micmac Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 In Sept of 2008 I purchased my first toyota ever it was a 2008 Avalon Limited. I am not a mechanic so I need help to understand what may be causing my problem. Unlike the older Avalon’s my car for some unknown when I was accelerating to the spend limit of 25 miles per hour the accelerator went to the floor. I reached speeds of 85 to 90 miles per hour. I tried using my brakes that only caused the back end of my car to skid out of control. I tried to shift car to neutral but gear shift would not respond. I was to a point looking for some place to crash my car but decided to hit gear shift 1 more time, which it finally responed to neutral. The accelerator was still stuck to the floor my car smelled of smoke I thought was going to catch fire. I stomped on gas pedal as hard as I could and car went to normal. I drove the car home slowly and on Monday Nov 10th I had the car towed to the dealership where it still sits. We are scheduled for arbitration on Thursday Jan 22. I know for a fact that it was not the floor mats in the car that’s what Toyota want to blame it on. Something is wrong with this car, I have been researching the NHTSA site and other people with 06, 07 and 08 are having the same problem. I no longer feel safe to drive this car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leighcm Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 In Sept of 2008 I purchased my first toyota ever it was a 2008 Avalon Limited. I am not a mechanic so I need help to understand what may be causing my problem. Unlike the older Avalon's my car for some unknown when I was accelerating to the spend limit of 25 miles per hour the accelerator went to the floor. I reached speeds of 85 to 90 miles per hour. I tried using my brakes that only caused the back end of my car to skid out of control. I tried to shift car to neutral but gear shift would not respond. I was to a point looking for some place to crash my car but decided to hit gear shift 1 more time, which it finally responed to neutral. The accelerator was still stuck to the floor my car smelled of smoke I thought was going to catch fire. I stomped on gas pedal as hard as I could and car went to normal. I drove the car home slowly and on Monday Nov 10th I had the car towed to the dealership where it still sits. We are scheduled for arbitration on Thursday Jan 22. I know for a fact that it was not the floor mats in the car that's what Toyota want to blame it on. Something is wrong with this car, I have been researching the NHTSA site and other people with 06, 07 and 08 are having the same problem. I no longer feel safe to drive this car. Scary stuff... I know the mats have caused an issue because they stick under the pedal...what are the facts about why you know it wasn't the mats? They weren't anywhere near the pedal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micmac Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 When car was driven home, my wife went out to the car and checked under the gas pedal for something that may have gotten stuck and she could not find anything. Also when the car was towed in they also looked and found nothing. I don’t think the dealership believes that it was the floor mats, they didn’t want to release the car back to her, that’s why it’s still sitting there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leighcm Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 When car was driven home, my wife went out to the car and checked under the gas pedal for something that may have gotten stuck and she could not find anything. Also when the car was towed in they also looked and found nothing. I don't think the dealership believes that it was the floor mats, they didn't want to release the car back to her, that's why it's still sitting there. That was smart on their part. You shouldn't drive it until they find out the problem. It's probably too soon for arbitration if they don't have a diagnosis. Or has a technician thoroughly checked it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avalon2000 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 That was smart on their part. You shouldn't drive it until they find out the problem. It's probably too soon for arbitration if they don't have a diagnosis. Or has a technician thoroughly checked it out? I could not get this off my mind because what happend to you was so scary. It sounds like something took over the control off you...The only thing could remotely do that would be the cruise control. Is it possilbe that the cruise control got activated accidently when the car was running below 30mile/hour? Still, braking should turning it off. But if you have a bad cruise control assembly that got stuck to certain stage, that would explain pretty much everything, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avalon2000 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-...ragic-Accident/ from US news : Toyota, Lexus Dealers Will Inspect Floor Mats After Tragic Accident Posted: Sep. 17, 2009 10:09 a.m. Toyota dealers nationwide have been ordered to inspect floor mats in all of their cars after a California Highway Patrol Officer and three members of his family were killed in a horrifying high-speed traffic accident apparently caused by a mismatched floor mat. USA Today reports, "Toyota Motor Sales USA planned to issue an order Wednesday to about 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide to make sure each of their new, used and loaner vehicles had the proper floor mats and that the mats were properly secured, said Brian Lyons, a spokesman for the Torrance-based company. Customers who are concerned should also make sure they have the proper mats. "If there's any doubt in their mind about the security and shape of their mat," Lyons told reporters, owners should "go ahead and visit the dealer." Kicking Tires explains, "It's believed a floormat caused an accident that killed four people in San Diego County after becoming snagged on the vehicle's gas pedal." Four people were riding in the Lexus ES350, which a dealer had loaned to the family while their own car was serviced. Crash investigators haven't released a final conclusion, but told reporters that a driver's-side all-weather floor mat found at the scene doesn't match the ES 350. USA Today notes that the mismatched mat "could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal." A passenger in the car "called police about a minute before the crash to say the vehicle had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck." Investigators estimate that the Lexus was travelling more than 120 miles per hour "when it hit a sport-utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames." Bloomberg notes that this isn't the first time Toyota has heard of a similar issue. "Toyota in 2007 recalled 55,000 Camrys and Lexus ES 350s in the U.S. to replace floor mats that it said could slip forward and snag the gas pedal, causing uncontrolled acceleration." The 2009 ES350 involved in the California accident was not covered by that recall. Drivers trapped in a car with the accelerator stuck have several, very limited options. Toyota's Lyons told USA Today, "The driver could have put the car in neutral to disengage the engine from the automatic transmission." He "also could have turned off the electronically keyed car by holding down the start switch for three seconds, but that could have locked the steering wheel, turned off the headlights and cut power-assist to the brakes, Lyons said." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.