NHTSA Complaint #10357146 — 2005 SCION TC

AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY I ACCELERATED TO PASS AND IT SEEMED AS IF MY THROTTLE SHORTED OUT. MY CAR'S RPM'S DROPPED AND I STARTED TO DECREASE SPEED. I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR AND IT SEEMED TO CATCH AGAIN, BUT AS I PUSHED THE PEDAL AGAIN MY ACCELERATOR WENT OUT FOR A SECOND TIME. AT THIS POINT AND MY ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND TRIED TO RESTART MY CAR MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE ROLLING WITH NO SUCCESS. I HAD TO TRY TO MANEUVER MY CAR THROUGH TRAFFIC WITH NO POWER, ROLLING AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 40 MILES PER HOUR AND DECREASING RAPIDLY WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY WITH A SPEED LIMIT OF 65. AFTER I MADE MY WAY OVER TWO LANES TO THE SHOULDER I TRIED TO RESTART MY CAR AND IT WOULD CATCH AND THEN TURN OFF. I WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND TRIED AGAIN, IT STARTED AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED AND I CONTINUED ON. I COULD NOT TAKE MY CAR TO THE SHOP BUT PLANNED TO TAKE IT THE NEXT MONDAY. ON MY WAY HOME ON A SUNDAY EVENING I WAS DRIVING ON ONE OF THE BUSIEST STREETS IN ARLINGTON, TX AND THE CAR STARTED TO SHUT DOWN ON ME AGAIN. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES AS I HAVE DONE BEFORE AND HEADED HOME. AS I WAS DRIVING AGAIN THE CAR'S THROTTLE WENT OUT COMPLETELY AND I COULD DO NOTHING EXCEPT ROLL DOWN THE STREET. AS I PUSHED THE THROTTLE MY CAR WOULD NOT EXCEED 2,000 RPM'S AND THE MAX SPEED WAS 25 MPH. I MADE IT TO A SAFE SPOT AFTER ROLLING FOR ABOUT 2 MILES AT 12-20 MPH ON A 45 MPH ROAD. I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL MONDAY BEFORE I COULD HAVE SOMEONE TOW IT AWAY. THE SALESMAN AND I DID THE RESEARCH ON THE SCION TC AND ASSURED ME BEFORE PURCHASING THE CAR, THAT ACCELERATION WAS NOT A PROBLEM. I WAS CONCERNED DUE TO THE PROBLEMS TOYOTA WAS HAVING HOWEVER I DID NOT SEE ANY RECALLS OR MAJOR PROBLEMS EXCEPT AIRBAGS, WINDOWS, AND THE SUNROOF RECALLS. I WAS EXPECTING A GREAT CAR, WITH GREAT SAFETY FEATURES AND DURABILITY BUT ISSUES WITH A THROTTLE BODY GOING OUT WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY IS A MAJOR CONCERN THAT NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. *TR