Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | ||||||
| DP05002 | TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 08/05/2005 | 01/05/2006 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | ||
| In a letter dated july 8, 2005, and after experiencing two incidents (and one crash) where he alleges his model year (my) 2002 camry accelerated without driver input, mr. jordan ziprin petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | |||
| 01/03/2013 | 78557 | 1 | |
| Contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact was driving approximately 10 to 15 mph two blocks away from home. while approaching and preparing to stop at a stop sign, noticed the inability of the brake system when applied pressure to the brake paddle, vehicle would not stop. at this point, vehicle began to accelerate unintended (without input on accelerator), causing to rapidly surge and launch straight ahead uncontrollable at a high speed of approximately 55 to 60 mph, which resulted the contact to crash though a cul-de-sac block (brick) wall, bricks exploded and landed on top of another party?s parked vehicle, causing damage to fender. airbag was deployed. contact was taken via ambulance to local hospital for examination of injuries, released same day. a police report was filed on the incident. for vehicle was towed to a storage facility. insurance company determined vehicle to be totaled due to major body damages. the failure mileage was 78,557. *tr | |||
| 01/03/2013 | 78557 | ||
| Contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact was driving approximately 10 to 15 mhp two blocks away from home. while approaching and preparing to stop at a stop sign, noticed the inability of the brake system when applied pressure to the brake paddle, vehicle would not stop. at this point, vehicle began to accelerate unintended (without input on accelerator), causing to rapidly surge and launch straight ahead uncontrollable at a high speed of approximately 55 to 60 mph, which resulted the contact to crash though a cul-de-sac block (brick) wall, bricks exploded and landed on top of another party | |||
| 12/05/2012 | 1 | ||
| On december 5th, 2012 around 1:50 pm in the afternoon, i drove the car to pick up our nephew from school. while i was slowing down and looking for a parking place suddenly the car sped up and accelerated! even though i applied hard on the brake the car kept running very fast and only stopped when it hit bushes and the house on the right of the road. i was lucky that no kids came out from school yet and no other cars were nearly so damages only caused to the car and the property. | |||
| 05/11/2012 | 61203 | ||
| When i press the accelorator there is a hesitation in the car sppeding up and while driving there is sometimes that same hesitation | |||
| 09/04/2011 | 83000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning while the vehicle was in park gear and the brake pedal was engaged. the dealer nor manufacturer were notified. the failure was not diagnosed and the vehicle was not repaired. the current and failure mileage was 83,000. | |||
| 09/04/2011 | 83000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning while the vehicle was in park gear and the brake pedal was engaged. the dealer nor manufacturer were notified. the failure was not diagnosed and the vehicle was not repaired. the current and failure mileage was 83,000. rvk | |||
| 09/04/2011 | 83000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning with the vehicle in park and with the brake pressed. the dealer or manufacturer had not been notified nor was the vehicle diagnosed or repaired. the current and failure mileage were 83,000. bw | |||
| 03/17/2011 | 132000 | ||
| Lexus excellerated from 70 to 85 mph.on freeway brake and emergency brakes would not work or slow the car down. put the can in neutral and went up elvated a freeway transittion road. car was at 4rpms. | |||
| 12/12/2010 | 105000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated while reversing the vehicle suddenly acclerated crashing into a solid steel pole. the entire rear of the vehicle was damaged. no one was injuried only shaken up. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for repairs and while at the dealer a representative from lexus manufacturer inspected the vehicle and informed her they will send a letter to her informing her of their decision. the failure mileage were 105,000...mw | |||
| 10/11/2010 | 74400 | ||
| I was leaving a car wash (at a busy interesection in penfield, ny), the car wash light turned green, i put it in gear and lighly pressed on the gas pedal to approach the workers for them to dry and vacumn the car. there was no floor mat in the drivers front side so that they could vacumn that area. the car speed forward out of control i tried to steer between 2 steel safety post, missed the workers, crossed the sidewalk and 5 lanes of traffic toward a telephone pole, hit the curb, flipped over, i lost consiousness. the car stoped right side up pointing toward the car wash. car wash employees (and other witnesses) rushed across the street and when i woke up one of the attendants was removeing my seat belt and pulling me out throught the broken window, there were many witnessess who thought it was a miracle that i was still alive and that the car did not hit any workers, pedestrians