2006 TOYOTA AVALON Complaints

UNINTENTIONAL AND UNEXPECTED UNLOCKING OF THE TELESCOPIC STEERING COLUMN WHILE DRIVING CAUSING POTENTIAL LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT HAD THE REPAIR DONE ON FEB 17TH FOR THE RECALL ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE CONTACT DID NOT HAVE A PROBLEM UNTIL THE REPAIR WAS DONE, WHICH WAS THE PLACEMENT OF A METAL SHIM THAT WAS PUT UNDER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. ON FEBRUARY 28 THERE WAS AN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WITH THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS PARKING THE VEHICLE AND WHILE BACKING UP THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED, HE THEN SHIFTED THE VEHICLE INTO DRIVE AND IT WENT FORWARD AND HIT THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF HIM. THE CONTACT THEN PUT THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL AND TURNED THE IT OFF AND IT STOPPED. THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP REVVING UP UNTIL IT WAS TURNED OFF. NO ONE WAS INJURED, THERE WAS ONLY BUMPER DAMAGE. A POLICE OFFICER WAS THERE AND HE TOOK A REPORT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND CONTACT WAS TOLD TO FILE A CLAIM,#1003101250. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 31,859.

UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OF 2006 TOYOTA AVALON AND HEADLIGHT WENT OFF DURING THE EMERGENCY STOP (NOTE: THE TOYOTA AVALON HAS NOT GONE THROUGH THE RECALL REPAIR BUT RECALL REPAIR HAS BEEN SCHEDULED) I WAS DRIVING ON 101S NEAR MOUNTAIN VIEW DURING EVENING COMMUTE HOUR. I WAS TAPPING THE GAS PEDAL AS 101S WAS IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC CONDITION. I FELT THE AVALON WENT FASTER THAN I WAS EXPECTING AND I DID NOT DEPRESS THE GAS PEDAL MORE THAN LIGHT TAPPING. THE AVALON WAS AT 40MPH. I APPLIED THE BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN THE CAR IMMEDIATELY. I MANAGED TO STOP MY CAR IN TIME TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH A FULLY STOPPED VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. I NOTICED MY AUTO HEADLIGHT WAS OFF WHEN I WAS IN COMPLETE STOP. I QUICKLY TURNED THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH FROM AUTO POSITION TO ON AND THE HEADLIGHT DID NOT GO ON. I TURNED THE SWITCH TO OFF POSITION AND ON POSITION. THEN, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON. *TR

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). WAS DRIVING ON NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE,AT AROUND EXIT 7 TRIED TO AVOID A CAR ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR TOTALLY WAS UNCONTROLLABLE , THE BRAKES WOULD NOT STOP SLOW IT DOWN, ENDED UP CRASHING AGAINST THE JERSEY WALL, BACKED UP BY ITSELF AND TURNED TO FACE THE TRAFFIC IN THE MIDDLE LANE W/ THE UTMOST EFFORT FINALLY STOPPED. MY HUSBAND AND I WERE INJURED AND TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL, WHEN I COMPLAINED TO MY INSURANCE CO. THAT WHAT WE EXPERIENCED WAS BEYOND NORMAL THEY SUGGESTED WE SHOULD COMPLAIN TO TOYOTA, WE CONTACTED TOYOTA AND COMPLAINED ASKED THEM TO INVESTIGATE THIS OCCURRENCE AND WERE ASSURED THAT THEY WILL CHECK THE WRECKED CAR. STATE FARM INSURANCE RECEIVED MY PERMISSION TO RELEASE THE CAR ,AND DOCUMENTED THE DATE OF COMMUNICATION AND THE PERSON AT TOYOTA IN CHARGE OF THIS INVESTIGATION BUT TOYOTA IS PLAYING GAMES OR WOULD NOT RETURN OUR CALLS. THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE ALL THE NEWS REPORTS ABOUT CARPETS AND RECALLS. THE IRONY IS WE WENT AHEAD AND BOUGHT A 2009 TOYOTA AVALON THAT IS HOW MUCH WE TRUSTED THIS COMPANY. WE BOTH ARE STILL SUFFERING FROM THE INJURIES OF THIS CRASH OF THE CAR THAT SEEMED TO BE ( POSSESSED ) AS I TOLD MY INSURANCE ADJUSTOR. WE DO NOT KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO TO PROVE OUR CASE AND AT THIS STAGE I AM RETRACTING MY CONSENT FOR TOYOTA TO INSPECT MY CAR. I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU [XXX]. *TR

