NHTSA Complaint #10293660 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY

TOYOTAS LATEST RECALL SHOULD NOT BE A FLOOR MAT OR STUCK ACCELERATOR PROBLEM. MY 2007 CAMRY HAS EXPERIENCED THIS SCENERIO AT LEAST SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR (EVEN THOUGH I KNOW IT EXISTS). THE PROBLEM IS THE DESIGN OF THE BRAKE PEDAL AND ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE BRAKE PEDAL (WHEN BRAKING) IS CLOSER TO THE FLOOR THAN THE HEIGHT OF THE UN-DEPRESSED ACCELERATOR PEDEL. IF THE DRIVER HAS BIG FEET OR IS NOT PRECISE WHEN PLACING THE FOOT, IT IS POSSIBLE TO DEPRESS BOTH PEDALS AT THE SAME TIME. THE HARDER ONE TRIES TO STOP, THE FASTER THE ENGINE WANTS TO RUN. IN MY VEHICLES FROM THE PAST, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, WHEN NOT DEPRESSED, WAS CLOSER TO THE FLOOR THAN THE POSITION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL DURING A VERY HARD (EMERGENCY) BRAKING ACTION. TOYOTA'S FIRMWARE FIX OF NOT ALLOWING THE ACCELERATOR SIGNAL TO OVERRIDE THE BRAKING SIGNAL IS NOT A GOOD FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. SOMETIMES IT IS DESIRABLE TO INCREASE THE SPEED OF THE ENGINE BEFORE RELEASING THE BRAKE TO PROVENT ROLLING BACKWARDS WHEN STARTING ON A GRADE. PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ERGONOMICS OF HOW THE PEDALS AND THE HUMAN DRIVER INTERFACE AND PROPER ENGINEERING DESIGN IS THE SOLUTION. *TR