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2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash1 injured · 847967 · 2011-03-21

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
HIGHLANDER
Year
2004
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
41,845
Speed
15 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON FEBRUARY, 18, 2011 AT APPPROXIMATELY 1:30 P.M. I GOT INTO MY 2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER, WHICH WAS PARKED IN A PRIVATE PARKING LOT AT 1 MEETINGHOUSE RD. IN CHELMSFORD, MA. I TURNED THE KEY ON, STARTED THE CAR, AND PUT THE GEAR IN REVERSE TO BACK OUT OF THE PARKING SPACE. AS I TOUCHED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WITH MY RIGHT FOOT, THE CAR ACCELERATED UNCONTROLLABLY AT A SPEED THAT DID NOT CORRESPOND WITH THE PRESSURE I HAD PUT ON THE PEDAL. I IMMEDIATELY PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKES, BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE BRAKE SYSTEM. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED TO BACK OUT IN A COUNTERCLOCKWISE DIRECTION, AND WITHIN NO MORE THAN 4 SECONDS, THE CAR CRASHED INTO A BUILDING APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET FROM WHERE THE CAR WAS INITIALLY PARKED. THE CAR WAS TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE TO MY EFFORTS TO BRAKE SUBSEQUENT TO THIS SUDDEN AND INEXPLICABLE ACCELERATION. I'M LUCKY I WASN'T KILLED, BECAUSE MY VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10392355
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown