2007 Toyota Avalon

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA AVALON. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE A FLAT TIRE, THE FACTORY JACK DID NOT RAISE THE CAR HIGH ENOUGH TO INSTALL OR REMOVE THE TIRE AND FAILED. THE FACTORY JACK WAS LABELED AS HAVING A LIFTING CAPACITY OF 2,200 LBS HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WEIGHED APPROXIMATELY 4,000 POUNDS. THE CONTACT DETERMINED THAT SITUATION TO BE A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER NOR WAS THE MANUFACTURER MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FACTORY JACK WAS NOT REPLACED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 62,000.

MY CAR IS A 2007 AVALON TOYOTA AND WHEN I FIRST PURCHASED IT I HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR ACCELERATING, BROUGHT IT INTO THE DEALER AND NO PROBLEM WAS EVER FOUND. THIS HAPPENED A MINIMUM OF 3 TIMES. THEN THE CAR SEEMED TO BE OK, AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO. I DID NOT BRING IT TO THE DEALER. THE CAR HAS BEEN RUNNING FINE, BUT I HAVE BEEN WATCHFUL OF IT. AND IWAS TOLD JUST TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL AND TURN OFF THE MOTOR. BUT IT DID NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. WHILE IN FLORIDA THIS PAST WINTER I DID HAVE MY CAR SERVICED FOR ALL 3 RECALLS WITH MUCH HESITATION SINCE, AS I SAID, THE CAR SEEMED TO BE OK. IT HAS BEEN APPROX. 3 WEEKS SINCE I HAD ALL THE RECALL WORK DONE AND WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM FLA. I WENT INTO A GAS STATION TO PUT AIR IN MY TIRES AND THEN ALL [XXX] BROKE LOOSE. I WAS DRIVING SLOW LOOKING FOR THE AIR PUMP AND THE CARWENT CRAZY ACCELERATING. I YELLED, PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKES AND TURNED OFF THE MOTOR. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FLOOR MAT, PEDAL ETC. NOTHING WAS NOTICEABLE STUCK. I LOVE THIS CAR, BUT THERE IS A DEVIL INSIDE THE MOTOR. SINCE THE RECALL DID NOT TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM WHAT SHOULD I DO? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

ON MARCH 19, 2008, MY STEP-SON WAS KILLED IN TAMPA, FLORIDA WHILE DRIVING HIS 2007 TOYOTA AVALON. HE HAD JUST DROPPED MY SISTER-IN-LAW OFF AT THE AIRPORT AND WAS TRAVELLING ON THE COURTNEY CAMPBELL PARKWAY WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED. HE EXITED ONTO A SERVICE ROAD, POSTED AT 15 MPH, AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED, CRASHING THROUGH A GUARDRAIL AND PLUNGING INTO TAMPA BAY. HE DID NOT GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. WITNESSES SAY HE DID NOT APPEAR TO BRAKE BEFORE HITTING THE GUARDRAIL. NOBODY COULD DETERMINE AT THE TIME WHY THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED; HIS TOXICOLOGY REPORT WAS CLEAR. THE CAR HAS LONG SINCE BEEN SALVAGED SINCE TOYOTA'S UNINTEDNDED ACCELERATION ISSUES WERE NOT PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AT THE TIME TWO YEARS AGO.

WE HAVE HAD THREE INCIDENTS IN THE PAST WITH OUR TOYOTA AVALON....ALL AT TRAFFIC LIGHT APPROACHES. THE FIRST RESULTED IN OUR HITTING THE TRUCK IN FRONT OF US. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE NOR INJURIES SO BOTH PARTIES LEFT SATISFIED. THE SECOND OCCURRED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT A FEW MINUTES LATER AT WHICH TIME MY HUSBAND GOT THE VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL. THE THIRD OCCURRED SEVERAL WEEKS LATER NEAR OUR HOME. MY HUSBAND MANAGED TO GET THE CAR UNDER CONTROL BY SWERVING INTO A DRIVE NEARBY BY. IT WAS AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT ALSO. THOUGHT IT WAS MY HUSBANDS DRIVING (HA)) BECAUSE HE SEEMS TO BE ACCELERATING INSTEAD OF BRAKING BUT HE WAS ASSURING ME HE WAS BRAKING. *TW

I THINK BECAUSE I AM A WOMEN AND REPAIR COMPANIES DO THIS TYPE. I HAVE A 2007 TOYOTA AVALON. IT HAS NOT BEING 6 MONTHS YET. I PURCHASED IT FROM CARMAX. I HAVE TAKEN IT BACK AT LIST 5 TIME ARE MORE FOR MINER REPAIRS . NOW I HAD NEW FRONT DISC BRAKES PUT ON THIS MONTH AND THEY ARE SCRUBBING AND THE FRONT TIRES ARE BLACK BECAUSE THE BRAKES ARE VERY LOW END PRODUCT AND THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSE TO SCRUB THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD TO ME. PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS ASAP. *TR

