NHTSA complaint: 2002 TOYOTA CAMRY — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
I WAS TURINING INTO THE PARKING AREA AT MY COMPLEX I ATTEMPTED TO SLOW DOWN AND APPLIED THE BRAKES AS I NORMALL WOULD TO TURN INTO MY PARKING SPACE. AS I STARTED TO BRAKE, THE CAR STARTED TO ACCELERATE. I MADE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO LIFT MY FOOT OFF BOTH PEDALS TO BE SURE I WAS NOT PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR INSTEAD OF THE BRAKE. THE VEHICLE KEPT ACCELERATING. I IMMEDIATELY STARTED TO APPLY THE BRAKE, WHICH DID NOT SLOW THE VEHICLE. WHEN I REALIZED THAT I WAS NOT SLOWING DOWN, I ABORTED THE TURN INTO THE PARKING SPACE AND STRAIGHTENED OUT THE VEHICLE TO AVOID HITTING OTHER PARK CARS AND TO GIVE MORE TIME AND DISTANCE TO SAFELY BRAKE. THE VEHCILE WOULD NOT SLOW, AND KEPT ACCELERATING, CAUSING IT TO GO UP AND OVER THE CONCRETE CURB/SIDEWALK, AND RIGHT INTO A SET OF STAIRS AT THE COMPLEX. NO ONE WAS INJURED, MYSELF INCLUDED, BUT THE STAIRCASE, NEEDLESS TO SAY, IS DEMOLISHED, AS IS THE ENTIRE FRONT END OF MY CAMRY. VEHICLE IS AT BODY SHOP AS OF NOW, NO ASSESSMENT HAS BEEN DONE. I DID, HOWEVER, EARLIER THIS EVENING SIMPLY LOG ONTO GOOGLE WHERE I TYPED IN "TOYOTA CAMRY ACCELERATOR STICKING" AND CAME UP WITH THE FOLLOWING LINK: HTTP://SUBSCRIPT.BNA.COM/SAMPLES/PLD.NSF/0/33A2947408D24D5185256E5300035CAC?OPENDOCUMENT. *AK *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation