NHTSA Complaint #10147740 — 2005 TOYOTA AVALON

VEHICLE IS 2005 TOYOTA AVALON FEATURE IS ENGINE SENSOR THAT CAUSES ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN ENGINE WHEN OPERATING TEMPERATURE IS EXCEEDED OR OIL PRESSURE DROPS BELOW TOYOTA DETERMINED LEVEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN INTO TOYOTA FOR 5,000 OIL CHANGE THAT MORNING. SERVICE WAS NOT PROPERLY DONE BY TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. IN OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE OIL AND ENGINE LIGHTS TURNED ON. WHILE OPERATING VEHICLE ON HIGHWAY TRYING TO GET BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE ENGINE SHUTDOWN WITH NO WARNING TO THE DRIVER OR VEHICLES BEHIND THE AVALON. A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WAS BARELY AVERTED. THE AVALON ABANDONED DRIVER ON HIGHWAY AND IMPEDED TRAFFIC. VEHICLE HAD TO BE PUSHED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BY POLICE WHILE OTHER OFFICERS CONTROLLED TRAFFIC. OIL FILTER WAS REPLACED AND THE OIL WAS CHANGED. THIS IN NO WAY LIMITS THE FACT THAT DUE TO DESIGN, THE ENGINE CAN SHUT DOWN WITH LITTLE TO NO WARNING TO THE DRIVER OR THE VEHICLES FOLLOWING. WHILE IT IS NICE THAT THE ENGINE CAN SAVE ITSELF, IT SHOULD NOT BE AT THE COST OF INJURY TO THE DRIVER OR CAUSING AN ACCIDENT DUE SUDDEN DECELERATION WITHOUT WARNING TO OTHER DRIVERS. THERE WAS NO PROPERTY DAMAGE OR A CRASH DUE ONLY TO QUICK REACTIONS OF THE DRIVER IN THE VEHICLE BEHIND THE AVALON. *JB