Car Accelerates On Its Own problems of the 2007 Toyota Sienna

2007 Toyota Sienna. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle sudden unintended acceleration. The consumer stated he shifted from reverse to drive, the vehicle suddenly took off at high speed. As the consumer tried to steer the vehicle, he hit another vehicle. The consumer stated the floor mat was securely positioned and there was no way, it could have interfered with the accelerator pedal.

On mon 10/22/2012 at 11:15 am I experienced sudden uncontrolled acceleration driving my van. I was traveling on I-696e in detroit at a constant 70mph, then slowed to 45mph due to construction. As traffic cleared the construction, I pushed the accelerator pedal to pass a semi-truck. I felt the accelerator continue to depress, I completely pulled my foot off but the pedal did not come back nor did the vehicle slow down. Rather, it did just the opposite and continued to accelerate. I attempted to brake hard with no response--the vehicle did not slow down. Then I put the van in neutral to slow down the engine with no results, the van continued increasing 60+mph with no foot on accelerator. This is when I became extremely frightened. The vehicle was pulling from side to side. I looked down to see if there was any interference from the floor mat and none was seen. I tapped gas pedal - no response. Next I put van back in drive and braked --no response again. Then I downshifted to 4th, the engine did not slow, and further downshifted to 3rd gear. Finally, the engine responded and slowed. I used the gas pedal cautiously as I then shifted to 4th so that I could exit the freeway. I parked at my office & immediately called my husband first and explained what happened and I then immediately called the our Toyota suburban dealer. They told me to bring it in for inspection. I was still shaking when I brought the vehicle in and extremely upset. After two inspections, they stated sudden acceleration was caused by the floor mat. Although this seems reasonable, it does not explain why brakes failed to overcome the engine, and shifting to neutral failed to disengage the transmission. The vehicle scares me to death. I do not know what to do next. I consider myself a serious witness as a registered nurse (rn/bsn) with 20 yr manual driving. Ref Toyota case #[xxx] and #[xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

9/26 approximately 4:30 p. M. 2006 Toyota Sienna suddenly accelerated in driveway as I was turning left into garage. I could not stop vehicle and it crashed into the garage. The only thing that stopped the vehicle from crashing through the garage was the back left wheel hitting the door frame and metal rail of the garage door opener, pulling it down onto the car. The entire left side of the vehicle was damaged along with the side of the garage. We bought the vehicle new and have had no previous mechanical problems with it. We contacted Toyota on 9/26, and 9/27. They gave us a case manager and case number and on 9/29 stated that a representative would be appointed to look at the vehicle in 10-14 days and it would take another 30 days for the inspection. They stated if the vehicle was moved, it might be considered "tampered with". We had to have our garage repaired, so had vehicle towed to a Toyota dealership on 10/1 with instructions not to start vehicle or do anything to it. Our car insurance adjuster would not give an estimate on the vehicle while it was lodged in the side of the garage and felt that it might incur additional damage when pulled out if the overhead door fell on it. Contractor was present at towing to remove overhead door and jack up door frame. $3,500 damage to garage. Car adjuster will do to dealership to give estimate on vehicle . I was the only occupant and was not hurt. We have been pulling in this garage since 1983 and with Mini-vans since 1987 and know how slowly you have to go - 4 to 5 miles an hour or slower to make the almost 90 degree turn. It suddenly accelerated as I turned. How do we get Toyota to expedite this? my husband and I have jobs in different communities and need our vehicle. We want them to examine, acknowledge problem, put on recall list and cover our expenses. We feel waiting 2 weeks for a representative to come and another 30 days for a determination is not a timely manner.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Sienna. While the contact was approaching a drive-through window at approximately 2 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning causing the contact to crash into the vehicle in front of him. In order to stop the vehicle from accelerating she had to turn the vehicle off. Two people were injured and a police report was filed. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 42600. Updated 5/6/10 updated 06/10/10.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Sienna. The contact was entering a parking garage at 20 mph when the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into the garage wall. The contact was uninjured. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the failure was unable to be duplicated. The dealer advised the contact that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. On a later date while entering a parking lot, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into a cement pole. The contact was uninjured and the vehicle was towed to a local garage. A police report was available. The manufacturer advised that an investigator would further inspect the vehicle for the cause of the failure. The contact was awaiting the results but the manufacturer advised that the investigation results would not be disclosed to her. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 19,000 and the current mileage was 22,000.

On October 17th, 2009, while pulling into the parking lot of mcdonald's, my van sudden accelerated as I entered the parking space, the motor was roaring. I would have been turning into my space, my foot would have been over the brake and I may have started to press the brake. When the vehicle surged forward, thinking my foot was on the gas, I immediately moved it further to the left and pressed the brake to the floor. I remember thinking this thing isn't slowing down one bit nor was it stopping, it felt possessed. It slammed into a heavy duty van, rocking it hard and doing considerable damage to our van. I did tell the officer at the scene that I must have had my foot on the gas, it was the only thing that made logical sense to me at the time. In replaying the events in my mind, I was sure my foot was over the brake, and that I didn't press anything hard until after the vehicle accelerated, after I moved my foot further to the left. I have since amended my report with the officer at the scene and my insurance company. The front-end damage on the van has been repaired. On November 17th a technical specialist from Toyota went over the van. They released the van back to us without telling us anything. My past history will show I am a safe driver and I do not panic easily.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Sienna which was modified for disabled persons. While driving at an unknown speed, the driver applied the brakes and the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into another vehicle. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The driver was able to safely drive the vehicle home without the failure reoccurring. The contact stated that the brakes on the vehicle had always needed heavy pressure to brake properly. The manufacturer advised the contact to have the vehicle towed to an authorized dealership. The brakes were repaired but the sudden acceleration problem was not addressed. The failure has not occurred since the vehicle was returned to the contact. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000. The current mileage was approximately 20,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Sienna. When placing the vehicle into drive, the contact experienced uncontrolled acceleration. The vehicle accelerated forward and crashed into a concrete wall. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. The contact injured her knees and a police report was filed. The vehicle was inspected by an insurance adjuster, but it could not be determined why the vehicle failed. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that there were no defects with the vehicle; therefore, no compensation would be made. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 50,000. Updated 3/9/09 updated 03/12/09. 8jb.

I was parked on a hill. When I tapped the accelerator, the car took off at a rapid acceleration. I tried to brake to slow the car down. . . My brakes wouldn't work. . . My steering wheel started to lock. I finally forced the car into park put on the er brake and steered the car up a hill. The car jumped a curb and was headed for a house when it came to a stop. I was only a few feet from the front door. My car is a Toyota Sienna. The company and our local dealership told me that my car was not involved in the recall. My husband's Toyota avalon was and the gas pedal was adjusted. He had to wait a few weeks for the replacement. . . And was not given a loaner car.