NHTSA complaint: 2004 TOYOTA CAMRY — SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) I OWN A 2004 TOYOTA CAMRY VIN#[XXX] ON JANUARY 6, 2010 I WAS DRIVING UP FIRST AVE IN MANHATTAN GOING TO RANDALLS ISLAND. AT 1ST AVE AND ABOUT 10 ST I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 20 MILES PER HOUR, PRESSED THE BRAKE APPROACHING A RED LIGHT. INSTEAD THE ENGINE REVVED (VROOM) AND CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD. I FLOORED THE BRAKE AND PULLED UP THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND STILL I TAPPED THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE IN FRONT BEFORE BEING ABLE TO STOP BY PUTTING CAR INTO PARK. 2 HOURS LATER I WAS RETURNING HOME AND DRIVING DOWN 9TH STREET BETWEEN BROADWAY AND UNIVERSITY AND AGAIN APPROACHING A RED LIGHT BRAKED TO SLOW DOWN THE CAR (I WAS ALREADY GOING 20MPH) AGAIN, INSTEAD THE VEHICLE REVVED AND ACCELERATED FORWARD AND THIS TIME NO MATTER HOW HARD I PUSHED THE BRAKE THE CAR WOULDN'T STOP. I SLAMMED THE TRANSMISSION INTO PARK , PULLED UP THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND THAT STOPPED THE CAR. I CALLED AAA AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO TOYOTA OF MANHATTAN WHERE THEY SAID MY BRAKE PINS WERE FROZEN AND THERE WAS A THROTTLE PROBLEM AND CHARGED $1300 FOR REPAIR. (MY PERSONAL MECHANIC IN NJ LATER TOLD ME BRAKE PINS AND UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION WERE NOT RELATED. ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2010 WHILE DRIVING TO MY SUMMER APARTMENT IN VENTNOR NJ THE SAME THING HAPPENED. WE WERE AGAIN ABLE TO STOP THE CAR BY PULLING INTO PARK MODE AND EMERGENCY BRAKE. WE RESTARTED THE CAR AND DROVE 10 MILES PER HOUR TO OUR PARKING LOT WHERE THE CAR
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation