Four problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 2002 Toyota Avalon. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2002 Toyota Avalon based on all problems reported for the 2002 Avalon.
(02/19/2008) was driving my 2002 Toyota Avalon just before 9 am se in the l lane on rte. 2 (CT) at 65 mph with the cruise control on. There was an obstruction in the l lane so I put on my signal, pushed on my brakes and proceeded into the r lane. Instead of slowing down, my vehicle continued to speed up. I lost control of the vehicle depits having both feet on the brakes and both hands on the steering wheel. I was swerving from lane to lane in rush hour traffic attempting to avoid the other vehicles. After about a mile, I was able to steer the vehicle into the r guardrail, enabling me to keep the car straight (and out of traffic) so I could use one hand to shift into neutral to stop the vehicle. The entire passenger side of my vehicle was ripped off and strewn along the r shoulder of the highway for about 1/4 mile. The vehicle was totaled and I was fortunate to not hit another car nor suffer any serious injury. Obviously, the failure occurred only once.
I was driving on the high way with cruise control set to 65 mph. When I tapped on the brake to reset the cruise control, not only that the car did not slow down, it actually picked up the speed and started turning around all over the high way in a big s shape. Neither the brake nor the steering wheel was functioning. The car was totally out of my control. The car eventually stopped after hitting the side rail on the road. The weather was good and the road was clear. As an engineer, I suspect the electronic sensor(s) of the car was the cause of the malfunctioning.
When using the cruise control on a downgrade, the vehicle accelerates up to 20 mph. It seems as if you are going out of control. The vehicle does not downshift at all.
2002 Toyota Avalon experienced sudden acceleration after cruise control was disengaged. ** answer required***. The first incident of sudden acceleration caused the vehicle to impact low trees branches which scratched the hood of the vehicle. The second incident resulted in no damage.