1996 Toyota Camry

OUR 1996 CAMRY, WHICH HAS RECENTLY BEEN SAFETY CHECKED AND HAD NEW TIRES PUT ON, BEGAN TO ACCELERATE OUT OF CONTROL. WE WERE ABLE TO STOP IT BY USING THE BRAKES, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND HAD TO PUT CAR IN NEUTRAL. NO ACCIDENT OCCURRING, BUT IT WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. OUR MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. SINCE THIS ACCELERATION PROBLEM HAS BEEN IN THE PRESS WITH OTHER TOYOTA'S WE DECIDED TO REPORT THIS SAME EXPERIENCE. I REALIZE THE CAR IS OLDER, BUT IT OTHERWISE FUNCTIONS WELL. THANK YOU. *TR

1996 TOYOTA CAMRY, CA DXLESEXLE CRUISE CONTROL RECENTLY STOPPED WORKING WHILE DRIVING ALONG AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY INCREASED SPEED (OCCURRENCE DATE OCT 18 2009) AND I PRESSED THE BRAKE AND THE CRUISE CONTROL DISENGAGED. SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS TO USE THE CRUISE CONTROL GOT THE SAME RESULT, CONTINUOUS INCREASE OF SPEED UNTIL TURNED OFF. CHECKED FOR RECALL, AND THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE 1996 CAMRY IN REFERENCE TO THE CRUISE CONTROL, HOWEVER THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER CHECKED THE VIN AND SAID THAT IT IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST, AND TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS TOOK MY INFO AND ALSO TOLD ME THE VIN IS NOT ON THE LIST. THE SYMPTOMS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS IN THE RECALL. VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION, AS PEOPLE MAY THINK THEY ARE UNDER CRUISE AND NOT REALIZE THEY ARE ACCELERATING. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY. WHILE DRIVING DOWN A HILL AT 15 MPH, THE VEHICLE STARTING ACCELERATING WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE REACHED SPEEDS OF 60-80 MPH WHILE RUNNING TWO STOP SIGNS. HE HAD TO CRASH INTO A TREE AND ANOTHER VEHICLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. HE SUFFERED INJURIES TO THE RIGHT ARM. HE CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER IN REFERENCE TO RECALL # 96E001000 (ROSTRA PRECISION CONTROLS). HE WAS ADVISED THAT THE RECALL ONLY APPLIED TO SIX CYLINDER VEHICLES. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 200,500. UPDATED 01/12/10. *LJ THE CONSUMER STATED 2 NIGHTS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, THE CRUISE CONTROL CAME ON AND THEN WENT OFF. UPDATED 01/13/10.*JB

VEHICLE-TOYOTA-CAMRY-1996 AND 1993 PROBLEM: CRUISE CONTROL WE OWN 1996, MY MOM OWNS 1993, BOTH HAVE THE FOLLOWING PROBLEM. NEITHER OF US HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD TO HAVE REPAIRS DONE, SO WE DO NOT KNOW THE CAUSE/REMEDY. WE HAVE INSTEAD STOPPED USING. INTERMITTENTLY, REPEATEDLY, WITHOUT ANY WARNING, CRUISE CONTROL SUDDENLY STOPS WORKING. A SUDDEN EXTREME DECREASE IN SPEED OCCURS DUE TO FAILURE. SWITCHES AND LIGHTS INDICATE IT IS STILL ON AND WORKING PROPERLY. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ON FREEWAYS AT HIGH RATES OF SPEED PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THAT IS ALSO WHEN NORMAL USE OF CRUISE CONTROL IS MOST LIKELY/MOST OFTEN BEING USED. THIS POSES AN ENORMOUSLY HIGH RISK OF BEING HIT FROM THE REAR OR THE CAR FOLLOWING TO SWERVE AND IT EITHER HITTING, OR BEING HIT BY, ANOTHER VEHICLE. HUGE POSSIBILITY OF MULTIPLE VEHICLE PILE UP. BECAUSE CRUISE CONTROL IS ALMOST ALWAYS BEING USED WHEN IT THE MOST DANGEROUS TIMES FOR IT TO FAIL, THE URGENCY OF THIS PROBLEM CAN NOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED. MORE LIKELY TO FAIL ON INCLINES MAKES IT EVEN MORE DANGEROUS AS THE RATE OF SPEED DROPS EVEN FASTER. STARTS VERY INTERMITTENTLY AND FAR BETWEEN, AS TIME GOES ON OCCURS MORE AND MORE OFTEN. EVENTUALLY FOUND THAT IT OCCURS MORE OFTEN ON INCLINE, BUT NOT ALWAYS, WITH A LESS AND LESS INCLINE AS TIME GOES ON. HAPPENED ON CROWDED FREEWAY AT HIGH RATE OF SPEED WITH BIG RIG FOLLOWING CLOSE BEHIND. ALMOST HIT BY IT! HAPPENED AT HIGH SPEED ON A CROWDED FREEWAY, OTHER VEHICLES CLOSE ALL AROUND, BARELY AVOIDED NIGHTMARE PILE UP! I CAN NOT OVER EMPHASIZE HOW DANGEROUS THIS PROBLEM IS! WITH BOTH OURS AND MOM'S CAMRY HAVING THE EXACT PROBLEM, THERE MAY VERY WELL INDICATE PATTERN/PROBLEM. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY. WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE, WHICH CAUSED HER TO REAR END ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. NHTSA RECALL # 96E001000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) WAS FOUND. THE MECHANIC HAS NOT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 100,000. UPDATED 02-01-08. *KB

