2001 Toyota Avalon

ON JUNE 23, 2001 MY FATHER WAS DRIVING A TWO-WEEK-OLD 2001 TOYOTA AVALON ON WV ROUTE 2 NEAR HUNTINGTON, WV. ACCORDING TO EYE WITNESS ACCOUNTS, MY FATHER WAS DRIVING NORTH AT AN ACCELERATING SPEED AND QUICKLY CAME UPON ANOTHER NORTHBOUND CAR FROM THE REAR. HE CUT OVER IN THE ONCOMING LANE, PASSED THE CAR, RETURNED TO THE NORTHBOUND LANE AND CONTINUED OUT OF SIGHT. THE DRIVER OF THE CAR ESTIMATED MY FATHER WAS TRAVELING PROBABLY 90 MPH. AT THE INTERSECTION OF THREE MILE AND WV ROUTE 2, MY FATHER'S CAR LEFT THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROADWAY, CONTINUING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED ACROSS A GRASSY YARD AND OVER A KNOLL, WHERE THE CAR BECAME AIRBORNE AND FLIPPED MULTIPLE TIMES ACCORDING TO A SECOND WITNESS. THE CAR TORE THROUGH SOME TREE LIMBS, THEN SHEARED A TELEPHONE POLE AND CAME TO REST IN THE DITCH NEXT TO THE HIGHWAY. MY FATHER WAS KILLED INSTANTLY. AFTER LEAVING THE HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE TRAVELED 250' ACROSS THE GRASSY AREA, THEN WENT AIRBORNE AND TRAVELED ANOTHER 278' BEFORE LANDING IN THE DITCH NEXT TO THE HIGHWAY. THERE WAS NEVER ANY GOOD EXPLANATION FOR WHY HE WAS TRAVELING THAT FAST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, BUT IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT NEWS ABOUT THE TOYOTA SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEMS, WE NOW BELIEVE MY FATHER'S DEATH WAS THE RESULT OF A FAULTY VEHICLE. I HAVE THE ETCS (ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM) MODULE FROM THE CAR IN MY POSSESSION. UPDATED 04/05/10 *BF *TR UPDATED 08/06/10*JB UPDATED 9/29/2011*CW

AVALON XLS V6 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 46,000 MILES I HAD JUST BACKED OUT OF MY GARAGE AND I STOPPED TO LOWER THE GARAGE DOOR. THE CAR WAS IN STILL REVERSE AND I WENT TO ACCELERATE AND THE GAS PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR WENT BACKWARD IN REVERSE ALL THE WHILE I WAS TRYING TO STOP IT WITH THE BRAKE PEDAL. I WENT IN A FULL 20 FOOT CIRCLE AND WAS ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH A SECOND CIRCLE WHEN MY HUSBAND REACHED OVER AND TURNED THE KEY 1 CLICK TO KILL THE ENGINE. WE TRIED TO FIGURE OUT IF I HAD PUT MY FOOT ON BOTH THE BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR BUT IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT WITH MY SMALL FOOT. WE LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD AND FOUND NOTHING OUT OF ORDER. FINALLY, WE STARTED THE ENGINE AND CAREFULLY MOVED THE CAR BACK INTO THE DRIVE WAY AND CONTINUED ON OUR ERRAND. MY 2001 AVALON NOW HAS 47,000 MILES WHICH IS LESS THAN 500 MILES PER MONTH. WE DAMAGED THE FRONT DRIVER FENDER AND WHEEL RIM WHEN WE WENT UP AGAINST OUR HOUSE AND WE HAD IT REPAIRED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA AVALON. SHE NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE BEGAN SURGING WHENEVER THE BRAKES WERE ENGAGED ON 25 OCCASIONS SINCE NOVEMBER 2000 INTERMITTENTLY. SHE WOULD DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE RPMS WOULD RAPIDLY INCREASE; HOWEVER, SHE WOULD SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK AND TURN IT OFF. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER MORE THAN TEN TIMES BUT THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. SHE PROVIDED DETAILED INFORMATION TO A TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLE SINCE THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 41,390. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 441. UPDATED 03/04/10. *LJ UPDATED 09/16/10

