Car Accelerates On Its Own problems of the 2005 Toyota 4Runner

I have a Toyota 4 runner that suddenly accelerated as I pulled into a parking space jumped over the 6" curb and straight through the front doors of a business. I know my foot was not on the accelerator as I was almost stopped and ready to put the car in park.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota 4runner. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and failed to slow down when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact mentioned that after shifting in neutral the vehicle slowed down. The vehicle was then maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was shut off. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and then to the dealer. The mechanic noticed metal fragments in the engine oil. The contact was made aware that the vehicle was included in recall NHTSA campaign id number: 11v113000 (vehicle speed control). However, the contact did not receive a recall notification prior to the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

2005 Toyota 4 runner. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle sudden acceleration. The consumer stated the sudden acceleration was sporadic. The dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. The last time, the sudden acceleration occurred, the consumer almost hit a vehicle in front of him.

Parking car in shopping mall lot. Spot is perpendicular to traffic lane. Divider between my spot and opposite spot. Divider consists of elevated planting with mature bushes, and steel post with handicap parking sign. I had my foot depressing the brake pedal. Car had almost stopped when suddenly it accelerated and "bucked forward" onto the parking divider. I continued to press down hard on the brake. Forward momentum stopped after I hit and knocked down the sign post and hit front of a Toyota tacoma. That was parked facing me on otherside of divider. The divider with juniper bushes elevated my car and when I stopped the rear wheels were suspended off the pavement. I had my foot on brake during this time, put the gear into park and turned off the ignition. The air bags did not. Deploy. I was trapped in the car by dense juniper bushes on both sides doors, and required assistance to get out of the car. I was not injured - just scared. I called my daughter and son-in-law to the scene, since he drives a Toyota tundra, he looked at the floor mat on drivers side. It was in place, had not moved forward. Because of the winter weather with snow, we had an after market floormat. My husband had cut off the right front corner to insure that if it did come loose, it could not interfere with the gas pedal. The mat was restrained by rear edge that protruded down and restrained by the two raised clips on the floor. Because of the elevated rear wheels, we needed a tow truck to pull my car off the divider. We had the car towed to my dealer stevinson Toyota. Their inspection showed no damage to the underside of the car. Front right corner damage estimate of $2,200. The mechanic did a computer diagnosis reported "nothing abnormal". Said he could not explain why the car suddenly accelerated. He road tested the car and told me it was safe to drive. I could not get immediate repairs, so drove it 120 miles to my home. It handled normal.

My 2005 Toyota 4 runner had 6 unintended acceleration incidents since purchased new in November 2005. I have maintained a log. The intensity of unintended acceleration varied, the tachometer reaching 4000 and above. Duration was estimated from 3 seconds to over 5 seconds. Ambient temperature varied from about 73of to 34of. All incidents occurred between early July to early December, and none during very high or very low ambient temperatures. In one case there were several consecutive acceleration surges. All instances were within 5 â½ miles of my home. Occurrence has been sporadic, infrequent, and unexpected, and at low speed, mostly in close quarter parking situations and at all times with my right foot on the brake pedal. On September 11, 2008, I notified Toyota company by telephone of the incident history; I was given a case number. I complied with a directive to remove after market floor mats that covered the factory mats. Fyi, the after market non-factory floor mats were not interfering with or near the accelerator, and I have had further unintended acceleration subsequent to mat removal. Likewise, my foot was not simultaneously on the brake and accelerator pedals. In December 2009 the Toyota dealer service manager drove my vehicle 144 miles over a weeks period without incident. I believe that evidence does not point towards a sticking accelerator pedal because in all instances my foot was on the brake, and in at least one instance the engine acceleration surged multiple times. The dealer said that there computer did not show relevant codes. My assessment is that there is probably a mechanical, electronic, or software defect in the speed control system. This needs to be taken more seriously. There is no plan. I have suggestions: 1) Toyota dealer/company drive my vehicle until an incident occurs; 2) Toyota engineers trouble shoot the problem; this is beyond dealer expertise; 3) Toyota temporarily install monitoring equipment that can document future incidents.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota 4 runner. She stated that while making a left turn into a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, leaped forward and crashed into a brick wall. The Toyota dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. Two identical failure occurred previously; however,they didn't result in a crash. No repairs had been made to correct the failure. The current and failure mileages were under 35,000. Updated 01/07/10.