2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid

VEHICLE IN MOTION GETTING ONTO FREEWAY. PRESSING GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE CAR NOT ACCELERATING BEYOND 40MPH AND FELT LIKE IT WAS BEING FORCED TO ACCELERATE LIKE THERE WAS DRAG AND PULL. CAR JERKED FORWARD A FEW TIMES AS IF IT WAS BEING CHOKED ON GAS. THE HYBRID DIAL WAS BOUNCING ERRATICALLY AS IF IT WAS CONFUSED AND CAR WAS NOT ACCELERATING BEYOND 40 MPH. TOOK IT TO DEALER 1X THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE ISSUE, CALLED TOYOTA CARE AND WAS TOLD ERROR NEEDED DUPLICATING TO BE ADDRESSED. BOTH INCIDENCES HAVE OCCURED WHILE GETTING ONTO A FREEWAY AND PRESSING GAS PEDAL TO MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY. THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE BOTH TIMES WAS ABOVE 90 DEGREES AND THE CAR HAD BEEN AT REST FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR. I TURNED OFF THE A/C TO REDUCE AMOUNT OF POWER CAR WAS USING UP IN ORDER TO HELP WITH ACCELERATION. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO 50 MPH AFTER ABOUT 15-20 MINUTES AND WAS DRIVING WITH HAZARDS ALL THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE SECOND TIME WHEN GETTING ON THE FREEWAY IT WAS NOT BUSY AND WAS TRYING TO ACCELERATE TO 65 MPH, GOT IT UP TO 40 MPH FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES THEN HIT TRAFFIC AND WAS GOING ABOUT 17 MPH THEN EXITED THE FREEWAY AND TOOK THE STREETS.

THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND PROPERLY TO THE DRIVER PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. WHEN THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AFTER IT HAD BEEN PARKED FOR A FEW HOURS, WITH NO PROBLEMS PREVIOUSLY, THE VEHICLE WOULD BARELY ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE FELT VERY SLUGGISH AND EVEN WITH THE ACCELERATOR FULLY PRESSED IT WOULD NOT EXCEED 25 MPH. THE DRIVER PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND TURNED IT BACK ON BUT THIS DID NOT IMMEDIATELY RESOLVED THE ISSUE. THE DRIVER DROVE THE VEHICLE FOR A FEW BLOCKS TO A SAFER PARKING LOCATION AND TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AGAIN TO BETTER INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND NO OBVIOUS SIGNS OF MECHANICAL ISSUES. THE DRIVER RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE IT AGAIN THE ISSUE DID NOT RE-APPEAR. THIS VEHICLE HAD NOT YET BEEN INSPECTED BY THE DEALERSHIP SINCE THE INCIDENT BUT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A TRAGIC COLLISION AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

WHEN I COME TO A FULL STOP AND ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE SORT OF "STALLS" THEN EVENTUALLY THE GEARS CATCH AND IT STARTS TO DRIVE. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO PICK UP SPEED IN A HIGHWAY OR SOMETHING. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS AT A STOP SIGN. UPON DEPRESSING THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE DID NOT PICK UP SPEED, IT SLOWLY ROLLED FORWARD. AFTER ABOUT 5-10 SECONDS, THE VEHICLE THEN SEEMED TO "CATCH GEARS" AND PICKED UP SPEED. I ALSO NOTICED THE HYBRID BATTERY WASN'T CHARGING VERY WELL AND SEEMED TO BE HOT AS THE BATTERY FANS WERE CONSTANTLY ON.