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.
In this initial incident, I was traveling on a curvy road at posted speed limit of 30mph. My vehicle suddenly slowed, as if I was applying the brakes, which I was not, and my steering was compromised. In addition the vsc indicator and symbol flashed on my dashed and beeped. The road was dry. This has occurred 10+ times since. I have brought it to my mechanic, without turning the engine off after the occurrence so that he could "read" the computer but there is no evidence available. We have brought it to the Toyota dealer. They "rebooted" the sensors and said it should be fine. It has continued to happen, on the freeway going uphill at 55 mph, going downhill at 60 mph and has been close to causing a rear end collision each time.
Starting from a stop and accelerating up to approx 20 mph, ABS tracs vsc lights illuminated with beeping alert, and activation of brakes causing a sudden deceleration. The road was dry, level pavement, no ice, no gravel, driving straight and the brakes were not being applied. There were no conditions that would necessitate the traction control. As the brakes were not being applied at the time of the incident, the rear brake lights would not have illuminated. Therefore, any driver behind our vehicle would not have been alerted to the sudden deceleration which could have resulted in a collision. Fortunately this was not the case. This is the 2nd time that this issue has occurred with this vehicle. The first was in Nov. 2007 (46000 miles in the vehicle). Toyota service was not able to find a fault, no codes stored and not able to replicate at that time. They said that they would have a corporate contact get in touch with me. I never heard from them. Nothing was resolved. There are at least two tsbs related to the vsc issue (tsb BR004-03 and BR008-04). Neither was implemented.
2004 Toyota Sienna. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle accident and shift lock solenoid recall notice, received after accident. The consumer and her husband were involved in an accident, when the vehicle suddenly surge forward, after turning into a parking spot. The vehicle violently crashed into the concrete storefront wall. Also, the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was totaled. Updated 08/07/14
Complete loss of power while in motion entering freeway. Previously had noticed steering difficulty at times and engine light going on, but had always stopped after a short while. After the failure it was diagnosed as failure of crank shaft pulley. We found that Toyota had done a recall for this issue, but had not included our vehicle in the recall or notified us. Toyota denied coverage of the required repair. Driver and two small children in care at time of failure, just about to enter freeway. Over $800 in repairs.
I attempted to merge onto the expressway and after pushing the gas pedal the van suddenly accelerated beyond my control. I eased off the pedal and the van continued to serge ahead with no way for me to stop or slow it down as the brakes would not work. I saw the RPM reach level 6 and speed increase to 70 in seconds but as it was the expressway, I was able to keep my distance from cars in front of me. I switched the lever to the neutral position and the van slowed down and then I went back to drive and it roared back up to 70 mph with the RPM again at 6 and I tried turning the cruise control on and then braking to see if it would shut down the gas but no luck. I went back and forth from D to N for about 2 minutes and then on one of the movements from N to D it shut down back to normal. I dropped the van off at my Toyota dealer the next day and am waiting to see what "headquarters " decides.
- Middletown, MD, USA
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My car is a 2004 Toyota Sienna AWD xle limited. The vehicle will activate the vehicle skid control (vsc) without warning while driving on smooth dry roads. The effect is for the vehicle to apply brakes strongly to specific wheels pulling the car strongly to one side. This happens most frequently while driving winding roads and in corners. It has become more regular it it's occurrence and has happened on relatively straight sections of highway most recently. A similar situation occurred approx 2 years ago. At that time the retailer repaired it by adjusting the steering sensor used by the vsc and stated that this should be done periodically dependent on alignment work done on the vehicle. This solved the issue at that time. It is very dangerous both to the vehicle which requires great effort to maintain control and the vehicles following it which are at risk of rear ending the effected car. The Toyota retailer initially indicated that a catalyst failure was the cause (yes they said this). I was told that the cat failure could induce other brake and engine related failures. The cat was replaced and the vsc failure has resumed. At this time no failures of any kind are indicated. I have researched this topic and find about a dozen identical failures on 2014 Toyota Siennas documented in various user forums. As there are only a few documented on the NHTSA site I am concerned that the situation is under reported. Many of these user forums indicate that the symptoms were reported to the manufacturer. My most recent trouble report case number from Toyota is [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Driver had foot on brake to complete parking in driveway when car had sudden surge of acceleration and 'jumped' into a wheelbarrow and a pile of dirt beyond and the vehicle came to a stop. Dealer checked car and said there was nothing wrong with it.
We will be going anywhere from 35 to 55 miles and our vsc light comes on and the van slows, other times the speed will slow it self and than will speed up on it's own. When that (vsc) light and sound comes on the van will also skid. There must be something wrong with vsc system. This van is still in very good condition, we sure swish someone could tell us what the problem is this seems to be a very serious matter. Reading all the other complaints this is not random and Toyota should give this matter serious consideration.
Vsc (vehicle stability control) is activated in curves at speeds between 25 mph and 60 mph. Surface is dry and curves are gradual with appropriate and safe driving speeds. The vsc light goes on and warning buzzer goes off. The brakes shudder and the vehicle is de-throttled. Vehicle control is reduced for 3 to 5 seconds and then the vsc deactivates. Concerned that this will be a problem when the road surface is slick. Dealer could not find malfunction codes and could not duplicate problem so no fix. This situation occurs almost every day at least once. Keeping incident log. Web sites indicate this could be steering sensor calibration. Dealer cleaned sensor parts and this did not resolve problem. Contacted Toyota and they said to continue working with the dealer. Tsb is out for yaw sensor failure and steering calibration.
