NHTSA Complaint #10193527 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY

I DO NOT OWN THE 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY OR THE LEXUS ES350 , BUT IN THE COURSE OF TEST DRIVING BOTH OF THE VEHICLES, I WAS SHOCKED TO DISCOVER THAT THE START/STOP BUTTON DEFEATS THE OLDER IGNITION KEY IINTERLOCK SYSTEM. IN THE OLDER KEYED IGNITION SYSTEM THE CAR MUST BE IN PARK TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE AND REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. IN THE 2007 MODELS OF LEXUS AND CAMRY THE ENGINE CAN BE TURNED OFF WITH THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE SIMPLY BY TOUCHING THE BRAKE. HERE IS NO IGNITION KEY TO PLACE IN THE STEERING COLUMN.. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING WHICH I SENT TO YOUR SITE THIS MORNING AND WAS ASKED TO FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT: 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY AND LEXUS ES 350 DO NOT USE AN IGNITION KEY. THEY USE A "REMOTE" WHICH MUST BE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE VEHICLE WHEN THE "START/STOP" BUTTON IS PRESSED. OTHER MANUFACTURERS (BMW, VOLVO) USE BOTH A "KEY" IN THE STEERING COLUMN AND THE "START/STOP" BUTTON. WHILE THIS SECOND OPTION AT FIRST SEEMS REDUNDANT, IT IS A SAFETY FEATURE AND TOYOTA/LEXUS PRODUCTS MAY BE PRONE TO "ROLLING WHEN STOPPED" IN THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO: TOYOTA/LEXUS: DRIVER TOUCHES BRAKE AND HITS THE "START/STOP" BUTTON TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE, BUT DRIVER FORGETS TO MOVE THE TRANSMISSION FROM "DRIVE" TO "PARK". UPON RELEASING THE BRAKE THE VEHICLE WILL MOVE, IF NOT ON LEVEL GROUND. BMW/VOLVO: AS ABOVE, BUT DRIVER IS UNABLE TO PULL "KEY" FROM STEERING COLUMN BECAUSE VEHICLE IS NOT IN "PARK". THEREFORE, DRIVER PLACES TRANSMISSION IN "PARK" BEFORE EXITING THE CAR, OTHERWISE HE WILL NOT HAVE THE VEHICLE "KEY" WITH HIM ON LEAVING THE CAR. THE INFINITI M35X AWD USES A "START/STOP" BUTTON, BUT "BEEPS" AN ALARM WHEN THE CAR IS STOPPED IN DRIVE. IN SUMMARY: REDUNDANCY (KEY/START-STOP BUTTON) AND ALARMS SERVE A USEFUL SAFETY PURPOSE AND SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE TOYOTA/LEXUS PRODUCTS. ALTERNATIVELY, THE "START/STOP" BUTTON SHOULD BE ACTIVE ONLY WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN PARK OR NEUTRAL. *AK