AFTER HAVING MY 2006 TOYOTA AVALON RECALL SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED A WEEK LATER I WAS PULLING UP TO MY MAILBOX AND APPLIED MY BRAKES, HOWEVER I REALIZED THE CAR WAS STILL ACCELERATING. IN ORDER TO STOP I PUT MY CAR IN NEUTRAL AND TURNED THE ENGINE OFF. WHEN I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP TO TELL THEM THEY TOLD ME I HADN'T HAD THE COMPLETE RECALL DONE AND I NEEDED TO BRING IT BACK IN. THEY SAID I NEEDED TO HAVE THE FLOOR MAT AS WELL AS THE BRAKE OVERRIDE RECALL DONE. I TRIED TO TELL THEM THE FIRST TIME I TOOK IT IN I WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE THE FLOOR MAT PORTION OF THE RECALL DONE BUT THEY TOLD ME MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT ON THE LIST AS NEEDING IT DONE. IT WAS NOT THE FLOOR MAT THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM THOUGH BECAUSE MY FLOOR MAT WAS STILL ATTACHED TO THE HOOK AND IN PLACE. MY COMPLAINT IS MAINLY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T DO THE COMPLETE RECALL WHEN I HAD IT IN THE FIRST TIME. I HAD MY 9 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER WITH ME, IF WE HAD BEEN AT A BUSY INTERSECTION I COULD HAVE BEEN HIT BECAUSE MY CAR WENT AT LEAST A HALF OF CAR LENGTH BEYOND MY MAIL BOX BY THE TIME I GOT IT STOPPED. *TR

MY CAR HAS HAD THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION SINCE I PURCHASED IT. I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR IN FOR THE REPAIR BUT MY CAR IS STILL ACCELERATING. WHILE DRIVING CAR SPED UP BUT SLOWED ITSELF BACK DOWN TO NORMAL SPEED. THIS IS HOW ITS BEEN SINCE PURCHASE. I NOTICE THIS LAST TIME THAT THE SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT REFLECT THE CHANGE IN SPEED SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MPH THE CAR SPED OVER MY NORMAL SPEED OF 45MPH. I HAVE CONTACTED MAKER BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE AS OF TODAY. I AM THINKING THIS COULD BE THE PRELUDE TO MY CAR SPEEDING UP AND NOT STOPPING. *TR

THE ENGINE SURGED IN MY 2006 TOYOTA AVALON BEGINNING JUST AFTER PURCHASE (WHEN I THOUGHT I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING THE FIRST FEW TIMES). THIS HAS CONTINUED SPORADICALLY --THE LAST TIME WAS IN EARLY DECEMBER, 2009--ABOUT TEN TIMES. I HAVE REACTED COUNTER-INTUITIVELY, TAPPING THE GAS PEDAL LIGHTLY, AND THE ENGINE SETTLES DOWN. BECAUSE I HAVE PUT 89,000 MILES ON THE CAR DRIVING FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO LA EACH WEEK, I HAVE PRACTICED PUTTING THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AS A FIRST RESPONSE IF MY LIGHTLY TAPPING THE PEDAL DOES NOT WORK. THE SURGE HAS FELT AS IF THERE IS A GREMLIN IN THE WORKS OF THE CAR PUSHING THE ENGINE. I DOUBT IF THIS IS CONNECTED, BUT MY EMERGENCY BRAKE SETS ITSELF PERIODICALLY--AND I NOW KNOW IF THE CAR IS RUNNING A BIT ODDLY THAT I NEED TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE BRAKE HAS SET ITSELF AGAIN. (ABOUT 30-40 TIMES SINCE I HAVE OWNED THE CAR) BUT THE DEALERS HAVE REACTED QUIZZICALLY. ONE OF MY SONS HAS BEEN ADAMANT THAT I GET RID OF THE CAR, BUT I AM CONVINCED THAT IF IT BEGAN TO GO OUT OF CONTROL, BY SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL AND THEN TURNING OFF THE CAR IF NEED BE SHOULD THINGS SHOULD REMAIN CONTROLLED. I AM NOT NEAR THE CAR OR THE VIN INFORMATION BUT WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THIS AT A LATER DATE. *TR

