general problems of the 2011 Toyota Camry - part 2

This vehicle was involved in an accident in the home driveway of the owners of the vehicle. As the owner was turning into his driveway, a tire blew out on the vehicle's right front passenger side. As the driver/owner hit the brake the car accelerated into the side rock barrier of the driveway. According to Toyota who investigated the incident, there was no issue with vehicle. But another incident has recently happened involving the car this year which will be reported on a separate form which shows us their is an unsafe issue with the vehicle that requires Toyota to be investigated.

Vibration @ various speeds: 10/7/10 (mge 16): purchased (misconstrued vibration for road conditions). 10/8/10 (mge 49) all speeds, brought to dealer. Per dealer: flat spots on tires due to car sitting to long. Solution: over-inflate & instructed to drive. Also, disc were out of round. 10/11 (mge 89) discs serviced, vibration still present. Dealer denies presence. 11/15 (mge 975) dealer acknowledges vibration, tires replaced, vibration still present @ highway speeds. 2/19/11 (mge 5160) 5k maint. , vibration still present, car pulling left when braking/accelerating. Service rep claims to have driven the car in addition to mechanic. Denied presence of vibration, exact quote "it drives like a Camry". 2/21/car hit in rear driver tire, wheel assembly replaced, new rim, new bumper needed. No change in vibration, still present at highway speeds. 7/12 (mge 10127) 10k maint. , vibration still present. Again dealer denies presence of vibration. 11/4 (mge 15355) 15k maint. Advised vibration still present. Again dealer denies presence of vibration. 3/22/12 (mge 19973) 20k maint. , vibration still present, now severe pulse when braking. Pulse acknowledged, rotors resurfaced. Again dealer denies presence of initial vibration. 06/8 (mge 24949) vibration now felt at lower speeds ds 50+ w/ increases intensity with speeds & @ 19-25 mph. Per dealer unable to validate low speed, but noted slight pulse at highway speeds. Dealer called factory rep. 6/dealer advised they went over car's hx with rep, no further action, tires too warn to evaluate. (lf uneven wear; other 3 ok). Instructed to buy tires for eval. 6/12 (mge 25087): called Toyota; case # 1206120145. 6/13/12 Toyota rep advised do not warranty tires, factory rep can't assess w/defective equipment. But, call dealer to see if temp tires could be used for eval since complaint was noted upon taking ownership. Immediate options: wait for dealer response, buy tires to see if the vibration is present or contact bridgestone.

Driver first noticed a problem when she came to a stop at a traffic light. The Camry started revving the engine even though driver was depressing the brake pedal; at this point the traction light came on. Five minutes later, driver approached a red light going approximately 25 mph. She depressed the brake pedal and the Camry made a loud sound then jerked forward repeatedly. The brakes did not slow down the car consequently causing her to run the red light. She then attempted to get to a safe place, so she pulled into a parking lot. When driver attempted to stop by depressing the brake pedal all the way to the floor, the car did not stop or slow down nearly causing her to crash into a parking lot barrier. There was a noticeable burning smell. Terrified, we took the Camry to a Toyota dealership. The dealership technicians recovered diagnostic trouble codes: c1249 and u0129. The technicians also drove the Camry for 55 miles, but they did not make any repairs, despite the dtc codes, because they said they could not replicate the problem. This is a brand new Camry, and we are terrified to drive it, but Toyota wont do anything about it because they say theres nothing wrong. The diagnostic trouble codes indicate otherwise. Based on research we did, the first code c1249, indicates an opening in the stop light switch circuit, which recommends three likely causes of the error, 1) the stop light switch, 2) stop light switch circuit, or 3) the brake actuator assembly (skid control ecu). The second code u0129 indicates trouble with the abs and traction actuator assembly (as well as the skid control ecu), or the can communication system. This is particularly alarming because what this error means is that the computer disengages the brakes, which is clearly what happened to us. The Toyota dealership told us to contact corporate; corporate told us to contact the dealership. No repairs have been done, and the car is just collecting dust now.