NHTSA Complaint #10346957 — 1997 TOYOTA 4RUNNER

I WAS ON HIGHWAY 101 DRIVING HOME RECENTLY IN MY 97 4RUNNER WITH 200,000+ MILES ON IT AFTER A FULL SERVICING AT TOYOTA OF SANTA CRUZ AND MY ACCELERATOR STUCK, IDLING AT 3-4K RPM. AFTER THE PANIC MODE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP AND REALIZING THE BRAKES WILL NOT STOP A REVVING ENGINE, I PUT IT IN NEUTRAL AND SLOWED THE VEHICLE AS THE ENGINE REVVED. I PUT IT BACK IN DRIVE AND IT SEEMED TO BE OK. I GOT TO AN AREA WHERE I COULD TEST IT OUT SAFELY AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED AND I HAD TO PUT IT NEUTRAL AGAIN. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE, BUT IT FINALLY FROZE AT 3-4K RPM AND I HAD TO PULL TO THE SIDE AND GET TOWED. I HAD IT TOWED TO TOYOTA OF SANTA CRUZ AND THE NEXT DAY WAS INFORMED THAT THE BRAIDING ON THE THROTTLE CABLE CAME APART IN THE THROTTLE HOUSING AND THE MAINTENANCE'S WOULD NOT HAVE FOUND THE PROBLEM. THE FIX WAS RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, $200 AND THE TOW WAS $200. THAT WOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM IF IT HADN'T BEEN SUCH A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD, BUT THIS WAS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD NOT ONLY TO MYSELF, BUT TO ANYONE THAT I WAS ON THE ROAD WITH. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE VEHICLE IS AN OLDER VEHICLE, BUT I'M GUESSING THAT THIS IS NOT THE 1ST TIME THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED. AND MY WORST THOUGHT IS THAT POSSIBLY MY DAUGHTER, GIRLFRIEND (WHICH IS A NEW DRIVER) OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER COULD HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND WHO KNOWS WHAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED. SO, IT LOOKS LIKE TOYOTA HAS QUITE A FEW SAFETY ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN IGNORING FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS. ON TOP OF THAT, IT SEEMS THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST PAID FOR THE REPAIRS FOR SENDING ME OUT IN THEIR DEATH TRAP WITH NO WARNING. I'M GOING TO BE BUYING ANOTHER CAR SOON AND I WILL TO THINK TWICE ABOUT BUYING ANOTHER TOYOTA. *TR