LET ME EXPLAIN FIRST, I CAN'T SUBSTANTIATE THE CLAIM I AM MAKING ABOUT THE POSSIBLE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT THAT KILLED MY WIFE WHEN DRIVING A 2001 TOYOTA AVALON. THE REASON THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED IS THAT SHE DID NOT STOP AT AN INTERSECTION CONTROLLED WITH A STOP SIGN. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN CALLAHAN COUNTY, TEXAS AT THE INTERSECTION OF FM 1750 AND HIGHWAY 36 ON APRIL 9, 2007 AT APPROXIMATELY 8:30 PM. SHE DROVE UNDER THE TRAILER OF AN 18 WHEELER, WAS KILLED INSTANTLY AND DRAGGED UNDER THE TRAILER FOR 800 TO 900 FIT. IT TOOK THE ABILENE FIRE DEPARTMENTS EXPERTISE TO REMOVE HER BODY FROM THE WRECKAGE. THE LOCAL VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS DID NOT WANT TO ATTEMPT IT. THERE WERE NO SKID MARKS. SHE HAD DRIVEN THIS ROUTE COUNTLESS TIMES AND WAS AWARE OF THE STOP SIGN. I CHECKED CELL PHONE RECORDS AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT SHE COULD HAVE BEEN ON THE PHONE. ADMITTEDLY SHE WAS UPSET. SHE WAS DRIVING FROM ABILENE TO MEXIA, TEXAS TO BE WITH HER ELDERLY MOTHER WHO WAS IN A DIABETIC COMA WHEN SHE LAST SPOKE TO SOMEONE. HOWEVER, SHE WAS A GOOD DRIVER. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SHE WAS SO DISTRACTED TO ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT RECALL BY TOYOTA, I BELIEVE THAT HER AVALON SUDDENLY ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL. NO SKID MARKS WERE AT THE SCENE ONLY CUTOUTS IN THE PAYMENT THAT WERE CAUSED BY HER CAR AS IT WENT UNDER THE TRAILER. WHY NO SKID MARKS? AS SHOWN ON CONSUMER REPORT INTERNET VIDEO, THE BRAKES ARE NOT ABLE TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN AS IT IS ACCELERATING AND SKID MARKS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. THERE IS NO OTHER EXPLANATION IN MY MIND AS TO HOW SHE COULD HAVE MISSED THE STOP SIGN. THE CAR WAS OUT OF HER CONTROL AND IT KILLED HER. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE VIN, PLEASE CONTACT ME. I WILL PULL IT OUT OF THE RECORDS I HAVE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND ANY RESPONSE. THIS IS SUCH A TRAGEDY THAT UNTIL THE RECALL LEFT ME WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION THAT WAS BELIEVABLE. I NOW BELIEVE I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. *TR UPDATED 03/08/10 *BF UPDATED 07/06/10.*JB

2001 TOYOTA AVALON SURGED FORWARD WITH THE ACCELERATOR STUCK IN THE DEPRESSED POSITION RESULTING IN A COLLISION WITH THREE PARKED CARS IN A BUSY MALL PARKING LOT. THANKS TO A SNOWBANK AND THE IMPACT OF HITTING THE THREE CARS, THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP WITHOUT INJURING THE DRIVER OR ANYONE ELSE. THE AIR BAGS ALSO DID NOT DEPLOY.*AK *MR

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING THE ENGINE AND VEHICLE SKID CONTROL LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. *AK THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL TANK CAP WHICH CAUSED THE LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE. THE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AT LEAST FIVE TIMES, AND THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. ALSO THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD AT TIMES, HOWEVER THE DEALER FOUND NO PROBLEM. *JB *NLM