Automatic Transmission Floor Shift problems of the 2003 Toyota Camry

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. After starting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the gear shifter would not shift out of the park gear. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired and there were no prior warnings of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 120,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Camry. After parking the vehicle and exiting it, the contact noticed that the vehicle suddenly shifted into reverse and began rolling backwards. The occupant sitting in the front passenger seat was able to turn the steering wheel causing the vehicle to travel over a curb which flattened both rear tires. No one was injured and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact had the pawl mechanism and tires repaired. The failure mileage was 60000. Updated 05/10/10 the vehicle was parked and the engine was left running; the transmission was in the park position; but the parking brake was not activated. The vehicle was on an uphill slant,downhill being to the rear of the vehicle. Minutes after exiting the vehicle, the vehicle began to roll backwards. The vehicle's transmission lever did move into reverse. The consumer believed that the pawl mechanism failed. Updated 05/12/10 updated 07/01/10 updated 07/02/10.

My 03 Camry with 22k miles, automatic transmission, has an issue with the safety button on the shifter, or the shifter itself. With the engine off and no key in the ignition, I can slide the shifter from park to any other gear, without pressing in the safety button. I cannot slide the shifter back into park. Here's how I found out. I parked in my drive, put the car in park, removed the keys, grabbed my shopping bag and went inside. My husband came in a few minutes later with some shocking news. Apparently, my Camry had rolled down the drive, took out our mailbox, went across the street and stopped in our neighbor's front yard. Our drive is over 100' long and slopes down toward the street. I handed my husband the keys and he went to the car. It was in drive. What I can figure is that when I grabbed my shopping bag, which was fairly heavy, I hit the shifter and took the car out of park. But that doesn't explain how the shifter was able to move without my pushing in the safety button. I called Toyota customer relations in torrance, and they arranged a service appt for me at the dealer. The dealer indicated they had to make an adjustment. During a follow-up call from their customer service rep, they indicated they had never heard of the problem before. When I asked if it could happen again, the rep said if it does, bring it in. I will try very hard to remember to use my emergency brake whenever I park my car. But what if I forget? I don't want to be responsible for my car rolling into a child, adult or other vehicle. It is only dumb luck that no one was hurt when the car rolled down our drive. Had it been daytime, the chances are very high that someone would have been injured or killed. We live on a cul DE sac, and those in our development walk with their children on a regular basis throughout the day. This is very frightening. Are you aware of this issue happening previously?.