2009 Toyota Avalon

THE STEERING WHEEL ON MY 2009 AVALON LIMITED AUTOMOBILE COLLAPSES WHILE DRIVING WITH NO APPARENT REASON. MY VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH AN ADJUSTABLE TELESCOPING STEERING WHEEL WHICH ONE CAN ADJUST FOR COMFORT & THEN LOCK INTO ITS SET POSITION. A LEVER BELOW THE STEERING COLUMN ON THE LEFT SIDE IS MADE TO LOCK SUCH POSITION. IN MANY CASES THE LOCKING LEVER DIS-ENGAGES SUDDENLY CAUSE THE STEERING WHEEL TO COLLAPSE WHILE ONE IS DRIVING. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO MY DEALER BUT TO THIS DATE, THEY HAVE NOT DUPLICATED THE SAME ISSUE. MY OCCURRENCES HAVE BEEN SPORADIC; HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BE A MAJOR CONCERN OF ANY DRIVER WHEN THEY LOOSES CONTROL OF A MAJOR STEERING ABILITY OF ANY VEHICLE. *TR

2009 TOYOTA AVALON XLS [XXX] IN SERVICE 10/31/2008; MILEAGE AT FAILURE UNKNOWN, BUT LESS THAN 42,000. BOTH HIGH BEAM BULBS EXPLODED ON THE VEHICLE. BASED ON INTERNET RESEARCH, THIS SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN PROBLEM. TOYOTA ISSUED A TSB 0044-10 ON THIS FAILURE 1/27/2010, YET THEY REFUSE TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE ISSUE. THE BULBS FAILED DESPITE A CUMULATIVE USE OF LESS THAN 2 HOURS ON THE HIGH BEAMS IN THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE (I LIVE IN A METROPOLITAN AREA). IF THE BULBS ARE REPLACED, THEY WILL FAIL AGAIN DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE HOUSING. IS THIS PURELY A SAFETY ISSUE, LIKELY NOT BECAUSE THE DRIVER STILL HAS LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS. HOWEVER IT FURTHER ILLUSTRATES TOYOTA'S RELUCTANCE TO ADDRESS A KNOWN FAILURE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C . 552(B)(6) *LN

TL* THE CONTACT TEMPORARILY RENTED A 2009 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKES AND THEN SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AS HE COASTED OFF THE ROADWAY. THE CONTACT THEN SHIFTED INTO PARK AND SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. HE WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AS IT RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION. THE CONTACT DID NOT INFORM THE RENTAL FACILITY OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,000.

MY 2009 TOYOTA AVALON HAS TWO RECALLS. FLOOR MAT INTERFERENCE & STICKY ACCELERATOR PEDAL. TOYOTA SAID I CAN HAVE A REDESIGNED ACCELERATOR PEDAL INSTALLED IN APRIL 2010. IT'S NOW 2.5 MONTHS LATER AND I'M STILL WAITING. TOYOTA HAS BEEN INSTALLING THE REDESIGNED PEDAL ON NEW CARS COMING OFF THE MANUFACTURING LINE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS WHILE NOT INSTALLING THEM ON CURRENT CUSTOMER CARS. THEY KEEP HOLDING ME OFF. THEY PREFER TO SAW MY CURRENT PEDAL. I WATCHED THE DEALER DO THIS ON A CUSTOMER'S CAR. A HAND HELD HACK SAW IS USED TO SAW THE PEDAL FOLLOWED BY A HAND HELD METAL GRINDER TO SMOOTH THE CUT. I PAID $35,000 FOR A NEW CAR, NOT ONE HACKED. I AM FILLING THIS COMPLAINT FOR YOUR RECORDS. TOYOTA STILL IS NOT PROPERLY FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THIS RECALL FROM NOV. 2009. *TR

2009 TOYOTA AVALON. CONSUMER STATES ACCELERATOR HESITATION CAUSING A CRASH *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED SHE WAS STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN, PREPARING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN. WHILE STOPPED, SHE NOTED THERE WERE THREE CARS DRIVING WESTWARD AND SHE LET THEM PASS. THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS TRAVELING THAT DIRECTION AT THE TIME. SHE WAITED FOR TWO CARS TO PASS DRIVING IN THE EASTWARD BOUND LANES AND NOTED ANOTHER CAR TRAVELING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. THAT CAR WAS IN THE LANE NEAREST THE MEDIAN AND SHE DETERMINED THAT SHE HAD SUFFICIENT TIME TO MAKE A LEFT TURN AT THAT TIME BEFORE THE CAR WOULD BE NEAR HER. WITH HER FOOT ON THE BRAKE, SHE RELEASED IT TO PRESS ON THE ACCELERATOR TO GO FORWARD, THE VEHICLE EASED INTO THE INTERSECTION, BUT DID NOT RESPOND TO HER FOOT PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THE ONCOMING VEHICLE CRASHED INTO HER. THE CONSUMER WAS SEVERELY INJURED. SHE BELIEVED THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT WAS ACCELERATOR HESITATION. SHE RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT REGARDING THE FLOOR MAT ISSUE AND THEY WERE DEEMED TO BE SECURELY HOOKED. THE RECALL NOTICE REGARDING THE ACCELERATOR PROBLEM WAS RECEIVED AFTER THE ACCIDENT, NOTING THAT ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL INVOLVED A HARD TO PRESS ACCELERATOR PEDAL. *JB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA AVALON. WHILE TRAVELING AT 75 MPH WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL HAD DEACTIVATED. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 16,000. UPDATED 7/20/10 *CN THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL STOPPED FUNCTIONING, THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN. UPDATED 07/23/10*JB

THE STEERING COLUMN TELESCOPIC LOCK WON'T STAY LOCKED. YOU CAN BE DRIVING ALONG AND THE STEERING COLUMN WILL COLLAPSE AND BECOME VERY LOOSE. I HAD IT HAPPEN WHILE TURNING A CORNER AND IT CAUSED ME TO LOOSE TEMPORARY CONTROL. I REPORTED IT TO THE DEALER BEFORE IT WENT OUT OF WARRANTY BUT THEY ADVISED THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. AT 36,800 MILES I CONVINCED THEM THERE WAS A PROBLEM. AT THAT TIME THEY AGREED TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE PART AT 1/2 PRICE. SINCE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE IT SHOULD BE REPLACED NO CHARGE. *TR

WE HAVE A 2009 TOYOTA AVALON, WHICH WE PURCHASED IN MID-NOVEMBER OF 2009. WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH TWO RECALLS ALREADY. EVERYTIME WE USE THE BREAKS AND RELEASE THEM IT MAKES A "THUD" NOISE. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER WHO SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW WHY IT OCCURRED. MY WIFE AND I ARE NOT HAPPY WITH TOYOTA OR NHTSA WHO SHOULD OF RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC THE MANY ISSUES TOYOTA WAS HAVING WITH THEIR AUTOMOBILES IN 2009. I WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED THIS PROBLEM AUTO IF NHTSA HAD NOTIFIED THE MEDIA OF THE ISSUE IN OCT. OR THE 1ST OF NOV. I DID SEE AN NBC NEWS INTERVIEW WITH MATT LAURER AND THE PRESIDENT OF NORTH AMERICAN TOYOTA WHO STATED THEY WERE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM IN LATE OCT. OF 2009. I GUESS THE BRAKES WILL BE THE NEXT ISSUE. IF YOU CAN LET ME KNOW WHY MY NEW TOYOTA (ONLY 5200 MILES) MAKES A THUD NOISE WHEN I RELEASE THE BRAKES I WOULD APPRECIATE IT, SINCE MY TOYOTA DEALER DOESN'T KNOW! *TR