or drivers of other vehicals which had now all stopped .no air-bags were released? i was rushed to the hospital . i was released 4 hours later stiff, sore, brused, minor concussion and told to stay around for a week (we were planning to return to fl the next day) to make sure that there are no serious problems. police were on site, did a report, fireman were there to clean up the leaks. my insurance co. has totaled the car. i feel that lexus should evaluate this car to determine the actual cause, it was not the floor mat, it was in the back seat, nor was it operator error, the car was accelerating out of controll and very hard to steer. if the lexus had a mind then it had gone crazy? i have talked to the local lexus dealer who told me that there are no recalls on this vehicle and read me the party line that there are no problems with the 2005 es330 lexus, it's operator error? i guess the other 38 owners of the 2005 es330 that have postings on this site are all wrong. based on toyotas (lexus) attitute i will never buy another product made by toyota. i am happy to be alive, thank god | |||
| 09/23/2010 | 33000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. while driving approximately 5 mph she took her foot off the accelerator pedal and the vehicle surged forward until crashing into a curb. a police report was filed and no injuries were reported. she was able to drive the vehicle home safely. it was then towed to an authorized dealer where an investigator sent from the manufacturer determined the vehicle was operating as intended. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 33,000. sm. | |||
| 07/24/2010 | 28000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that while pulling into a parking space and their foot on the brake, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and jumped the curve. the contact had the vehicle towed to the nearest lexus dealer. the representative from the dealership took a statement of what happened and gave the caller a loaner. the dealer called later and stated that since there damage to the under carriage, the vehicle would have to be turned of to the manufacturer. the vehicle has still not been inspected. the vin was not available at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage and current mileage was 28000.rl | |||
| 05/25/2010 | 64000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact was driving approximately between 10-15 mph in a parking lot. the vehicle began to surge forward and accelerated rapidly. when pressure was applied to the brake pedal there was no power response which resulted to the vehicle crashing into three parked vehicles. the contact suffered minor pain in the right side of the body. a police report was filed of the incident. the vehicle was towed to a storage evidence facility with major body damages. the cause of failure had not been determined at the time of the compliant. the failure mileage was 64,000. | |||
| 10/20/2009 | 95000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. while driving at approximately 60 mph and passing another vehicle, the contact depressed the accelerator pedal but the vehicle continued to accelerate. he depressed the brake pedal and but the vehicle did not stop. the contact shifted into neutral to stop the vehicle. the contact called the dealership and was advised to remove the floor mat. the failure occurred again but the contact did not remove the floor mat. the vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was approximately 95,000. the current mileage was approximately 98,000. | |||
| 04/02/2010 | 42000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that on april 2, 2010 while driving approximately 2 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, struck a curb and then crashed into a cinder block wall. the air bags did not deploy but there were no injuries or police report filed. the contact called the manufacturer who requested that she not have the vehicle repaired until their investigators inspected it. the vehicle was at a local body shop when the complaint was filed. the current and failure mileages were approximately 42,000. | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 2 | ||
| 2005 lexus es 330. consumer states unintended acceleration. *tgw the consumer stated the sudden acceleration resulted in an accident. *jb | |||
| 07/17/2007 | 21000 | ||
| Pulling into my garage. 2005 lexus es330 suddenly accelerated and went thru the back brick wall. one-time occurrence. cost $10,000. insurance paid to fix car, fix garage. then dropped me. | |||
| 03/16/2010 | 1 | ||
| I have a 2005 lexus e330 and have the similar issues as others on this post. it is extremely frustrating but at very slow speeds, the car accelerates (surges) almost on demand. i have not taken it to the dealer due to the costs that may be involved. *tr | |||
| 12/15/2007 | 19000 | 1 | |
