A Question Regarding the Accelerator Pedal Recall...

[OsageWinterTRD]

Hello All.

I recently had my 08 SE V6 in for some work, and I was told by my service manager that my vehicle did indeed fall under the recall for the "stuck accelerator pedal"...they took care of it and did what I was told was a "shaving of the pedal" as well as ensuring the floormats didn't interfere with the pedal, per Toyota's instructions...

So far, I don't suspect any problems with this "shaved" or "reshaped" pedal, but I'm wondering if perhaps now isn't the time to trade the car in based on this problem the company has been having; I read in a recent issue of Motor Trend, in their family sedan comparo (in which the Camry LE won), that these "fixes" to the pedals MAY correct the car from "taking off on its own" and that concerned me. Are these problems, once they're addressed by the dealer, eliminated 100 percent (in terms of the pedal "sticking") or is there a chance that it could still happen? Would I be wise to begin looking at trading the vehicle in because of this potential safety disaster? I have a bit over 14K on the clock, and it's an 08...

Thanks in advance for any opinions or thoughts.

[OsageWinterTRD]

Anyone?

[mcdawgg]

Originally Posted by OsageWinterTRD

Hello All.

I recently had my 08 SE V6 in for some work, and I was told by my service manager that my vehicle did indeed fall under the recall for the "stuck accelerator pedal"...they took care of it and did what I was told was a "shaving of the pedal" as well as ensuring the floormats didn't interfere with the pedal, per Toyota's instructions...

So far, I don't suspect any problems with this "shaved" or "reshaped" pedal, but I'm wondering if perhaps now isn't the time to trade the car in based on this problem the company has been having; I read in a recent issue of Motor Trend, in their family sedan comparo (in which the Camry LE won), that these "fixes" to the pedals MAY correct the car from "taking off on its own" and that concerned me. Are these problems, once they're addressed by the dealer, eliminated 100 percent (in terms of the pedal "sticking") or is there a chance that it could still happen? Would I be wise to begin looking at trading the vehicle in because of this potential safety disaster? I have a bit over 14K on the clock, and it's an 08...

Thanks in advance for any opinions or thoughts.

I have never heard about or read about (that can be proven) a Toyota that takes off on its own. The big problem was not securing floormats and/or using the wrong mat or using two or more mats. The other problem is the CTS pedal could get sticky. Those are the problems that are confirmed and have been corrected. The Toyota hate club is still hoping that the electronics are the problem and get confused with electromagnetic interference or something. Bottom line - if you've had the recall items done, chances are you will be fine. If you are that concerned, you should never drive, or even leave your house, because there is a MUCH greater chance of getting killed by someone or something else. If you choose to stay at home forever, make sure you are in a ranch house and have your furnace checked weekly, and have a sprinkler system installed. Bottom line is your Camry will be fine. As with any car, just stick it in neutral if something should ever go wrong.
My family has 2 Camrys, NO concerns.

[OsageWinterTRD]

Originally Posted by mcdawgg

I have never heard about or read about (that can be proven) a Toyota that takes off on its own. The big problem was not securing floormats and/or using the wrong mat or using two or more mats. The other problem is the CTS pedal could get sticky. Those are the problems that are confirmed and have been corrected. The Toyota hate club is still hoping that the electronics are the problem and get confused with electromagnetic interference or something. Bottom line - if you've had the recall items done, chances are you will be fine. If you are that concerned, you should never drive, or even leave your house, because there is a MUCH greater chance of getting killed by someone or something else. If you choose to stay at home forever, make sure you are in a ranch house and have your furnace checked weekly, and have a sprinkler system installed. Bottom line is your Camry will be fine. As with any car, just stick it in neutral if something should ever go wrong.
My family has 2 Camrys, NO concerns.

While I don't appreciate your sarcasm about "never leaving my house" as that's got nothing to do with being concerned for the safety of my family in this car and how it relates to a sticking accelerator pedal, I do appreciate your input and thoughts...

Wasn't there an incident when a Camry or Lexus actually accelerated on its own to cause deadly crashes? Did I hear this wrong? In the latest issue of Motor Trend, in which they did a family sedan comparo test, the writer mentioned something about the recall hopefully ensuring that the car doesn't "take off on its own"...and I thought there were problems in that regard.

