went to full acceleration as we applied the brakes. Fortunately, my husband put the car in neutral and it was revving at full throttle. He hit accelerator pedal as we was in neutral, and acceleration went back to idle speed. December 5, 2005 while in we were stopped in a line of traffic waiting at a light the engine once again started racing had to put it in neutral, and again it revved at full throttle while holding brake pedal down tightly'' otherwise would have rear ended cars in front of us. Put car in neutral, released brake pedal and then pressed down on the accelerator- engine speed went to idle speed.
I started the car, and I released the brake and started in reverse. After a few seconds, the car suddenly sped up to about 45 mph in reverse. The car would not stop even as I pressed the brake, and it then hit two cars. That is when it stopped. I tried to put the car in drive to go back into the parking space, but it jolted forward and skipped two parking bumpers. At that time, I hit another car. At that point, I left the car alone seeing as there was something clearly wrong. In the end, my car sustained damaged to the front and to the back totaling $10,111.60. This does not include the damage to the three other cars, the totals of damage of which I am not aware of although they are claiming my insurance. I took the car to a local Toyota dealer having conducted research on what happened to me. I found that there have been claims against Toyota for problems with electronic throttle where there is a sudden, involuntary acceleration. I showed the service department all the research I had gathered from the internet. The dealer checked the car's computer, and they claimed they found nothing wrong with the electronic throttle or with the car's computer. They claimed that air pockets between the acceleration and the brake caused the problem. As a result, they fixed the structural damage to my car, but they maintained that nothing was wrong with the electronic components, specifically the throttle, of the car.
Contact states while his car was parked, he put his foot on the brake in order to shift it into drive and the car accelerated causing the vehicle to go across two sidewalks and a hospital lawn and into two trees. He reports having no problems with the car prior to this incident. Updated 12/7/2005 -
Dt contact stated the vehicle surged forward on two different occasions. When putting the foot on the brakes to slow the vehicle down and to come to a stop, the vehicle surged forward. The first time this happened it caused the contact's vehicle to rear end another vehicle. The vehicle is at the dealers now. At this point the dealer is not sure what is wrong with the vehicle.
Brakes were unable to bring car to a stop, instead the car accelerated. Car finally came to a stop after crashing into the house. Car was damaged and the body and fenders of the car were repaired but nothing was repaired which led to this occurrence in regards to the mechanics of the car. In addition airbags did not deploy on impact.
Contact states the speedometer fluctuated while driving and the RPM gauge fluctuated on its own. The first three times this happened the car slowed down. Consumer felt the shift change while she was driving. This last time the speedometer gauge went up to 60 mph while she stopped in traffic, and when she accelerated the speedometer shot up to 80 mph. She took vehicle to a dealership 4 times, and they told her that nothing was wrong. She tried to contact the manufacturer, but has not been able to reach them. This happened since June 2004. They changed the transmission, and the speed sensor in June -2004 after the first 3 times this happened. Currently, they told her nothing was wrong with the car.
Our car is a 2002 Toyota Camry le with the 4-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, and cruise control but it does not have ABS. I purchased the car from the original owner in October 2003 and, at the time of the accident, had about 35,000 miles on it. Based on the original owner''s records and my own, no electrical work had ever been done on the car and the battery was the original. The accident occurred on July 22, 2004 in mission viejo, California in broad daylight and in clear weather. Colleen was alone in the car and was not hurt. The air bag did not deploy. There was about $3,500 in damage. The accident occurred as my wife was parking the car when she arrived at her doctor''s office for an appointment. As she made a left turn into a parking stall, she slowed to almost a stop half way into the parking space. The gear lever was in the normal drive position and her foot was on the brake. Suddenly, the car lurched forward jumping over the cement parking space bumper, over the curb at the end of the parking space, and squarely into a block wall just a foot beyond the curb. The surge in acceleration must have lasted less than a second since the total distance traveled was only about 6 to 8 feet and yet resulted in $3,500 damage. My wife was really shaken by the incident and has driven very little ever since. She swore her foot was on the brake all the time. Later, however, since there seemed to be no other possible cause, she convinced herself that her foot must have slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator. Eventually, she accepted blame for the accident and, as a result, our insurance company raised our rates considerably. After the car was repaired, I took it to a Toyota dealer and told them about the accident. I asked them to check for any problems with the accelerator and they found everything operating ''normally''. no problems were ever identified with the transmission or the accelerator.
The consumer stated that the vehicle accelerated while in reverse for the second time. The vehicle made J like turn and hit an electrical box which caused the power to go out in approximately three homes and damaged the vehicle. When the vehicle was first delivered in April 2002 this happened. But the consumer thought it was because it was a new vehicle. On July 5, 2005 a police report was filed, and the vehicle was towed and was taken to bell Toyota. While the vehicle was in reverse it continued to accelerate.
The consumer was involved in an accident after his vehicle suddenly accelerated and did not stop when the brakes were applied. All computer pulses were tested and nothing was found wrong. When the shifter was placed in the drive position, the vehicle took off. The brakes were applied but did not stop the vehicle. The consumer steered to avoid the parked vehicles and crashed into a church.
After the vehicle was pulled through the car wash while idling the attendant motioned the consumer to drive the vehicle out of the car wash. Consumer shifted vehicle into drive and it suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated and lurched forward at high speed and hit a tree before stopping. Consumer and passenger sustained minor injuries to the body, but they declined transportation to the local hospital. Manufacturer and the dealer were notified.
I was turining into the parking area at my complex I attempted to slow down and applied the brakes as I normall would to turn into my parking space. As I started to brake, the car started to accelerate. I made a conscious effort to lift my foot off both pedals to be sure I was not pressing the accelerator instead of the brake. The vehicle kept accelerating. I immediately started to apply the brake, which did not slow the vehicle. When I realized that I was not slowing down, I aborted the turn into the parking space and straightened out the vehicle to avoid hitting other park cars and to give more time and distance to safely brake. The vehcile would not slow, and kept accelerating, causing it to go up and over the concrete curb/sidewalk, and right into a set of stairs at the complex. No one was injured, myself included, but the staircase, needless to say, is demolished, as is the entire front end of my Camry. Vehicle is at body shop as of now, no assessment has been done. I did, however, earlier this evening simply log onto google where I typed in "Toyota Camry accelerator sticking" and came up with the following link: subscript.bna.com/samples/pld.nsf/0/33A2947408D24D5185256E5300035cac?opendocument. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle was running while the driver was sitting inside of the parking lot. Vehicle suddenly accelerated uncontrollably. Driver applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. Driver was unable to maintain control of the vehicle and it crashed into a brick wall. Upon impact, both air bags did not deploy. No injuries reported.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mcmurray, PA, USA