NHTSA Complaint #10293928 — 2006 TOYOTA TACOMA

PROBLEM: THROTTLE HUNG IN A WIDE-OPEN POSITION WHILE DRIVING. NO CARPET PROBLEM WAS INVOLVED. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE TO ME IN A TWO WEEK SPAN!!! I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH MY 2006 TACOMA. ON 10/29/09 WHILE TOWING A TRAILER I EXPERIENCED THE FIRST OCCURRENCE. I HAD TWO PASSENGERS WITH ME THAT CAN ATTEST TO THE TRUTH OF MY SITUATION. I DEPRESSED THE THROTTLE AND THE MOTOR SUDDENLY WENT TO A WIDE-OPEN POSITION. FORTUNATELY, I WAS NOT IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. I ATTEMPTED TO SLOW THE TRUCK WITH BRAKES ALONE BUT THEY COULD NOT STOP THE ACCELERATION OF THE TRUCK. MY ONLY THOUGHT WAS TO TURN OFF THE IGNITION. I DID SO AND BROUGHT THE TRUCK AND TRAILER TO A SAFE STOP ALTHOUGH IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT WITHOUT THE POWER BRAKES BEING ACTIVE ALONG WITH THE FACT THAT I WAS ALSO TOWING A TRAILER. I CHECKED THE THROTTLE AND GAS PEDAL CONNECTIONS AND FOUND NO OBVIOUS PROBLEMS. I THEN ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE TRUCK TO SEE IF POSSIBLY THE COMPUTER CLEARED ITSELF. WHEN I TURNED ON THE IGNITION, THE MOTOR STARTED AND INSTANTLY WENT INTO A FULL-OPEN THROTTLE MODE. I SHUT IT OFF BEFORE IT REACHED A VERY HIGH LEVEL. WE THEN CHECKED ALL THE SAME THINGS WE ALREADY CHECKED AND I DECIDED TO TRY STARTING THE TRUCK AGAIN. THIS TIME, IT STARTED AND RAN LIKE NOTHING EVER WAS WRONG. WE DROVE THE TRUCK HOME WITH NO OTHER PROBLEMS. I BROUGHT THE TRUCK TO MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER WHERE I HAD PURCHASED IT. THEY INSPECTED BOTH THE THROTTLE BODY, ENGINE CODES, AND TEST DROVE IT AND TOLD ME THAT THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG. I WAS SENT ON MY WAY WITH NO CHARGE TO ME. THEY GAVE ME NO PAPERWORK AS I NORMALLY GET BUT I DID CONFIRM THAT THIS COMPLAINT WAS PUT INTO THEIR COMPUTER SYSTEM. THIS SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED TO ME ONCE MORE ON 11/02/09 WHICH ALSO HAPPENED TO BE MY BIRTHDAY. I FEEL EXTREMELY FORTUNATE TO NOT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY ACCIDENT TO DATE BUT I MUST TELL YOU THAT I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE AT THE PRESENT TIME. REF. TOYOTA NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS FILE #0911125974. *TR