NHTSA Complaint #10318344 — 2006 TOYOTA COROLLA

MY 2006 TOYOTA COROLLA HAS HAD SEVERAL EPISODES OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WHILE GOING DOWN STEEP MOUNTAINS SUCH AS THE GRAPEVINE PASS NEAR LA AND HIGHWAY 101 BETWEEN LA AND SANTA BARBARA. WHILE GOING DOWNHILL, MY 21 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TRIED TO STEP ON THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN THE CAR, BUT IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED TO 90 MILES AN HOUR AND SHE HAD SOME VERY VERY SCARY MOMENTS... WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO 2 DIFFERENT TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND CALLED TOYOTA'S CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER AND SERVICE SUPERVISORS BUT OUR COMPLAINTS WERE IGNORED ON GROUNDS THAT THE 2006 COROLLA WAS"NOT ON THE RECALL LIST" OR THAT THEY COULD NOT "REPLICATE THE PROBLEM". SINCE THE PROBLEM ONLY HAPPENS ON STEEP, DOWNHILL ROADS WHEN MY DAUGHTER STEPS ON THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN THE CAR, IT NATURALLY CANNOT BE REPLICATED ON THE FLAT SURFACES OF SACRAMENTO OR ONTARIO, CA. AFTER GIVING TOYOTA SUCH SPECIFIC INFORMATION, ONE WOULD HOPE THAT THEY WOULD TRY TO EXPLORE IT, FIX IT OR REPLACE THE CAR GIVEN THE HIGH DEGREE OF DANGER AND THE HIGH INCIDENCE OF DEADLY CRASHES IN RECENT YEARS. WE ARE VERY FRUSTRATED WITH THEIR FAILURE TO FIX THE PROBLEM OR REFUND US THE BLUE BOOK VALUE SO THAT WE COULD PURCHASE A SAFER CAR FOR OUR CHILD. THE PROBLEM REOCCUR EVERY TIME MY DAUGHTER DRIVES THIS ROUT TO COME HOME FROM COLLEGE ON VACATIONS. SHE HAS ADAPTED BY DRIVING ONLY 55 MILES PER HOUR ON THE GRAPEVINE PASS ON THE SLOWEST LANE. HOWEVER, NOW THAT WE ARE COGNIZANT OF THE PROBLEM AND HEAR ABOUT SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR COMPLAINTS, WE ARE SIMPLY TERRIFIED AND WANT TO BUY HER A NEW AND A SAFER CAR. WE FEEL TOTALLY FRUSTRATED BY TOYOTA'S FAILURE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM AND BY THEIR TENDENCY TO BRUSH IT OFF DESPITE THE MANY FATALITIES. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PUT GOVERNMENTAL PRESSURES ON TOYOTA AND INSIST THAT THEY FIX THE PROBLEM RATHER THAN HIDE FROM IT AND ABDICATE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THEIR CLIENTS AND OTHER INNOCENT DRIVERS. PLEASE HELP US AND PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL US. *TR