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2004 TOYOTA CAMRY — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 771113 · 2010-03-06

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
CAMRY
Year
2004
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
43,512
Speed
1 mph

Severity

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

Narrative

MY 2004 TOYOTA CAMRY LE HAD RAPIDLY ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN SHORTLY AFTER PLACING GEAR SELECTOR IN PARK. I WAS SLOWLY BACKING UP MY CAMRY LE ON AN INCLINE. I HAD MY LEFT FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND LIGHTLY TOUCHED THE GAS PEDAL WITH MY RIGHT FOOT. (N.B. I USED BOTH FEET, BECAUSE ON TWO OCCASIONS WHILE BACKING UP WITH MY BODY TURNED, MY RIGHT FOOT TWISTED AND GOT CAUGHT BETWEEN THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS--WHICH ARE THE SAME HEIGHT.) I BARELY GOT A FEW FEET BEFORE I HEARD AN ODD NOISE--A SOUND THAT I CAN NEITHER REMEMBER OR DESCRIBE --SINCE I HAVE NO FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR THIS SOUND. I BELIEVE THE CAR WAS VIBRATING WHEN THIS SOUND OCCURRED. I PUT MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND MOVED THE GEAR SELECTOR TO THE PARK POSITION. WITHIN ABOUT 3 SECONDS THE ENGINE RACED SO HIGH--AS IF THE CAR WAS TRAVELING 120 MILES +. I HAVE NEVER HEARD AN ENGINE ACCELERATE AS RAPIDLY AND AS HIGH AS THIS. IT WAS AS IF ROCKET FUEL WAS SUDDENLY ADDED TO THE FUEL LINE. IF THIS VEHICLE WAS IN DRIVE, I WOULD HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO STOP. MY RELATIVE IS PROFICIENT IN BOTH COMPUTERS AND CARS. HE SUGGESTED THAT THERE COULD BE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS PROBLEM INCLUDING CORROSION ON COMPUTER PARTS, IC CHIPS NOT SEATED PROPERLY, PROBLEMS WITH THE WIRING HARNESS, AND THE LAST SUGGESTION, THAT THE ECM (CAR COMPUTER) GAVE THE WRONG COMMAND TO OPEN UP THE THROTTLE BODY, WHICH CAUSED THE ENGINE TO RACE. AFTER I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND BACK ON, THE CAR WORKED NORMAL--MY RELATIVE SAID THAT THE ECM COULD HAVE RE

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10317412
Machine
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