NHTSA Complaint #11055089 — 2009 TOYOTA CAMRY

ON DECEMBER 3, 2017, MY HUSBAND WAS PARKING OUR 2009 CAMRY ON A CITY STREET WHEN WE EXPERIENCED THE TERRIFYING UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM THAT HAS PLAGUED THIS MODEL ' AND WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN FIXED BY THE FLOOR MAT AND ACCELERATOR PEDAL RECALLS. AS MY HUSBAND SHIFTED INTO DRIVE TO MOVE SLIGHTLY FORWARD IN THE PARKING SPACE, THERE WAS A LOW ROARING, RACING MOTOR-TYPE SOUND FROM THE GEAR BOX/TRANSMISSION AREA AND THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. BRAKING COULD NOT STOP THE CAR AND IT DROVE INTO THE CAR AHEAD OF US. BECAUSE WE WERE MOVING AT LOW SPEED THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO EITHER CAR. BUT THERE WAS PERMANENT DAMAGE TO OUR TRUST IN THE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY OF OUR 2009 CAMRY, WHICH WE VOWED NEVER TO DRIVE AGAIN. OUR OCCASIONAL PRIOR EXPERIENCES WITH THE CAR'S RACING MOTOR PROBLEMS HAD NEVER CAUSED US TO LOSE CONTROL. FOR EXAMPLE, A FEW YEARS AGO WE HAD RACING ENGINE PROBLEM WHEN BRAKING FOR A LIGHT AFTER COMING OFF A HIGH SPEED INTERSTATE. ON BOTH DECEMBER 2 AND DECEMBER 3, 2017, WE HAD A RACING MOTOR EXPERIENCE DURING PARKING WHEN WE WERE IN REVERSE BUT IT DID NOT CAUSE ANY LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. IN EACH OF THESE INSTANCES WE WERE ABLE TO USE THE BRAKES TO STOP THE CAR. THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER WHO TOOK THE CAR AWAY WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR HALF A BLOCK TO HIS TRUCK WITHOUT EXPERIENCING THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM.