Off the Hook: NHTSA closes probe on Toyota Tacoma's sudden acceleration issue

Sudden Unintended Acceleration! Oh What A Feeling! I didn't ask for it but I got it! Just sold my 2007 Toyota Tacoma 4cyl automatic at auction after NHTSA closed its probe so the truck won't kill me next time it happens unless the next owner impacts me in an uncontrolled acceleration. This happened to me five times during the 17 months since I bought it new. Always happened while the air conditioner was running AND as I released the gas pedal - not as the brake was applied as reported by some. My conclusion was that the air conditioner compressor solenoid was causing an electrical surge as I released the gas pedal in normal driving as the AC cycled back on. No surprise that no engine codes were generated. Its not like I was reporting seeing a UFO. Toyota ignored my complaint and they lost my loyalty - Forever!! Do the right thing Toyota CEO and impale yourself on a sword.

They are very bad. Sorry to hear your pain with this terrible company.

Johnny wrote:

They are very bad. Sorry to hear your pain with this terrible company.

On March 8, 2009 I was travelling on the Pittsburgh Parkway near the Pgh. International Airport. I accelerated to pass a slow moving vehicle that was in the center lane, as I did the throttle stuck wide open and I was travelling as fast as this vehicle would go. I put my foot on the brake, nothing happened - put both feet on the brake - nothing happened - was now standing on the brake .... and my 2008 Toyota Tacoma would not slow down. I noticed the gravel berm to my right, I was in the right lane but knew that if I tried to get over, I would problably flip the vehicle.....I knew that the road narrows to 2 lanes shortly and that I had to do something quickly. I put the truck in Neutral and it was revving so fast and so loud that I thought the engine would come through the hood, I merged onto the berm and the speed at which I was travelling still propelled me down the berm...when I was almost stopped, I shut the ignition off. Toyota refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem. My husband and me (both good driver's) are afraid to drive this vehicle. It's like someone strapping a bomb to you, you know if't going to go off - you just don't know when. I have contacted the news media and I'm going to tell my story.

Sandy wrote:

<quoted text>
On March 8, 2009 I was travelling on the Pittsburgh Parkway near the Pgh. International Airport. I accelerated to pass a slow moving vehicle that was in the center lane, as I did the throttle stuck wide open and I was travelling as fast as this vehicle would go. I put my foot on the brake, nothing happened - put both feet on the brake - nothing happened - was now standing on the brake .... and my 2008 Toyota Tacoma would not slow down. I noticed the gravel berm to my right, I was in the right lane but knew that if I tried to get over, I would problably flip the vehicle.....I knew that the road narrows to 2 lanes shortly and that I had to do something quickly. I put the truck in Neutral and it was revving so fast and so loud that I thought the engine would come through the hood, I merged onto the berm and the speed at which I was travelling still propelled me down the berm...when I was almost stopped, I shut the ignition off. Toyota refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem. My husband and me (both good driver's) are afraid to drive this vehicle. It's like someone strapping a bomb to you, you know if't going to go off - you just don't know when. I have contacted the news media and I'm going to tell my story.

Dumbass learn how to drive!

Bush wrote:

<quoted text>Dumbass learn how to drive!

I would wish that you be faced with the same situation. I am not a dumbass. I handled this situation correctly and got the vehicle stopped before my passenger, me and those who shared the road with me that day were not injured. I am employed by a police dept and have been driving over 40 years without an accident.

Go on line and type "TOYOTA TACOMA ACCELERATION PROBLEM" and see what YOU find.

I told my story so that other's are aware of the danger of this vehicle.

Juan wrote:

Sudden Unintended Acceleration! Oh What A Feeling! I didn't ask for it but I got it! Toyota ignored my complaint and they lost my loyalty - Forever!! Do the right thing Toyota CEO and impale yourself on a sword.

Juan...Am getting the same runaround with our new 2008 Toyota Tacoma. You said it all in your last statement. No one knows the terror of speeding down a highway through no fault of your own and trying to stop a runaway vehicle before killing anyone. We will not drive our truck and will probably trade it in .... I don't feel right doing that to some unsuspecting buyer....but Toyota put all of us in this predictament and they didn't care if we crashed.

Sandy wrote:

<quoted text>
Juan...Am getting the same runaround with our new 2008 Toyota Tacoma. You said it all in your last statement. No one knows the terror of speeding down a highway through no fault of your own and trying to stop a runaway vehicle before killing anyone. We will not drive our truck and will probably trade it in .... I don't feel right doing that to some unsuspecting buyer....but Toyota put all of us in this predictament and they didn't care if we crashed.

Take your foot off the gas pedal. The NHTSA couldn't duplicate the issue and closed the probe. Statistically, there won't be sudden acceleration except for your foot planted on the gas pedal. Also, if your truck didn't stop when you applied the brakes then you had your foot on the wrong pedal. Multiple major systems don't just simultaneously fail on automobiles, and the engine would only rev to the limiter. Your story has too many holes in it, I suggest you purchase a Buick.

Here is the deal...The throttle on the Tacoma has an angle sensor on both the Throttle body and the pedal. These sensor's correlate each other to prevent mismatching. On the Tacoma the throttle wiring and the HVAC controls don't even share the same harness so shorts are impossible! Second the ECU has a preset airflow table used in fuel management, if the throttle angle is different than the preset pedal angle it will close the throttle instantly. The stepper motors are spring loaded and the throttle motors need power in order to keep the throttle open. If the throttle ever lost power or had a wire cut the motor will instantly go to idle (not stall because that would lock up the drivetrain). A surge in power to the stepper motor would cause it to open more than the pedal angle and cause the airflow and position values to mismatch and the ECU will cut power and close throttle. A power surge powerful enough to force the stepper motor to do that would blow every fuse in the car. Almost every new car sold today has an e-throttle, Toyota has used them since the early '90s on the Lexus brand. The chance of anything going wrong on them is less likely than with a cable throttle, which is like getting struck by lightning. Why do I smell UAW in this complaint issue.