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while at a complete stop the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle accelerated through a parking lot and crashed into two vehicles. The failure was the third occurrence since of unintended acceleration in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken by the United States automobile association and was being held in storage. The vehicle was not inspected for the cause of the failure. The failure and the current mileages were 97,000. Updated 12/13/12 the consumer the first occurence, on January 11/2012, the vehicle was being backed out of a parking space, then the vehicle acclerated. A light fixture was damaged on a side walk. The next occurence, on January 26, 2012, the vehicle was being pulled into a parking space, the vehicle ran over the curb and damaged a disability sign. Updated 1/2/2013
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While stopped in parking space with the gear in reverse, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into a lamp post. The failure occurred a second time while stopped on an incline with the brake pedal depressed. The contact then crashed into two other vehicles. The police reported to the scene and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an auto shop where it was inspected by the insurance company. The vehicle was deemed as destroyed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 87,000.
The vsc has activated multiple times on my van for no apparent reason. While driving at any speed and usually in a turn, the vsc light will flash, the warning beep will beep, and the ABS brakes will automatically be applied and the engine will quickly decelerate. I have almost been rear-ended several times because the van will suddenly decide to decelerate. I have no control over when this happens and no control of the van when it does!
The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle speed control warning light illuminated and the front driver side wheel hesitated. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle lost power abnormally. The failure was experienced numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 100,000.
As car was being driven in a parking lot the brakes were suddenly applied as the vsc dashboard light was lite. The car vibrated and slowed in a near stop. Brake pedal was nearly useless. The conditions were clear with a dry mostly level pavement. Attempted to drive vehicle about one mile to home not knowing if incident would be repeated. However, it was repeated without warning about every 5 to 10 seconds. Speed never exceeded about 10 miles per hour.
The vehicle stability control has been engaging when it should not be. While driving at moderate speeds, into a slight turn, the vsc engages for a few seconds slowing down the car. It has been doing this now for the past few months while driving at moderate speeds when it should not be engaging. It is a little disconcerting when this happens being I know that it should not be doing this at that time.
Driving my 2004 Toyota Sienna 65mph on the highway on dry pavement the vsc light went on, a buzzer sounded, and I was unable to steer or brake the vehicle. The steering wheel started moving rapidly right and left causing the car to fishtail and the brake pedal went going in and out on its own. Everything went back to normal after about 20 seconds or so, and I pulled off into the breakdown lane. I then pulled out again slowly to get my car in a safer area and it happened again. This time I was going much slower but it was horrifying none the less. I then pulled off the road and had the car towed to the Toyota dealer. I found that a technical service bulletin had been issued on my car in 2005 and that the steering angle sensor was the culprit. The bulletin says that "some customers may experience an intermittent vsc activation." Owners of the 2004 Sienna have not been notified of this problem, which after experiencing is clearly a safety issue, and there should have been a recall rather than a tsb. The tsb seems cleverly worded to avoid the fact that a driver could loose all control of the steering wheel and brakes which is clearly a safety issue.
The contact owns 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while attempting to enter a parking space, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into a concrete wall. The air bags then deployed and the contact sustained injuries to the knee after striking the steering wheel. The manufacturer was not contacted in regards to the failure nor was the vehicle taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The repairs and failure were being handled by the contacts insurance company. The vehicle was towed to an auto repair center. The failure mileage was 25,000.
2004 Toyota Sienna van, the vehicle stability control system (vsc) goes into skid prevention mode and automatically applies the brakes, disconnects the accelerator, and selects one side or wheel to apply braking force to. This has the effect of causing the car to shudder, skid and move dangerously close to the outside edge of a curve. This has occurred 15-20 times in my car since its purchase. I have taken it for repair by the dealer three times. Some "rusted" parts were replaced the first time. The next two times, I was told the vehicle was working properly. The vsc activated at speeds that were at or below the speed limit and in conditions where no realistic possibility of a skd was present. The problem is intermittent as I have driven over the same roads at the same or higher speeds for years without activation of the vsc. When it does activate it is frightening, and it causes a significant danger of losing control of the car or veering out of your lane. After a period of no activity, I have suddenly had 7 incidents in the last week occurring between Dec. 24, 2010 and January 2, 2011.the problem first arose approximately three years ago. There have been 4 or 5 isolated incidents, but now there has been a serious and dramatic increase in the frequency of the vsc failure.
While parking our 2004 Toyota Sienna mini van, taking my foot off the accelerator and stepping on the brake pad, the vehicle began to accelerate rapidly. The acceleration was so rapid that the tires squealed as if they were burning rubber. The vehicle stopped when it hit a parked car in front of me.
I was driving into a parking space at approx 10 mph when the vehicle accelerated while I was parking it. Thank god a tree was in front of the space or I would have hit a person or vehicle. It happened on 9/27/2005 and I was told I must have hit the gas. Since my husband works for a Toyota dealership I let it go. I now realize I should report it to you as my husband knows of other accidents since then. The vehicle was a 2004 Toyota Sienna which was not included in the recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Rafael, CA, USA