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.
I am reporting another Toyota sticky accelerator pedal. Our 1999 Sienna minivan has had 3 incidents of stuck accelerator, the most recent was Jan. 21, 2010. I believe it has become "stuck" between 40 and 45mph. Other incidents were in summer (cannot remember date) and October 2009. The 1st incident was brief and corrected quickly by pushing down on the pedal to "free it", the 2nd incident required braking and putting the car in neutral and shoving the pedal with my foot to the left and right to free it up. I was able to drive the car to the shoulder, turned the car off and then the pedal seemed to work ok, although a bit sluggish response. Our mechanic fixed the throttle body and the car has not had another incident until last week. The most recent incident was more harrowing in that there was not much room to maneuver the car since we were headed for lots of cars stopped at a traffic light. I tried to slow the car by braking hard with the left foot and shoving the accelerator. Pedal down and side to side while in neutral but this did not work quickly like the October incident. I was able to pull over to a shoulder before crashing but it took much longer for the car to stop this time, and I actually threw the car in park to stop the car! I turned off the car and after a few minutes, was composed enough to drive it. Our dealer will check the car Jan 29. The floor mat does not appear to be involved jamming into the pedal, so it is probably a mechanical "catch" that is getting hung up when the pedal is down a certain distance. We thought the safety gurus would want to know. Luckily no crashes have occurred yet!
1999 Toyota Sienna engine froze up unexpectedly. Was advised it was possibly a sludge problem. This vehicle was purchased - used - in 2002 from a local dealer who will not accept any responsibility for the estimated $6850 engine replacement cost, even though Toyota changed the engine warranty to 8 years/unlimited mileage.
My wife was driving on the Florida turnpike with our sons (ages 3 and 1) in the vehicle. The engine light came on and the engine died. She coasted over to the side of the road. She stayed in vehicle and kept the boys in their car seats as she was along a major highway. A road side assistance vehicle pulled up behind her within a minute or two. He asked my wife what the problem was. She told him and he asked her to pop the hood. She did. He opened it and flames came out of the engine compartment. Neither he nor my wife knew or suspected a fire. No flames. No smoke. No smell. No heat. He yelled to my wife to get herself and the kids out of the car. She did and they were all unharmed. He put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. Obviously, my wife and children probably would have been killed had that road side assistant not been there. Fl highway patrol arrived. The fhp officer filed incident report # fhpk05off042549. I had the vehicle towed to where I bought it, Toyota of orlando (3800 w. colonial drive orlando, fl 32808 407-298-4500) I video taped the burned engine and the vehicle from head to toe and will be happy to submit a copy to you. I was called by a Mr. Manny colon of Toyota of orlando. He explained to me that sludge build up was found and said that was probably the cause of the fire. I have records (with a different shop-Goodyear) showing that the oil was changed regularly and not terribly long ago. There seems to be an extremely well documented (and acknowledged by Toyota) sludge problem with Toyota's - including the 99 Sienna. I have found many articles on the internet and I am collecting them. I was never informed of this issue by anyone. If this issue can cause an engine fire, why are these vehicles being allowed on the road with families and children riding in them? my entire family almost died yesterday. Please investigate this. I don't want others to die if it can be avoided.
The consumer states vehicle is burning excessive oil. The consumer stated that oil was in the pan. The consumer stated that other owners have the same problem.
Oil sludge (gelling) develops in engine resulting in the necessity to replace the engine at great cost. Toyota states that they will pay for the repairs if all required maintenance has been performed, but they have refused to do so and have refused to let us speak with anyone with the authority to honor their warranty.
- Boca Raton, FL, USA
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My 1999 Toyota Sienna's engine suddenly froze up with slightly less than 72,000 miles on it. The engine is totally gone with estimates currently in the neighborhood of $8,000. This vehicle has been maintained as stated in the owners manual. The complaint is that Toyota knows there is a problem with Sienna's and has failed to do anything about notifying owners that oil changes need to be at 3000 mile intervals and that valves need to be checked very regularly. Since sludge build-up is obviously occurring in their vehicles, something needs to be done to protect the consumer.
Engine of 1999 Toyota Sienna (van) had sludged engine oil in July 2002, dealer rebuilt engine. In November 2003, oil pump failed on same vehicle. Dealer contends the failure of the oil pump is not related to the engine oil gelling/becoming sludge. Since engine was rebuilt, owner has changed oil every 3,000 miles and has receipts to prove it.
The consumer believed Toyota was not honoring the customer support program as reported by owners, in regards to oil sludge build up in engines. Updated 05/04/10.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Annapolis, MD, USA