IN HOT WEATHER AFTER ABOUT 100 OR 200 MILES THE CRUISE CONTROL ON OUR 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY WOULD FAIL AND WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO SPEED UP UNTIL THE CRUISE WAS TURNED OFF. OTHER TIMES THE CRUISE WOULD JUST FAIL AND DROP OUT UNEXPECTEDLY. EITHER EVENT COULD BE HAZARDOUS SO WE STOPPED USING THE CRUISE CONTROL. WE WENT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER TWICE WHEN THIS FIRST HAPPENED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE WERE UNABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY. TODAY WE DID A RECALL SEARCH ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND THE PROBLEM DID EXIST ON MOST 1996 CAMRY BUT OUR VIN NUMBER DID NOT FIT THEIR LISTING. VIN# [XXX] TODAY WE WENT BACK TO THE TOYOTA DEALER WHERE WE BOUGHT THE CAR NEW ON 3/14/1996, BUT THEY WOULD DO NOTHING FOR US. THE DEALER IS RINKE TOYOTA 25420 VANDYKE CENTERLINE, MI 48015 586-758-2000. WE ALSO CALLED THE TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE 800 NUMBER BEFORE CONTACTING YOU BUT THEY WERE NOT HELPFUL. PLEASE HELP US RESOLVE THIS SAFETY ISSUE. THANK YOU. [XXX]. *NM INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I EXPERIENCED 3 OR 4 SUDDEN ACCELERATION INCIDENTS WITH MY 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY DURING THE FIRST 5 YEARS OF OWNERSHIP. NO ACCIDENTS RESULTED. I CAN'T GIVE THE EXACT DATES (IGNORE THE INCIDENT DATE I ENTERED BELOW; I JUST PUT A DATE IN AT RANDOM SINCE IT'S A REQUIRED ENTRY). IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE THE LAST ONE. ALL OCCURRED AS I STARTED TO BRAKE IN A VERY SLOW-MOVING SITUATION - TWO DEFINITELY HAPPENING WHILE PARKING, COMING TO A STOP BEFORE THE INCIDENT. HOWEVER, WHEN TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO REVERSE DIRECTION OR STOP, THERE WAS A CONFUSING SURGE AS MY INSTINCT WAS TO QUESTION WHETHER I HAD TOUCHED THE ACCELERATOR RATHER THAN BRAKE AND THUS TAKE OFF MY FOOT - THE WORST ACTION. IN ALL CASES, I HAD ENOUGH TIME TO REALIZE THAT I DID HAVE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND PUSHED DOWN FORCEFULLY WHICH STOPPED THE ACCELERATION. I ASKED MY MECHANIC TO CHECK THIS OUT, BUT UNLESS HE COULD REPLICATE THE SITUATION, NO DIAGNOSIS WAS POSSIBLE. GIVEN THE RANDOMNESS OF THESE OCCURENCES, THE PROBABLILITY OF A REPLICATION IS PRETTY CLOSE TO ZERO. THE ONE COMMON THREAD IN THESE INCIDENTS: THEY OCCURRED FOLLOWING A LONG ROAD TRIP DURING WHICH I WAS USING CRUISE CONTROL FOR EXTENDED PERIODS, THOUGH IN NONE OF THE INCIDENTS, WAS THE CRUISE CONTROL ON. I AM SENDING THIS NOW AS I LEARNED YOU ARE LOOKING INTO SUCH INCIDENTS AND THOUGHT YOU WOULD WANT TO BUILD A RECORD. I BELIEVE THERE ARE FAR MORE INCIDENTS LIKE THIS THAT NEVER GET REPORTED BECAUSE THEY END SAFELY; A SOLICITATION OF SUCH INCIDENTS FROM THOSE LIKE MYSELF WHO SIMPLY REMAIN PUZZLED OVER THEM WOULD YIELD A MUCH LARGER DATA BASE. THANK YOU.*AK