Cruise Control problems of the 2008 Toyota Avalon

My laser cruise control became unreliable toward the end of 2013. I had used it on a daily basis for over 5 years and am very familiar with the way it should perform. When tracking a vehicle directly ahead of me on a straight and level road, the laser control should maintain a safe distance and a speed that is essentially identical to the "lead" vehicle. This has not been the case for the past 7 months. My car would often continue to maintain a speed that was faster than the "lead" car,as it was safely slowing down, and come so close that I would have to jam on my breaks. I brought it into the dealer, who insisted that the laser cruise control had been damaged in an accident (therefore my extended warranty would not apply) and I would have to make a claim on my car insurance. My insurance company as well as my repair shop could see no damage that would have caused the malfunction. Eventually my insurance company agreed to pay for the "repair". After the dealer repaired the car with a new laser control sensor the problem has continued, although not as often. I've had it back to the dealer several times and they insist it meets all specifications and is performing to manufacturer's specs, and that there is nothing more they can do for me. Corporate Toyota basically washes their hands of the incident by saying everything related to this matter is at the dealers discretion. Although I have not had an accident yet, this malfunctioning "safety" feature puts me at jeopardy. I fear for my life every time I use it. It would seem to me that others have had similar problems, and may have had significant accidents as a result. I hope you will look into this matter.

Toyota Avalon cruise control safety problem. After several experiences with unexpected rapid acceleration I took the car to the Toyota dealership in o'fallon, illinois. What I discovered is that the laser cruise control system adjusts on the cruise control level in 5 mph increments up or down. However, if you tap the lever up more than once it will increase the speed by 5, 10, 15, 20 mph. More importantly, if you hold the cruise level for more than a few seconds, the cruise setting continues to increment and in just a few seconds you may have unknowingly increased the setting for the cruise by 20 or 25 mph. This is very dangerous since older models of most cars, including Toyotas, just increment your speed by a few m. P. H. As you hold the cruise control level up to get to the desired cruising speed. Most importantly, the owners manual is inaccurate and does not describe how the resetting of the cruise speed actually works. In my opinion the cruise control level should not be allowed to increase your set cruising speed by 20 or 30 mph by lifting up the cruise level or a few seconds. I have experienced sudden rapid acceleration several times in highway driving and had to slam on my brakes to avoid an accident. My guess is that a lot of the complaints about the Toyota prius in the press recently result from the same condition with the owners not informed as to how the cruise adjustments work and the manuals are probably inaccurate or incomplete.

Laser cruise control malfunctioned without apparent reason, most important problems it has are uncontrollable acceleration and sudden deceleration, which has nearly caused my ramming into a car in front of me and a car behind me crashing into me. These, along with other problems in the system, occur every time it is engaged. When first presented to the dealer in phone conversation was told it was a psychological reaction to news reports and given an 800 number to a recorded message telling me if I have a problem stop my car and report it to my dealer. I then went to the dealer and was then treated with disbelief. Their initial solution was denial that there is a problem. After demanding a mechanic test drive the car, the technician conceded the problem is exactly as I described. I was then told that their in shop diagnostic test showed there was no problem with the laser cruise. And when I questioned this was incredibly asked if I didn't believe technology when their own mechanic verified that in reality the system was not working during the road test. Then they decided to take another tactic. There is a 1/2 inch ding in the front bumper of my car that is the result of my car rolling 5 feet while in neutral and tapping a pole. They decided to blame the malfunction on this minute ding even though I informed them that the malfunction did not correlate with the time of the blemish to the car. Now they want to charge me an exorbitant amount, over $3000, to fix this ding, hoping it will deter me from pursuing the issue of the innate flaws in Toyota's laser mechanism. I know this will not resolve the problem but am instructing them to repair the bumper as a means of guaranteeing this is the solution to my laser cruise problem. I will pay to fix my dlcc, not correct a blemish in my bumper. I am letting you know because others are probably being met with the same resistance and someone is going to get seriously hurt or killed. My car is 2008 Avalon limited. Dealer: toyo of watertown.

On 01-20-10, this customer states after using cruise control at approx 70 mph and coming up on some other vehicles, applying the brake to begin slowing down. Once the road was clear, I reused the cruise control by pressing the resume switch. The vehicle began to accelerate past 70 mph and continued to about 85 mph before I applied the brake and canceled the resume function. I believe the vehicle would have continued if the brake was not applied. On 02-05-10 fitzgerald Toyota ck the vehicle, no problem found. My veh is a 08 Toyota Avalon.

2008 Toyota Avalon - computer defect - cruise control is erratic sometimes working ok other times engaged & not working - suddenly speeds up, error code e2. Auto does not slow down properly. Reported to dealer w/no problem found in 2009. 12/14/09 car dead, dash lights indicate check engine, control system failure, brake, battery failure , towed to dealer. Parts 10 amp etcs fuse/i7. 5 amp -dome fuse/7. 5 amp and am2 fuse. (op code-190011 combo a t1/71 t2/99. 1 #00544-24f60-575 truestart battery) labor $92. Thank you!.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The vehicle surged while driving approximately 60 mph and the speed increased between 5 and 10 mph. She was unable to stop the vehicle by engaging the brake pedal and the cruise control. When the vehicle began to slow down. She was able to engage the brake pedal and down shift to the lowest gear. At approximately 40 mph the contact used the emergency brake to shut the engine off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. She was told that the floor mat caused became stuck under the accelerator pedal and caused the failure. The dealer cut the floor mat to fit it in the vehicle and hooked it to the bolts. The contact also paid a fee to determine if the computer system displayed any failure codes. The failure did not reoccur after the dealer cut the floor mats. She recently received recall 09v388000, vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal notice. The current mileage was approximately 9,000. The failure mileage was approximately 8,500. Updated 12/30/09 the consumer stated the floor was not cut to fit vehicle. The cruise control was not activated. Updated 12/30/09.

My 2008 Avalon experienced unexpected acceleration twice,,,once in 2008 and once in 2009. . . Both times I had the cruise control on, which has a safety feature, a laser, which keeps you from getting too close to the car in front of you. . . . My car accelerated and ignored the safety laser. It slowed down immediately when I applied the brakes. The key is, the pedal was not stuck, I did not have to do anything with the floor mats, I did not have to keep applying the brakes, they worked as designed. Therefore it, in my opinion, was all electronic, as far as the acceleration malfunction.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. While driving approximately 50 mph, the vehicle spontaneously began accelerating on its own. The contact depressed the brake pedal with maximum force and placed the vehicle into neutral, but it continued to accelerate to 70 mph. He smelled a burning odor and the vehicle began decelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument control panel and the cruise control was not engaged. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure and provide a remedy. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 11,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. The contact stated that the vehicle that he purchased was equipped with a safety feature which was the laser cruise control. The laser in the vehicle malfunctioned and it did not warn him that he was getting close to the vehicle in front of him. The contact had to apply the brakes in order to deactivate the laser cruise control in order to drive the vehicle. The dealer stated that he needed to replace the laser beam in the cruise control. The vehicle was not serviced. The failure mileage was 10000. The current mileage was 52000.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Avalon. She stated that since the vehicle was purchased the vehicle accelerated excessively when the cruise control was engaged at various speeds including 35 mph. The vehicle began to slow down when the brake pedal was engaged. The vehicle will be diagnosed the by dealer. The failure mileage was 305 and the current mileage was 10,400.