| While driving, i too experienced sudden unintended acceleration of the vehicle. i overtook a slow moving vehicle in front of me on otherwise an empty one-lane straight road. as i eased back into the lane, the vehicle began to race. i pressed the brake pedal and the car really wanted to go faster and faster. as i was reaching speeds in excess of 50mph, i then shifted to neutral but to no avail as the vehicle continued to accelerate. luckily, the brake worked at all times. i kept it pressed down real hard while the rpms were going well above 6k. the vehicle behaved as if both the gas and brake pedals were pushed down all the way. finally, the brakes did their job and as i slowed to a stop and turned the engine off with a key. after collecting myself i turned on the ignition and continued with my trip. next day, i took the vehicle to highland park lexus in northbrook, il at which point the service manager just shrugged his shoulders in disbelief. i long returned the vehicle after the lease expired but can provide me info so that you guys can locate the vehicle and test it if it still on the road somewhere. *tr | |||
| 01/24/2009 | 1 | ||
| Car out of control on residential street near my home. sudden acceleration; brakes would not stop car and i could not control steering. hit telephone pole then a parked car. that car and my 1905 lexus es 330 were totaled. *tr | |||
| 12/09/2006 | 24266 | 1 | |
| On dec. 9, 2006, our '05 lexus es330 accelerated spontaneously in reverse down our (fortunately long) driveway. braking did not stop the car. in fact, the tires squealed loudly as i braked. i put the car into neutral in order to stop it. we immediately took the car to a lexus repair shop. they, of course, could find nothing wrong. they mentioned having received some reports of floor-mat problems causing acceleration, but couldn't tell me more. the floor-mat on this lexus was fixed, so that wasn't the problem. this incident only happened one time. i thought the problem was related to the cruise control, because my brother-in-law had a similar problem (going forward though) that was diagnosed as the cruise control causing acceleration. even though lexus said my cruise control checked o.k., i never used it again. we decided to sell the car, & did so within 6 months. *tr | |||
| 06/22/2009 | 27000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2005 lexus es 330. last june as i was attempting to park on the 3rd level of a parking garage, the vehicle accelerated on its own. i was actually at a standstill and the vehicle engine roared and proceeded forward on its own. i put both feet on the brakes and put the car in park. the engine then died down. i checked to make sure that the floor mat was not obstructing the accelerator and it was not. at the time, i chalked it up to a fluke; however, in light of the problems that have occurred in relationship to the toyota vehicles, i felt i should report this occurrence. i personally do not think this was related to the accelerator, i think it had to do with the electronics. i have not had any further occurrences; however, it is worth a notation. *tr | |||
| 12/16/2006 | 10350 | 1 | |
| While pulling into a parking lot my 2005 lexus 330 suddenly accelerated and went through a fence and did $1784 in damage to the car. i do not believe i pushed on the accelerator pedal but pushed on the brake pedal. since then i have not had a problem and have routine maintenance at an authorized dealer. *tr | |||
| 10/01/2005 | 500 | 1 | |
| Hello: i drive a 2005 lexus es330. while i have not had a problem with the braking system, the electronic throttle is a different story. if you are entering an on ramp to a freeway then release the throttle, then almost immediately reapply the throttle the car will not respond. it takes 2 seconds or so before the engine starts to rev up and the car is definitely unhappy about this. this process of acceleration, the coasting, then accelerating again yields this same result with almost 100% repeatability. the internet forums are loaded with information about this same issue. definitely something in the electronics is not right! *tr | |||
| 02/20/2010 | 5000 | 1 | |
| I have the infamous es330 hesitation problem which is part of the sub-standard operating parameters of the car. when purchased from the dealer new in 2005, i was advised after taking the car back several times, that updating ecc module probably would not fix the problem and it didn't. the dealership was very aware and blamed the lag on toyota's drive by wire? design used on this car. further, they said lexus new about and probably wouldn't correct the problem until the next model year. the hesitation is especially apparent when pulling away from a full stop or when power is required to merge into traffic. to compensate, the driver has to keep pushing down on the gas until the car decides to accelerate -- then the driver has to quickly ease up on the gas to keep the car from over accelerating. *tr | |||
| 02/21/2010 | 1 | ||
| Accelerator pedal becomes hard often. this causes abnormal response while accelerating. complained a few times to the dealer when bought this car. they upgraded ecm software. however, the problem did not go away. dealer says this is how acceleration by wire works. i never experienced this behavior with any of my cars including toyota before. i strongly believe lexus should fix this problem as it may cause accident if i'm not very aware during driving with this issue - luckily, there has not been an incident so far. *tr | |||