S10 APPROPRIATE HANDLING RE TOYOTA VEHICLE SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEM, OWNER OF A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON EXPERIENCED ACCELERATION PROBLEM. *TGW IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, THE CONSUMER NOTICED A PROBLEM IN ACCELERATING, DECELERATING AND SHIFTING GEARS IN THE TRANSMISSION. SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, HE TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER A FEW WEEKS LATER. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THERE WAS NO MAJOR PROBLEM AND THAT A MINOR ADJUSTMENT WAS MADE TO THE SHIFTING POINTS IN THE TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE FUNCTIONED FINE FOR A WHILE, BUT THEN THE SAME PROBLEMS QUICKLY RESURFACED. A TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE STATED THE PROBLEM WAS NOT A DEFECT; RATHER IT WAS THE WAY THE VEHICLE WAS INTENDED TO HANDLE DUE TO ITS DRIVE-BY-WIRE SYSTEM. THE REPRESENTATIVE WENT ON TO SAY THE DRIVE-BY-WIRE SYSTEM DID NOT HAVE A TRADITIONAL ROD THAT CONNECTED THE PEDAL TO THE ENGINE; RATHER, THE PEDAL WENT TO AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM THAT SENSED THE INTENDED ACCELERATION AND CAUSES THE ENGINE TO ACCELERATE AS DIRECTED BY THE DRIVER. THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE HESITATION HE COMPLAINED OF WAS NORMAL AS THE SYSTEM WAS DETERMINING HOW MUCH TO ACCELERATE. THE CONSUMER DID NOT BELIEVE THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION WAS DUE TO A STICKING PEDAL; RATHER A PROBLEM WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE, THROTTLE OR ONBOARD COMPUTER.*JB

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT WAS PULLING AWAY FROM A STOP SIGN, WHEN SHE HEARD A THUMP IN THE GAS TANK. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS ADVISED THAT THE THUMP WAS NORMAL. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO TESTED THE VEHICLE AND FOUND NO FAILURES. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

DEAR NHTSA, I OWN A 2006 TOYOTA AVALON XLS, PURCHASED USED IN SUMMER 2009. A FEW DAYS AFTER OWNERSHIP, I FELT THE CAR WANTED TO 'SPEED UP ON IT'S OWN', MOMENTARILY. I TOOK IT TO OUR LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER (TOYOTA OF IOWA CITY) WHO FELT THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE DUE TO 'GEAR SHIFT SET POINTS' IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION'S COMPUTER PROGRAMMING. THEY REPROGRAMMED THE REVOLUTIONS AT WHICH TRANSMISSION WOULD SHIFT GEARS WHILE DRIVING. HOWEVER, THE SURGE PROBLEM PERSISTS. AS TIME GOES BY AND I READ MORE ABOUT TOYOTA'S ACCELERATOR PROBLEMS, I THINK THIS MIGHT BE PART OF THE SAME ISSUE AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOME DETAILED INFORMATION ON MY OBSERVATIONS. I HAVE BEEN STUDYING IT AND MADE SOME CAREFUL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT WHICH CONDITIONS THE SURGE OCCURS DURING, AND WOULD LIKE TO DETAIL THIS FOR YOU. PERHAPS UNDER THESE CONDITIONS YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO REPRODUCE MY SURGE SITUATION IN OTHER TOYOTAS. THE PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN THE ENGINE IS WARM. IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTING IS NOT THE ISSUE, PUT THE TRANSMISSION MANUALLY INTO '3'. DRIVE ON LEVEL ROAD AT ABOUT 30MPH, THE ENGINE RPM'S WILL TYPICALLY BE ABOUT 2000. THEN, RELEASE FOOT FROM GAS PEDAL. THE ENGINE RPM'S WILL DROP TO ABOUT 1000, THEN SPONTANEOUSLY SURGE UPWARD TO ABOUT 1500 RPM. AT THAT POINT, SOMETHING SEEMS TO LIMIT THE RPM'S FROM INCREASING FURTHER. THIS CANNOT BE THE CORRECT OPERATION; WHEN ONE IS NOT STEPPING ON THE GAS PEDAL, THE ENGINE SHOULD SLOWLY REVERT BACK TO IDLE SPEED (OR BE GOVERNED BY 'ENGINE BRAKING EFFECTS' IF GOING DOWNHILL)...CORRECT? I THINK THAT IN A SITUATION WHERE THIS SPONTANEOUS LIMITATION OF RPM SURGING MIGHT NOT OCCUR, I COULD EXPERIENCE A 'WIDE-OPEN-THROTTLE' SITUATION THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR MORE DETAILS, I THINK MY CAR MIGHT HOLD SOME SECRETS TO THE MYSTERIES OF THE TOYOTA THROTTLE ISSUE. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY SAVE LIVES. *RM *TR