NHTSA Complaint #10595969 — 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID

WHILE DRIVING UP A SLIGHT INCLINE THE INDICATING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD SUDDENLY ILLUMINATED - RED BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING ICON, RED ABS LIGHT, RED BRAKE LIGHT, RED MASTER WARNING LIGHT. IN ADDITION, THE SCREEN DISPLAYED "CHECK VSC SYSTEM" AND AN AUDIBLE WARNING TONE SOUNDED. FROM ABOUT 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, THE BRAKE ACTUATOR MOTOR WOULD CYCLE ON/OFF FREQUENTLY AFTER A TRIP. OVER TIME, THE DURATION OF THE ON AND OFF CYCLING AFTER A TRIP GRADUALLY INCREASED FROM ABOUT 30 SECONDS TO APPROXIMATELY 90 SECONDS. THE ACTUATOR MOTOR ALSO CYCLED WHEN OPENING THE DOOR BEFORE A TRIP. OTHER SYMPTOMS THAT SURFACED PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT INCLUDED FREQUENT ON/OFF CYCLING OF THE BRAKE ACTUATOR MOTOR AT TRAFFIC LIGHT STOPS AND AN AUDIBLE "BARKING" SOUND FROM UNDER THE HOOD. RESEARCH ON THE WORLD-WIDE-WEB REVEALED MANY OWNERS WITH SAME SYMPTOMS. BECAUSE THE ENGINE IN THE HYBRID CARS TURN OFF DURING NORMAL OPERATION, ENGINE VACUUM IS NOT READILY AVAILABLE FOR THE POWER BRAKE ASSISTANCE AS FOUND IN CONVENTIONAL AUTOMOBILES. CONSEQUENTLY, THE FAILURE OF THE POWER ASSIST IS DUE TO THE INADEQUATE DESIGN OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM. FURTHERMORE, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE REPLACEMENT BRAKE ACTUATOR PART THAT TOYOTA PROVIDES FOR THE 2007 AND 2008 CAMRY HYBRIDS HAS A DIFFERENT PART NO. THAN THE ORIGINAL ONE PROVIDED. THIS STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT TOYOTA RECOGNIZES ITS ORIGINAL BRAKE ACTUATOR HAS A FAULTY DESIGN. I HAVE NOT DRIVEN THE CAR SINCE THIS INCIDENT FOR FEAR OF LOSING THE POWER ASSIST ON THE BRAKES. THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER HAS NOT REPLIED TO MY INQUIRY ON THIS MATTER. I ALSO HAVE A 2009 CAMRY HYBRID AND ALTHOUGH THE BRAKE ACTUATOR CYCLES ON AND OFF AFTER OPENING THE DOOR BEFORE A TRIP AND AFTER THE SYSTEM IS SHUTDOWN FOLLOWING THE TRIP, THE CYCLE IS VERY SHORT AND THE DURATION IS NO LONGER THAN 30 SECONDS. I DO NOT HAVE ANY BRAKE PROBLEMS WITH THE 2009 MODEL. *TR