Also I you hit the brakes with the truck accelerating out of control it would stall the engine and will stop! Not to mention, your pads would be roasting, therefor you would have tangible evidence. The Brakdes are not electrical, they are hydraulic and the master cylinder is directly actuated by pedal effort.

Dude....my toyota 06 Tacoma did the same thing tonight. I accelerated...and the throttle STUCK and the brake barely worked....I had to shut the engine off and come to a stop. It is at toyota tonight...awaiting for the morning service...

I just had the EXACT SAME THING happen to me. One of the scariest things that ever happen to me in all of my years of driving.

I had my cruise control set for 70 MPH and I accelerated to pas a slow moving car, and the truck took off! I tried pounding the gas pedal thinking it was stuck with no luck. I turned off the cruise control but the truck kept accelerating. I took it out of drive into neutral but even then the car would not stop. ALMOST had a bad accident. I have a perfect driving record and have been a mechanic my entire life. I turned the engine off and that cured the problem THIS TIME.

solution buy a chevy or a Ford next time

Time to go to the following web sites to see the true story about Toyota engine oil gel or sludge. Never mind Toyota's explanation:

http://www.petitiononline.com/TMC2003/petitio...
http://www.toyotaoilgel.com
http://www.uc2.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch...

Follow "toyotasludge" on Twitter.com for updates.

The Toyota engine oil sludge problem has NOT been properly resolved. Period.

Contact me for if you need more information.

Charlene Blake
cblake@erols.com
charleneblake@cox.net

My 07 has been doing this since I got it new early 07 with 7 miles on it.. I drive it and my husband does rarely. He will not beleive me that this occurs. But it really does all the time. I mostly notice in parking lots at slow speeds 1-8 mph, or when stopped with break pressed.
I have been completely stopped with break pressed and it surged forward hitting a gate and ruining mt fron bumper! Toyota needs to fix this issue. i agree it is dangerous. Pretty crappy for a $30K plus vehicle!!!

next time buy a Ford and you wont have this problems.

I just bought a 2008 Tacoma and see at Toyota.com they recommend removing the floor mat which seems bulletproof. Drive by wire issues are being ignored as they represent a more significant issue. Over 400 folks say the mats aren't the problem. Is anybody home?

Juan wrote:

Sudden Unintended Acceleration! Oh What A Feeling! I didn't ask for it but I got it! Just sold my 2007 Toyota Tacoma 4cyl automatic at auction after NHTSA closed its probe so the truck won't kill me next time it happens unless the next owner impacts me in an uncontrolled acceleration. This happened to me five times during the 17 months since I bought it new. Always happened while the air conditioner was running AND as I released the gas pedal - not as the brake was applied as reported by some. My conclusion was that the air conditioner compressor solenoid was causing an electrical surge as I released the gas pedal in normal driving as the AC cycled back on. No surprise that no engine codes were generated. Its not like I was reporting seeing a UFO. Toyota ignored my complaint and they lost my loyalty - Forever!! Do the right thing Toyota CEO and impale yourself on a sword.

Bush wrote:

<quoted text>Dumbass learn how to drive!

Is anybody home? Have all these folks failed to discover a displaced floormat causing a forced acc pedal? I instincively distrust drive by wire. Cruise control equiped vehicles have an electronic acc-decc feature. In all cases-no code failure readouts. Some of you are a 1/2 bubble off plumb.

Mat causing the stuck Toyota (Lexus) accelerator? Hardly! This is yet another way for Toyota to blame the owner. Is there any major vehicle defect where Toyota will not blame the owner? Take a look at the "Toyota Owners Unite for Resolution: Engine Oil Sludge" online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/TMC2003/petitio... . There are over 3,000 petition signatories already yet Toyota says that only 3,200 people had the sludge problem? Gross underestimation? Of course!

Toyota's major safety issues are being blamed on the drivers of its vehicles! This is a low blow by a company! Talk to the owners who have experienced non-deployment of the Toyota air bags (if they are not DEAD!) and see what they have to say about safety issues in Toyotas!

Take a look at the YouTube video entitled "Toyota Engine Oil Sludge" at http://www.youtube.com/watch... which has been up for only a couple of months but has gotten almost 3,000 views. Go to the "Toyota Oil Gel" web site at http://www.toyotaoilgel.com to see what one Toyota owner has put together.

Next, read http://www.uc2.blogspot.com to fine out how one Toyota dealership treats an owner who wished to exercise his freedom of speech rights. Name-calling, flattening of tires, threats, and even attempts to run over the protesting Toyota owner are just some of this Toyota dealerships tricks to dealing with a dissatisfied customer!

Toyota---SHAME on you for trying to once again incriminate the Toyota owners---and DEAD ones at that!! You need to confess about your quality issues and resolve the current and former issues that Toyota owners had had to face over the last few years!! Stop the facade---stop the blame game---stop the FRAUD!!

Relax, they are killing themselves and the feds are investigating. Hell, they are battling lawsuits all over the place and their quality is tanking fast. American's are waking up daily.
junk-

JJFADS wrote:

Relax, they are killing themselves and the feds are investigating. Hell, they are battling lawsuits all over the place and their quality is tanking fast. American's are waking up daily.
junk-

Liar.