this problem happened twice letter to Toyota service manager

On this past Friday, Nov.28th, approx. 5:10pm I was parking my 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid (red) and had only 18 inches to advance into the corner spot. As the car was advancing at 2-3 kph, I put my foot on the brake pedal, but did not press down. It made no sense, the car would have stopped short of the final spot I wanted to be in all the way.

Suddenly, the speed accelerated, without my provocation. I squeezed down on the brake pedal but got no response. It reacted as if the power was off (car turned off).

The tree stopped my advance.

I checked the car and called CAA at about 5:30pm.

They arrived and found the car drivable. The bent metal was straightened out a bit, so as to not touch the tire. The plastic underguard was tied up with string so as to not drag on the ground.

So, I am still driving it. But I need to come to you for repairs.

But, I am kicking myself for not having reported the exact same issue just 6 months ago, around April of this year.

I was parking the car in my garage. Advancing the last 6 inches at 2-3 kph when the car suddenly accelerated. Again, my foot was already on the brake and I reacted immediately. And again, it was as if I was braking after the car was turned off.

I came within 1 inch of the garage fridge. However, I wasn't sure what exactly had happened, and waited to see the next day how the car would behave. Everything was normal. So, I simply dismissed it. I love that car, and I couldn't accept the idea that anything was wrong with it.

There are 2 other unexplainable defects with the car, and they are in the database in my car's record.

1. Intermittent speaker not working This has been evident from about the 3rd month of ownership. One service bulletin repair has been applied. Problem still there. Intermittent. Once a month on average, anything using the speakers is not audible (bluetooth,AM,FM). I usually can get the speakers to work by starting the CD. I don't use a MP3 player so I cannot tell you what happens with the MP3 input.

2. Moonroof doesn't close. I've been recently, (about 2 weeks ago) at your shop for this problem. Again, it is an intermittent problem. By the next day, everything is fine. When I saw Joe, he took my car right away and had someone in the garage do a 'reboot'. However, before the reboot was done, the problem had already gone away. This has been intermittent for over 1 year.

These may be related issues, I leave it for you to investigate. But, I stress this point most emphatically. My car is not safe!!! My car is unpredictable!!!!! My car accelerates unpredictably !!!! My brakes malfunction unpredictably !!!!!!