| 01/03/2008 | 16000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that while driving at 45mph, without a warning the vehicle accelerated on its own while depressing the brakes. the vehicle crashed into a median and when he put pressure on the brakes the vehicle stopped. the contact was then able to drive off normally. there were only damages to the rims. the dealer was contacted and they stated that they could not assist him with the issue that the vehicle had.this acceleration problem had occurred three times at the time of the complaint. there have been no repairs to the vehicle to- date. the failure mileage was 16000 and current mileage was 25003. | |||
| 02/17/2009 | 18000 | 1 | |
| I was driving our lexus es330 with my wife from nj to ct on a highway. at one point during the drive, removed my foot from the gas pedal, but instead of slowing down, the car started accelerating. in panic i started applying the brakes, but the car would not slow down at all. fortunately, there was no other car right in front of me, otherwise it would have resulted in a messy crash. it was very scary. eventually accelerator stopped working completely and the car stopped in lane of the highway. i can't believe toyota has not included this model in their recall list. this is ridiculous. and, i checked it then, the mat on the driver side was not stuck in the gas pedal. *tr | |||
| 02/15/2005 | 5000 | 1 | |
| The toyota problem of unexpected acceleration is a problem with my 2005 lexus es330, i have complained to toyota/lexus and they claimed to have fixed it with a software programming update (which did not help) i have explained to them that it is dangerous and has almost caused an accident in traffic on numerous occasions. they claim it is not a fault and have refused to fix the software programming problem.*jb | |||
| 07/09/2006 | 13000 | 1 | |
| 2005 es330. pulling into parking space ready to stop and experienced sudden acceleration incident resulting in a crash into another car. tw* | |||
| 02/25/2005 | 1000 | ||
| We purchased our lexus 2005 es330 brand new. we noticed the hesitation and jerking when accelerating immed after buying the car. it was taken back to the lexus dealership for the complaint two or more times. when we recieved normal services, i would ask about the acceleration and i was told that there were not any bulletins issued for the issue in which i spoke of. we were told that the car would adjust to the driver over a period of time. presently the car shifts improperly when driven at 20-35 mph, unexpected up shifts that occur to early and down shifts while slowing down causing the driver to have to modulate the braking to avoid either coming up to cars in traffic ahead to quickly or traffic coming from behind so as to avoid an accident from behind as you slow to quickly. constantly scares me when i drive it because of the non responsive and quick acceleration. *cw | |||
| 10/15/2007 | 25000 | 1 | |
| 2005 lexus es350 leased new in august, 2005. i overtook a slow moving vehicle in front of me and tried to ease off back into the lane. instead, the car began accelerating: 2k rpm, 3k rpm, 4k rpm, almost redlining. i put on the brakes and kept holding the brake pedal down. pushing accelerator pedal down was no help. instead, i shifted to neutral and after about 10 seconds (felt like eternity since shifting to neutral did not help) turned the ignition key off. the car stopped. after several minutes of collecting myself, i turned the ignition key back on and the vehicle behaved normally. after that experience i always made sure i did not accelerate quickly. the car was returned back to the dealer after the original lease expired last year. i can assure you floormat wasn't the problem. i am concerned that toyota only issued recall on 2007- lexus es350 models. they should also include previous es330 model as well. *tr | |||
| 04/29/2009 | 39000 | 1 | |
| I owned a 2005 lexus es330 that was involved in a crash. on 4/29/09 the driver of the vehicle was pulling into a parking spot when the car accelerated after her foot was off accelerator causing the vehicle to crash through a storefront wall and windows, causing extensive damage to building and totaling the vehicle. the police did not believe that there was an acceleration problem nor did i, until hearing this recent report on the news. *tr | |||
| 10/28/2008 | 45550 | 1 | |
| I was pulling into a parking space in a shopping center with my foot on the brake when the car suddenly surged forward. the car sped up to a speed of approximately 45mph. i swerved in and about the cars in the parking lot and had no control over the speed, braking or steering. i eventually stopped the car after about 200 yds. by shifting into neutral, turning off the ignition and bouncing over at least four curbs. no physical injuries or property damage. the car is at the dealers for inspection. *tr | |||
| 08/06/2008 | 24500 | 1 | |
| On august 6, 2008, i was driving home, when i was maybe a few minutes from my house, coming to a complete stop,when attempting to make a right turn, the car accelerated on its own to almost 100mph, where the steering wheel locked and the braking system stopped, the result was that the vehicle crossed over four lanes jumped a curb and i ended up crashing into a nearby house. i spent days in the hospital, and now i have a fractured knee, broken thumb, and may cuts and bruises. this was the most frightening experience of my life, and after doing some research, i am not the only one, something must be done about this, people's lives are at risk!!!! *tr | |||