ON AUG. 6TH WHILE DRIVING ON A TWO LANE ROAD IN SOUTH CAROLINA IN MY 2007 AVALON, THE ACCELERATOR BECAME STUCK. MY CAR REACHED SPEEDS OF UP TO 80 MPH. I COULD ONLY REDUCE THE SPEED TO 60 MPH BY RIDING THE BRAKES. I FINALLY STOPPED THE CAR BY FINDING A SAFE PULL-OFF AND SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND THEN PARK. MY BRAKES WERE COMPLETELY RUINED AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO A TOYOTA DEALER IN GREENVILLE, SC. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT DETERMINED THAT THE FAULTY ACCELERATION WAS DUE TO A RUBBER ALL-WEATHER MAT. THE MAT HAD BEEN PLACED OVER THE STANDARD FLOOR MAT. I FEEL THAT AVALON OWNERS NATIONWIDE NEED TO BE NOTIFIED OF THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM. I NOTED IN MY LOCAL NEWSPAPER LAST WEEK THAT YOU ARE INVESTIGATING THE SAME PROBLEM IN THE LEXUS ES 350 WHICH HAS THE SAME DESIGN AS THE AVALON. *TR UPDATED 03/04/10 *BF UPDATED 05/06/10.*JB

TL*- THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA AVALON THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL OF THE CAR READ- CAUTION PEOPLE WITH AN IMPLANTED CARDIAC PACEMAKER OR DEFIBRILLATOR SHOULD KEEP AWAY FROM THE SMART KEY SYSTEM BECAUSE THE RADIO WAVES MAY AFFECT THE OPERATION OF SUCH DEVICES. THE CONTACTS FATHER HAD ONE. HE CONTACTED TOYOTA, AND GOT TECHNICAL DETAILS ON THE FREQUENCY OF THE SYSTEM. HE SENT THE INFORMATION TO HIS CARDIOLOGIST, WHO CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER OF THE DEFIBRILLATOR, AND HE WAS ADVISED NOT TO LET HIS FATHER WITHIN 18 INCHES OF THE CAR. THE CONTACT QUESTIONED IF HE SHOULD KEEP HIS FATHER AWAY FROM THE CAR BUT WHAT WAS HIS LIABILITY IF SOMEONE WALKED OR PARKED NEXT TO THIS CAR, AND THE PERSON HAD AN IMPLANTED PACEMAKER, AND HE DIED, WHAT WOULD BE HIS LIABILITY ON THIS PROBLEM. *AK UPDATE 4/23/07*TR

I CAN'T GET ANY INFORMATION ON THE POSSIBLE DANGERS OF THE SMART KEY. THE OWNER'S MANUAL OF MY 2007 TOYOTA AVALON WARNS THAT PERSONS WITH IMPLANTED PACEMAKERS OR DEFIBRILLATOR SHOULD NOT GO NEAR THE ANTENNAE ON THE SMART KEY SYSTEM. MY 91-YEAR-OLD DAD HAS AN IMPLANTED DEFIBRILLATOR. IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET IN, START THE CAR, AND DISABLE THE SMART KEY SO HE CAN THEN APPROACH THE CAR AND GET IN? WHAT IS THE RADIO FREQUENCY AND EFFECTIVE RADIATED POWER OF THE SYSTEM SO I CAN PASS THE INFORMATION ALONG TO HIS CARDIOLOGIST? WHAT IS THE LIABILITY IF I HAVE THE CAR PARKED ON A PUBLIC STREET AND SOMEONE WITH AN IMPLANTED DEFIBRILLATOR OR PACEMAKER SHOULD HAPPEN TO WALK PAST THE CAR WITHOUT KNOWING THE DANGER? PLEASE HELP, AS THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING OUT ABOUT THIS. ALSO, THE OWNER'S MANUAL WARNS ABOUT GETTING THE SMART KEY TOO CLOSE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC DEVICES SUCH AS CREDIT CARDS AND CELL PHONES, CORDLESS PHONE RECHARGERS, FLUORESCENT LIGHTS, ETC. HOW CAN MY WIFE CARRY THE SMART KEY IN HER PURSE WITH CREDIT CARDS AND CELL PHONE? ALSO, I STORE ALL MY KEYS ON HOOKS IN A CABINET ABOVE THE DESK IN OUR KITCHEN. I ALSO STORE MY CELL PHONE THERE. ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE SHELF IS A FLUORESCENT LIGHT, AND ON THE DESK IS A CORDLESS PHONE RECHARGER. DO I HAVE TO REARRANGE MY LIFE TO AVOID PROBLEMS WITH THE SMART KEY? ALSO, THE OWNER'S MANUAL WARNS THE SMART KEY MIGHT NOT WORK NEAR BROADCAST OPERATIONS. SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK, I HAVE TO GO TO A CABLE TELEVISION HEAD END WHERE THERE ARE 13 EARTH STATIONS (SATELLITE RECEIVE DISHES) AND INNUMERABLE TRANSMIT ANTENNAE ON A 357-FOOT TOWER; IN SHORT, MUCH MORE RADIO WAVE ACTIVITY THAN WOULD BE PRESENT AT A NORMAL BROADCAST OPERATION. I HAVEN'T TAKEN THE CAR THERE YET FOR FEAR OF WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN. WILL I HAVE TO HAVE IT TOWED SOME DISTANCE AWAY BEFORE THE SMART KEY TECHNOLOGY WILL WORK? *NM