Submission from constituent re 2003 toyota avalon 4 dr-sd re sticky gas pedal problem. *smd the consumer stated on july 25, 2014, as his wife was backing out of the driveway, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. Despite pressing the brake pedal, the vehicle did not slow until it made contact with a lamp post. The dealer was unable to replicate, the consumers concern.
2003 Toyota Avalon: sudden unintended acceleration
22 of the 293 complaints about the 2003 Toyota Avalon describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 22
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- typical mileage
- 53,809
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 1 service bulletin covers this area of the car. See below
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
2003 toyota avalon. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle sudden acceleration. *smd the consumer stated the brakes locked up and the vehicle suddenly accelerated. She frantically tried to stop the vehicle, even shifting the transmission into park, but to no avail. The consumer finally crashed into three cars that were stopped at a traffic light. The vehicle was totaled.
I was driving into a parking space on the side of a condo and needed to pull up approximately 2 yards. I gently pressed the gas peddle and the car shot forward, went over the curb, traversed several feet of grass and slammed into the condo patio brick wall. I was stunned. Had no idea what happened. The air bag did not deploy. I was not hurt but the wall was damaged in the amount of $2500 for repairs. I put the car in reverse and, again, the car shot backwards, extremely fast. My brakes worked so I just missed slamming into the cars behind me in the parking lot. I turned off the car and sat there. Then started it again and it behaved normally. Needless to say, now I am frightened of my car and something needs to be done.
9/17/2010 accident occurred as I entered a parking space with my foot on the brake and stopped when the car suddenly accelerated going thru a fence and hitting a stone wall when the car stopped. Our insurance company repaired the car after a toyota rep. Examined the car. I received a letter from [xxx] from toyota dated 10/25/2010 that stated they could not find any type of manufacture design or defect. Daytona toyota did an aoh recall on the car during that time. My back and neck was strained and I had chiropractic adjustments, heat therapy and massages for two months paid by my insurance. 11/05/2012 accident occurred as I entered a parking space with my foot on the brake and stopped when the car accelerated over the curb hitting a stop sign. The sign ripped the left outside mirror off the door, scraped and bent the front and back doors on drivers side. The car now sits in my garage wrecked because I will not turn in another accident on my insurance because my premium went up after the first accident. I will absolutely not drive the car again because there is definitely something wrong and it is a blessing there was no one on the sidewalk nor a car on the street when my car accelerated. Someone could have been injured or killed. I do not believe that toyota knows what is wrong nor do they know how to fix it. They need to take responsibility for what has happened to customers who trusted their vehicles. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
As I was backing out from a space in a parking lot, my car suddenly accelerated and I had a hard time getting it to stop with the brake pedal. The wheels were turned in a sharp left position. The engine sounded like it was at a high rev. The right side of my car crashed into two cars on the opposite side of the parking lot aisle before coming to a halt. The whole event lasted just a few seconds. Fortunately, no one was injured.
2003 toyota avalon. Consumer states unintended acceleration *tgw the consumer stated over a year ago, he was driving into a garage, when the vehicle suddenly, and he hit a brick wall. The consumer realized he accidentally, hit the accelerator, instead of the brake. In 2003, the steering column did not telescope and tall drivers, such as him had a problem selecting the degree of tilt on the steering column. Because he could not extend the steering column, on that occasion, he tilted the steering wheel down, but further than he usually did. The result, was that the steering wheel blocked his right leg from moving to the left.
2003 toyota avalon with unintended acceleration. *kb the consumer stated he sold the vehicle back to the dealer, but wanted to detail the events of the accident. While attempting to park the vehicle, it suddenly surged forward and caused the vehicle to accelerate over a curb, through the bushes and into another vehicle. A toyota representative suggested that perhaps both pedals were depressed simultaneously or that perhaps the floor mat was pressed against the gas pedal. The consumer stated neither happened. The consumer stated the was the third incident of sudden acceleration that had she had experienced in the vehicle, but the first two were not severe enough to warrant a police report.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. The contact stated that when trying to drive in reverse out of a parking lot, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a pole. The contact then shifted from neutral gear then to drive and although his foot was on the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated into a brick wall. The air bags did not deploy. The contact and the passenger were both injured as a result of the crash. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The contact called the manufacturer and requested that the vehicle be inspected. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were 53,809.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota avalon. While driving in reverse, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The vehicle proceeded to crash into another vehicle. The vehicle did not stop and continued accelerating, pushing that vehicle onto someone's lawn. The incident caused major damage to the vehicle and property. A passerby was injured and a police report was filed accordingly. The dealer was contacted and told the contact that there were no mechanical issues with her vehicle. The vehicle was not inspected and there were no previous incidents of unintended acceleration. The manufacturer was not contacted. The current mileage was approximately 93,000 and the failure mileage was 91,000.
S10 appropriate handling re sudden unintended acceleration fm owner of a 2003 toyota avalon. *kb while pulling into a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated, resulting in a serious accident. Updated 10/29/10
Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) was braking to park 2003 toyota avalon 4 dr sedan (VIN [xxx] ). It suddenly accelerated and went through a fence and landed in canal #e4 in lantana, florida on december 19, 2009. Car had 63,000 miles on odometer. Nothing like this ever happened before. Park lot is located at 2810 hypoluxo rd. Lantana florida. Car was "totaled" by geico insurance co.
Our 2003 toyota avalon has experienced several occurrences of sudden acceleration. My wife took the car to our toyota dealer and both times they said that it was due to the floormat sticking under the gas pedal. The mat was removed and it still has the problem. While I was driving it down the highway, I let off the gas to slow down and it started to speed up. I put the car into neutral and the engine started to rev up and down from 1000 RPM to 2500 RPM. This continued for a couple of minutes until I was forced to pull over to the side of the road and turn the engine off and restart it. (this is always the fix...turn off the engine and restart it. It seems to reset the computer). This problem started over a year ago and continues to occur almost monthly. This vehicle is not included in the recall and even if it was, I don't feel that the problem has a fix, yet. We have to continue to drive the car because we can't afford another one and the resale value has plummeted. Just last week my wife was stopped by a dps officer for speeding from a stop light. She did not even have her foot on the gas pedal. She explained what had happened and was not ticketed.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2003 Toyota Avalon sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2003 Toyota Avalon?
22 of 293 owner complaints about the 2003 Toyota Avalon (8%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2006.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2003 Toyota Avalon?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2003 Toyota Avalon
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