NHTSA Complaint #10317542 — 2007 TOYOTA AVALON

TOYOTA 2007 AVALON XLS, 24K MI [XXX] ACCELERATOR REPAIRED UNDER RECALL ON 2/16/2010 INCIDENT OF UNINTENDED FULL THROTTLE ACCELERATION CONDITIONS: TEMP 61 DEGREES F, CLEAR WEATHER, RELATIVE HUMIDITY APPROX 50%, A/C NOT ON, RADIO NOT ON, CRUISE CONTROL ON BUT NOT ENGAGED, DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS ON. SITUATION: AT 55 MPH, THROTTLE WAS DEPRESSED TO APPROX 1/2 TO ACCELERATE TO PASS ON A TWO-LANE HIGHWAY. CAR ACCELERATED NORMALLY TO ABOUT 65 MPH AT WHICH POINT THE ACCELERATOR WENT TO THE FLOOR, UNCOMMANDED. ONCE CLEAR OF THE PASSED VEHICLE, I SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND COASTED TO A SOMEWHAT SAFE LOCATION TO STOP. THE ACCELERATOR WAS STILL LOCKED DOWN. WITH THE IGNITION OFF, I WAS ABLE TO REPOSITION THE ACCELERATOR TO THE NORMAL POSITION AFTER SHIFTING THE CAR FROM 'PARK' TO 'NEUTRAL' SEVERAL TIMES. THEN I CONTINUED THE TRIP. WIFE IN THE RIGHT SEAT WAS PETRIFIED. LATER, AT A BETTER LOCATION ON A DIVIDED HIGHWAY WITH A 70 MPH SPEED LIMIT, I SET UP THE SAME CONDITIONS AS PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED. AFTER ACCELERATING FROM 60 MPH TO ABOUT 68 MPH WITH A HALF-THROTTLE COMMAND, THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION TO FULL THROTTLE HAPPENED AGAIN. THIS TIME I TURNED OFF THE CRUISE CONTROL AND THEN ATTEMPTED, UNSUCCESSFULLY, TO PULL THE ACCELERATOR OFF THE FLOOR WITH THE EDGE OF MY SHOE WHICH DID NOT TERMINATE THE ACCELERATION. AT ABOUT 80 MPH I WENT THROUGH THE SHUT-DOWN PROCEDURE AGAIN WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. MY WIFE IS THE PRINCIPLE DRIVER OF THE CAR, BUT I WILL ALWAYS DO ALL THE DRIVING ON LONG TRIPS AND HAVE PUT THE CAR IN A SIMILAR PASSING SITUATIONS SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT PREVIOUS ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. I AM AN COMBAT TESTED EX-FIGHTER PILOT AND TEST PILOT WITH SEVERAL THOUSAND HOURS IN HIGH PERFORMANCE FIGHTERS AND THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND PHYSICS. THESE INCIDENTS PRESENTED NO DANGER TO ME OR MY WHITE-KNUCKLED WIFE BUT IN LESS THAN IDEAL CIRCUMSTANCES WITH LESS EXPERIENCED DRIVERS IN CONTROL, THE OUTCOME COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. *TR