NHTSA Complaint #10313109 — 2007 TOYOTA PRIUS

I OWN A 2007 PRIUS WITH 35,000 MILES ON IT. WE HAVE BEEN A 2 PRIUS FAMILY FOR 6 YEARS, SO I AM HIGHLY FAMILIAR WITH DRIVING ONE. I HAVE HAD THREE VERY FRIGHTENING INCIDENTS HAPPEN IN ABOUT THE LAST 4 MONTHS IN MY CAR. EACH HAS HAPPENED IN EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT DURING A COMMUTE THAT I DO SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK. I HAVE BEEN EXITING FROM A FREEWAY, GOING 65 MPH, DOWN A GENTLE DOWNSLOPE. WHEN I EXIT (CONTINUING THE DOWNSLOPE) THE ENGINE STARTS REVVING AT A SPEED THAT I NEVER HAVE HEARD DURING ANY NORMAL DRIVING CIRCUMSTANCE. THIS IS WHILE I AM BRAKING TO STOP AT A LIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EXIT. I HAVE HAD A CAR NEXT TO ME ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW AND THE DRIVER ASK IF I NEEDED HELP. OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS I HAD DONE THIS EXACT EXIT THOUSANDS OF TIMES, IN MANY DIFFERENT VEHICLES, AND HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMOTELY LIKE THIS. EACH OF THE THREE TIMES I SHIFTED THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL, BUT THE HIGH REV CONTINUED. THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED IT WAS TO PULL OVER AND TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND RESTART. I IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE FLOOR MAT EACH TIME AND IT WAS MOUNTED SECURELY EXACTLY IN PLACE HOOKED ON THE MOUNTS. THIS HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES, COMPLETELY RANDOMLY. I TOOK THE CAR IN TO BE SERVICED AT TOYOTA OF BERKELEY ON 2/2/10 AND WAS TOLD THAT UNTIL THE CAR DID THIS ON A "FREQUENT" BASIS THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT TOYOTA COULD DO. HE CHECKED THE LOG FOR WARNING LIGHTS AND THERE WERE NO ENTRIES (I CHECKED THE DASH EACH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, AND NO LIGHTS WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON.) *TR