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2004 TOYOTA SIENNA — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 669377 · 2008-05-12

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
SIENNA
Year
2004
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
62,792
Speed
35 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

SUDDEN ACCELERATION IN 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA VAN: AT 0830AM PST, APRIL 29TH 2008 I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AT MY SCHOOL WHERE I WORK AS A TEACHER. WHILE MAKING A SLOW U-TURN, WITH MY FOOT LIGHTLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, MY 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA LE VAN SUDDENLY TOOK OFF AND ACCELERATED UNCONTROLLABLY LIKE A ROCKET AT MAXIMUM VELOCITY. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS NEVER PRESSED DURING THIS INCIDENT. I HAD JUST A SPLIT SECOND TO REMOVE MY FOOT COMPLETELY OFF THE BRAKE PEDAL TO LOOK DOWN AT THE FLOOR BOARD TO ENSURE NOTHING WAS PINNING THE PEDAL DOWNWARD, NOTHING WAS THERE AND THE VAN WAS STILL ACCELERATING LOOKED UP IN HORROR AS VEHICLE WAS CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH RATE OF SPEED AND CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE. I QUICKLY STEERED THE VEHICLE AND DODGED A SCREENED CHAIN-LINK FENCE TO AVOID AN AREA WHERE CHILDREN USUALLY STAND WAITING FOR PARENTS. WITH VEHICLE STILL ACCELERATING AT FULL POWER I QUICKLY PASSED THE FENCE AREA, APPLIED THE BRAKES WITH GREAT FORCE, BUT THEY FELT UNRESPONSIVE TO THE ACCELERATION FORCES. WITH VEHICLE MOVING AT A VERY HIGH RATE OF SPEED AND STILL ACCELERATING, I SAW A PARKED VEHICLE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND COULD NO LONGER CONTROL THE VEHICLE, I BRACED FOR IMPACT. THE VAN VIOLENTLY SMASHED INTO AN UNATTENDED FORD EXPEDITION VEHICLE, ENGINE BRIEFLY REVVED HIGH AND THEN FINALLY SHUT DOWN. HAD THERE NOT BEEN A PARKED VEHICLE THERE I WOULD HAVE GONE DIRECTLY INTO THE RESIDENTIAL HOUSE ABOUT 50 FEET AWAY. IT ONLY TOOK ABOUT 3 OR 4 SECONDS FOR THE VAN T

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10227481
Machine
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