general problems of the 2001 Toyota Avalon

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) on oct. 7, 2009, at about 3:00 pm edt on a sunny day in bradenton, FL, I was driving alone while sober, alert, and healthy at about 35 mph on a paved side road [xxx] approaching a red stoplight at u. S. 41 so. With 2 or 3 cars stopped ahead of me for the light. About 100 yards before the stoplight, I applied my footbrake,[xxx] (ok when inspected &driven a week earlier as part of oil change &general checkup). The foot pedal went to the floor, with no braking effect. I swerved to the left of the cars ahead of me and made a sharp left turn when I reached u. S. 41, to avoid hitting/being hit by oncoming traffic. My car rolled over and crashed. I hit my head on the car's roof[xxx] . I never lost consciousness, but the pain was terrible. I bled, upside down, for about 10-15 minutes, fearing another crash from oncoming cars, hanging from my seatbelt. A bystander stanched the blood eventually. The paramedics showed up in an ambulance& took me to the emergency room at manatee memorial hospital in bradenton. The dr. Cleaned very painful glass shards from my multiple scalp wounds, then put in five staples& released me. Two sheriff's deputies interviewed me& said my car's tire-marks showed signs of acceleration. I denied accelerating; it made no sense to me until recent stories in the newspaper about Toyota brake problems and sudden unexplained acceleration in other cases. A friend picked me up. The next day I went to the garage of elmer's towing, which had towed my totally wrecked car. I asked for the foot brakes to be checked. They were normal. I found this very puzzling; it only made sense recently as I read and heard on tv about similar problems by other with Toyotas. Shelly devane of elmer's is a witness to the report of ok brakes. I strongly believe that an intermittent electronic problem with the brakes caused the wreck. I did not file this complaint earlier because the evidence is circumstantial & the car now gone.

Going home on north on los olivos rd (25 mph zone) and rolling to a four way stop crossing manzinita rd (ne santa rosa, CA) my 2001 Avalon accelerated at full throttle (roar). I had my foot on brake so I was shocked. Pressing hard on brake the accelerator disengaged after about 3 seconds. I told my wife that I had a senior moment, thinking I had pressed accelerator and brake at same time. Never happened again. Seeing 2001 Avalon mentioned USA today motivated this.

The consumer is having problems with the brakes. At 17217 while driving down a steep hill, the were applied and there was a feeling of metal on metal. The brakes and rotors were replaced at this time. At 27000 miles the brakes had to be replaced as well as the rotors. The dealer reported that the problem was due to a lack of use of the vehicle and the rotors had rusted causing the need for replacement. The problem has been reported to Toyota who admits the problem but will not provide documentation. There was no warning.

Dt:steering wheel vibrates at speeds from 60 to 75 mph. Consumer took the vehicle to sears twice to balance and rotate the tires. This did not fix the problem. The consumer took the vehicle to Toyota and had the tires balanced again and the vehicle lubricated. This did not fix the problem either. Vehicle has 22000 miles. Consumer says that it feels like something is loose under the carriage. When the consumer applied the brakes there was a vibration.

2001 Toyota Avalon has a malfunctioning electronic brakes control module, repaired once under warranty. The said module malfunctioned. Purchased new module from Toyota $1200. And installed $800. . Since I purchased the car have no brakes when traveling on rough or bumpy roads always.

Vehicle slid to the left and right with the wheels locked on a snowy and icy road at 35 mph. The vehicle ended up sliding into a ditch. None of the vehicle's occupants were injured during this accident.