As I said, the dealer shaved the pedal supposedly and recrafted it to specifications from the factory; as of right now, the pedal sometimes "sticks" and causes the tach and engine to "race" a bit until it finds the correct gear, but I'm not sure if this was due to the "fixes" they made...

[eskymi]

I don't know how much this will help you, but...

I drive a 2008 Camry XLE....my Son drives a 2010 Corolla XRS and my wife drives a 2009 Highlander.
I am not concerned about the SUA. I have experienced Unintended Acceleration 3 times. 2 Times on my 85 Mercury Cougar (cable stuck when cold...I just learned to warm it up) and once on the Corolla (my fault. Had cruise set to 60...disengaged it...slowed to 50 and then took off my shoe to show my passenger how it cracked just by walking on it...shoe hit resume...car took off....took me a few seconds to figure out what happend, but once I did I got car under control)

41,000 on the Camry and over 4,000 each on the Corolla and Highlander.

The complaints that have been lodged against each vehicle are as follows;

Camry
1. Oil line rupturing...had that replaced, but it did not rupture...was replaced under Service Campaign
2. SUA...have not experienced it.
3. Hestitant Transmission...my tranny has always shifted smoothly.
4. 2-3 delay in accelerator application....car goes when I give gas..maybe 1/2 second delay at most
5. Vibration at 70mph...I have experienced this. May have been fixed by balancing, but usually only drive 60-65 anyway.

Corolla....
1. Steering problems, car wanders....our car tracks fine...steering is fine...do not have to fight wheel.
2. SUA...not a problem
3. 2-3 delay in accelerator....it's about 1 at most on the Corolla
4. Bad tires....can't argue with that...but I can always replace them with better ones when they wear out.
5. Premature brake wear...might be, we don't have enough miles on it to tell...but it is fixable under service campaign, so I get free brakes anyway, so I don't care.

Highlander..
1. Bad tires...yes, not many choices in the 19" size...but I knew this going in.
2. SUA...not a problem.
3. Stability problem...car does not drift, tires grip fine in snow....went through winter and it was fine.

So although each car has a problem, I have been fortunate. My point being that if you don't feel comfortable then make a switch, but as you can see all my cars have problems that have been reported, but I have not experienced any of them on any of the cars.

[OsageWinterTRD]

Originally Posted by eskymi

So although each car has a problem, I have been fortunate. My point being that if you don't feel comfortable then make a switch, but as you can see all my cars have problems that have been reported, but I have not experienced any of them on any of the cars.

Thank you...

I appreciate your input; I just wish I had some more concrete direction in terms of whether or not the car should be traded after the recall work was done...

I'm getting a strange "sticking" of the pedal since the work was done on it, as if it irregularly wants to rev -- almost the exact description of the problem that caused the crashes in the first place. That's what worries me.

[Mike Gerber]

"I appreciate your input; I just wish I had some more concrete direction in terms of whether or not the car should be traded after the recall work was done...

I'm getting a strange "sticking" of the pedal since the work was done on it, as if it irregularly wants to rev -- almost the exact description of the problem that caused the crashes in the first place. That's what worries me."

Have you discussed this with your dealership? If you have and their answer was not to your satisfaction, I would call Toyota corporate customer service (Toyota calls it their Customer Experience Center) at 1-800-331-4331 and discuss it with them. They will usually open a case file and send information back to the servicing dealership that there is a problem. Be prepaired to wait a while on hold, since call waiting times figure to be lengthy with all the calls they are currently getting with these sudden unintended acceleration issues. I called about a month ago (with an unrellated problem) and was on hold for about 60 minutes.

Mike

[OsageWinterTRD]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

"I appreciate your input; I just wish I had some more concrete direction in terms of whether or not the car should be traded after the recall work was done...

I'm getting a strange "sticking" of the pedal since the work was done on it, as if it irregularly wants to rev -- almost the exact description of the problem that caused the crashes in the first place. That's what worries me."

Have you discussed this with your dealership? If you have and their answer was not to your satisfaction, I would call Toyota corporate customer service (Toyota calls it their Customer Experience Center) at 1-800-331-4331 and discuss it with them. They will usually open a case file and send information back to the servicing dealership that there is a problem. Be prepaired to wait a while on hold, since call waiting times figure to be lengthy with all the calls they are currently getting with these sudden unintended acceleration issues. I called about a month ago (with an unrellated problem) and was on hold for about 60 minutes.

Mike

Thank you, Mike. I shall consider that.