| 07/30/2007 | 50000 | 2 | 02/26/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. while attempting to make a right turn at 20 mph, the vehicle accelerated to approximately 90 mph across four lanes of traffic. the vehicle crashed into a metal pole. the police, ambulance, and fire departments arrived at the scene. the contact suffered multiple injuries and was transported to the hospital. approximately one year ago, the vehicle speed control failed and caused a crash while driving in reverse. the powertrain was unknown. the approximate current and failure mileages were 50,000. *updated 12/12/07 *bf updated 12/12/07 *tr | |||
| 06/14/2006 | 8000 | 1 | 08/02/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while the accelerator pedal was initially depressed. the vehicle has not been inspected by a mechanic. updated 7/5/2006 - the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the consumer was told that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. *nm | |||
| 06/14/2006 | 8000 | 1 | 09/27/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated at various speeds, the vehicle hesitates while the accelerator pedal is initially depressed. the dealership and manufacturer determined this is how the vehicle was manufactured. updated 7/13/2006 - *nm | |||
| 05/11/2006 | 4100 | 1 | 09/03/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated, four times, while attempting to accelerate after slowing the vehicle, there is no power. after releasing and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle reacts. the dealership inspected the vehicle, but is unable to determine the problem. the first time the vehicle was in for repairs, a fuse was replaced. the vehicle is currently at the dealership. | |||
| 03/18/2005 | 1 | 100 | 03/18/2005 |
| Dt: the car is 2005 lexus es 330. when entering the expressway at low speeds under 10 mph and attempting to accelerate to merge with oncoming traffic there was a hesitation of one second or more where nothing happens. then suddenly the car surged out of control. took vehicle to the dealer,e and dealer said this was normal, and was functioning the way it should function. the dealer made an adjustment, but consumer did not know on what the adjustment was performed on. no replacements, but afterwards, the adjustment did not correct the problem. consumer has not contacted lexus at this time. *ak | |||
| 08/23/2005 | 8 | 12/31/2004 | |
| Dt: 2005 lexis es 330. the car was not shifting properly or accelerate upon pressing the gas pedal and when it did accelerate it lurched forward. when slowing down and then trying to speed up was told by the dealership that the computer could not read fast enough to know what to do. this didn't happen every time, in an hour of driving i happened at least 8 times. this was a safety issue. in stop and go traffic and changing lanes, nothing happened. it took 3 seconds for the vehicle to react to the acceleration. this has happened multiple times. *ak | |||
| 11/22/2004 | 15 | 3 | 10/30/2004 |
| I purchased a new lexus es330, and it has 3 problems: (i) bumpy ride at low and high speeds, (ii) acceleration lag after coasting, (iii) high idle when cold (15,000rpms). *ak | |||
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL | |||
| 07/01/2006 | 13000 | 2 | |
| 2005 lexus es330 with sudden acceleration. consumer stated on two incidents her vehicle rapidly accelerated. in one incident there was an accident. *kb the consumer stated if felt as though the cruise control had activated and the vehicle suddenly lurched forward and took off from a parking lot, down a slope, into traffic and into an oncoming car. the dealership inspected the vehicle and the consumer was told nothing was wrong and that the floor mats had possibly been the cause of the acceleration. *jb | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 45000 | 1 | 02/01/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. when he attempted to start the vehicle and press the accelerator pedal it became stuck and the rpms increased rapidly. he did not take the vehicle to the dealer; yet, he removed the floor mat. the failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 79,000. updated 2/22/10 *cn | |||
| 01/20/2006 | 100 | 50 | 09/07/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while applying pressure to the accelerator pedal to back up, the vehicle hesitated and then lurched forward causing the vehicle to hit the garage door. the driver was wearing a seatbelt and received no injuries. the vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection and the problem could not be duplicated. the manufacturer was notified. | |||
| 12/02/2004 | 1 | ||
| When slowing to a near stop (less than 10 mph) and then accelerating, the vehicle lags and then lurches to overcompensate. it does this virtually everytime, making it unsafe in heavy traffic. *dsy | |||
| 09/09/2004 | 100 | 1 | 09/01/2004 |
| (1) car was nearly new, only 100 miles, no abnormal behavior up to that point. (2) while shifting into park as part of the process of parking, and with no pressure on accellerator, car suddenly lurched forward, striking concrete stancheon of parking lot light pole. this resulted in damage to the front bumper, frame, right quarter-panel, right headlight assembly, causing over $4,000 in repair costs. (3) above problems were repaired by a dealer-approved auto body shop. *ak | |||