general problems of the 2003 Toyota Avalon

Tl-the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the rear brake light was permanently on. The vehicle was taken to the dealer kendall Toyota, 10943 s dixie hwy, miami, FL 33156, they determined that the rear brake light sensor was damaged and needed replacement, also replaced the battery. After the vehicle was repaired, the brake pedal traveled all the way down to the floor; but the vehicle did not accelerate. The contact also stated that for the past year and a half, a strong of fuel odor was present inside the cabin. The vehicle had been taken to several independent mechanics and they can not determined the cause of the smell. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and a complaint was filed. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. Bp.

The engine started cold and revved to 2500 rpm and then oscillated between 2500 and about 3000 rpm and never slowed down. I put the car in drive and drove it the block and a half to my house using the brake to stop at the only stop sign on the route but stopping was difficult. The next morning I experienced the same ultra-fast idle and drove the car on an errand that was about 2 miles distant. The same pattern persisted but the brakes were heating up and smelling from frequent use in keeping the car within the city speed limit. It also stressed the automatic transmission while braking aganst the fast motor. I started shifting from drive to neutral and coasting to control the speed while the engine speed oscillation continued. I parked the car back home and had a tow truck take it to marietta Toyota where the diagnosis was to replace the idle control motor at a cost of $669. 00 less a $99. 00 negotiated discount. That service solved the problem but the problem had the potential to overheat the brakes, cause one to coast in neutral without ideal control of the car in an emergency, etc.

The subject of this complaint is my 2003 Toyota Avalon lx which had a total mileage of approximately 17,100 miles. This vehicle was last serviced at 9,000 miles plus. On April 29, 2014 the subject vehicle was parked in the back parking lot of a small Mini mall at 3601 e. Foothill blvd. ,pasadena, California. After we finished shopping at the Mini mall, we returned to the our vehicle and strapped ourselves in the car with our seatbelts. When I turned on the ignition of the subject vehicle I had my left foot on the parking brake and my right foot on the driving brake. After the vehicle started, I released my left foot from the parking brake and shifted the gear to the drive position when my car unintentionally accelerated forward. I tried to slow or stop my car by pressing on driving brake but to no avail. I estimate my car traveled approximately 200 feet before the left front of my car hit the right rear of a Honda fit and concrete planter. The collision with the Honda fit pushed it into a Honda crv that was parked in front of the Honda fit. There were no injuries to anyone however. My airbags did not deploy.

As I was backing out from a space in a parking lot, my car suddenly accelerated and I had a hard time getting it to stop with the brake pedal. The wheels were turned in a sharp left position. The engine sounded like it was at a high rev. The right side of my car crashed into two cars on the opposite side of the parking lot aisle before coming to a halt. The whole event lasted just a few seconds. Fortunately, no one was injured.

2003 Toyota Avalon xls. Stalled while driving. Had to leave the car in street and walk home. Would not restart for at least 30 minutes. Also would start, then stall and not restart for at least 30 minutes on other occasions intermittently. This was very concerning because the engine would just turn off during driving and not restart. Took to b&d auto repair, who could not replicate problem and then called Toyota dealership in carlsbad who told them was probably the idle air control valve as they had been finding this an issue with Avalons. So b&d auto replaced the idle air control valve and the problem never recurred. This cost us $500. I have the receipt for the date of 5-5-2006 repair. Our friends have the same vehicle, same year and they began to have the same difficulty with their 2003 Avalon a few weeks later and had to have the same repair done and their problem then went away as well. Today, I phoned b&d auto and bernie ( the man who took care of my car in 2006) informed me that they are currently having similar problems with approximately one Toyota vehicle per week, and they are replacing the idle air control valves. He stated that this includes rav 4, tacoma, camry, Avalon, and forerunners. I am letting you know this information because today the wall street journal had an article that states this is a problem with 2006 Toyota corollas and matrix vehicles. This is obviously much farther reaching than this article states and I hope it will be investigated further because of the danger of this difficulty to all of those driving or occupying a vehicle when this happens. I am wondering if there have been accidents or deaths due to this dangerous problem? I was very concerned that my car would turn off on the high speed lane of the freeway. I was so relieved when this was repaired and I wasn't afraid to drive my car again.