NHTSA Complaint #10810968 — 2004 TOYOTA CAMRY

UNINTENDED (UNEXPLAINED) ACCELERATION: SLOWLY APPROACHED RED LIGHT AT INTERSECTION. AS I EASED ON BRAKE TO STOP BEHIND LINE OF TRAFFIC, ENGINE SURGED. I PUSHED BRAKE TO FLOOR AND PUSHED ON EMERGENCY BRAKE WITH OTHER FOOT WHILE SHIFTING INTO PARK. MY NEXT STEP WOULD HAVE BEEN TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL, BUT CAR STOPPED A FEW INCHES BEHIND THE CAR AHEAD. THIS WAS ALL IN THE SPACE OF PERHAPS 5 SECONDS. FORTUNATELY, I WAS NOT GOING FAST OR ON A WET/ICY ROAD. LIGHT CHANGED TO GREEN AND I SHIFTED INTO DRIVE. CAR FUNCTIONED NORMALLY. DEALER HAD CAR A FULL DAY, WENT THROUGH TOYOTA HQ INTERVIEW AND TESTS, THEY WERE UNABLE TO REPEAT THE UA, STATED "VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED" BUT WOULD NOT TELL ME THE CAR WAS SAFE OR UNSAFE. I BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW IN 2004, LOVED THE WAY IT HANDLED FOR 75K MILES, BUT NOW I DO NOT TRUST IT. I WONDER IF TOYOTA'S TESTS EVER ALLOW THEM TO RECREATE THE UA, BUT THEY COULD/WOULD NOT TELL ME THAT WHEN I TALKED WITH THE CASE MANAGER AT HQ. MY CAR WAS NEVER ON THE UA RECALL LIST. BECAUSE I DID NOT CRASH, THE COMPUTER WOULD NOT HAVE RECORDED THE ACCELERATOR OR BRAKE USE TO PROVE THE UA HAPPENED! SEEMS LIKE A CATCH 22. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR AND WILL GIVE FULL DISCLOSURE IF I TRADE IT IN OR SELL IT. I ASKED AND WAS TOLD BY TOYOTA HQ CASE MANAGER THAT THIS INCIDENT WILL BE AVAILABLE IF THE CAR IS CHECKED ON CARFAX. WHILE THE DEALER WAS ALWAYS SENDING ME REQUESTS TO TRADE IN MY CAR AS IT WOULD SELL WELL, I'M SURE THE VALUE HAS DROPPED CONSIDERABLY NOW. I AM NOT PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME AT ALL, ONLY GRATEFUL THAT NO ONE WAS HURT OR KILLED IN THIS INCIDENT.