2007 Toyota Corolla: jerking or lurching

Filed Nov 30, 2014 · Engine · CA

On april 28 2014 I reserved a rental car from priceless rental car in inglewood ca. Upon receiving the vehicle, there was no inspection or any kind of walk-around to ensure its condition. I drove it from lax to san francisco, and during the entire journey the check engine light was on and my gas mileage efficiency was dropping rapidly. The vehicle also shook at speeds around 60-70mph and would jerk and jolt whenever I applied the gas pedal to increase RPM. I am sure that there is no vehicle inspection or maintenance occurring on a weekly, monthly, or even a daily basis.

Filed Nov 8, 2014 · Acceleration, Transmission · 16,600 miles · OH

Re: toyota 2007 corolla: when driving (in reverse) out of our driveway, on several occasions the car would suddenly jerk, emit a lot of fumes, and it would take off on its own. Putting pressure on the brakes would not stop the car- only turning off the ignition key stops the car. Last time this occurred was on november 4, 2014. After driving out of the driveway and changing gears from reverse to drive, the car again jerked, made a left turn, drove across our lawn, through the bushes and to our next door neighbor?s lawn. We are lucky that it did not slam into our house or the electric pole close to our driveway- either one would probably have killed us. The car has its own mind and does not respond to anything that the driver tries to do to stop the car from moving other than turning off the ignition key. The toyota dealer, of course, asserts that there is nothing wrong with the car.

Filed Feb 5, 2013 · Engine · 66,000 miles · AE

On 9/12/2012 the engine light came on and I drove the car to the dealership, the service rep said that they reset the sensor and everything should be ok. On jan 15,13 I took the car back to the toyota dealership for the 60,000 miles maintenance. Only thing that was said to be found was the fan belt was needing to be replaced. On jan 24 while driving to the usaf base, the car started making noise and jerking. When I stopped at the gate to show my I.d. The guard told me that it sounded like my engine was dying, and go to the mechanic asap. I turned around and went straight to the toyota dealership. The engine light came back on and it took me 45 min to get to toyota bc the car would not accelerate past 20 MPH (that should have been a 10 min drive). The service rep told me that the air flow meter sensor was dirty and frozen and they cleaned and reset it. On friday feb 1st the car was towed back to toyota because it would not drive out the drive way. Toyota rep ran a diagnostic and said the computer engine was faulty and a new ECM would need to be put in. This car only has 66,000 miles! The rep told me that there were recalls on the 2005-2008 model toyota corollas and that I need to get a recall letter from toyota USA so they can fix the car (I never got the letter that was supposedly sent out sept 2010). I called toyota corporate on 4 separate occasions on feb 4 and was told that I could not get a letter faxed or emailed here to germany to get my car repaired. A rude representative name [xxx] said that it would take an unknown amount of time to get a recall letter sent through the mail. I don't have an unknown amount of time. I am due to leave germany in a week on military orders! In the days of technology, we can put a man on the moon but toyota USA can't send an electronic recall letter to toyota germany to have one of their faulty vehicles repaired? Shame on toyota! Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed May 9, 2012 · Steering · 65,000 miles · NJ · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota corolla. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle and steering wheel started to jerk violently. As result, the contact lost control and the vehicle rolled over. A police report was filed and the driver sustained bruising and a contusion. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who advised that they would contact him at a later date. The vehicle was destroyed. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 65,000.

Filed Jul 18, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 72,000 miles · CA

I drive a 2007 toyota corolla s automatic. I bought it brand new & had about 72,000 miles on it at the time of the incident. I had noticed for a few weeks that my car was shifting into reverse quite roughly, delayed & jerking. I figured I would get it checked at my next oil change. While I was stopped at an intersection waiting to turn left, my car stalled. I stepped on the pedal to accelerate but it just revved my car & wouldn't go. I tried switching into reverse with the same result. Then I restarted my car a couple times until it finally started moving again. I thought it was a fluke so I kept driving. Unfortunately, as I drove on, the car just decelerated and stalled again. At that point, I called a tow truck. My car was taken to repair shop where the diagnostic was ECM issues & transmission failure. My mechanic called toyota to get the ECM replaced & my transmission had to be rebuilt.

Filed Sep 1, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 37,000 miles · GA

My daughter's 2007 corolla "check engine light" illuminated while driving back to college on 8/29/10. She stated that the car started to jerk periodically also. She was able to drive home safely the following day and I took it to my mechanic on 8/30/10. He said that there was a bulletin released regarding a recall on the ECM and to take it to the dealer for repair. I took it to toyota mall of georgia and handed the service rep the printout of the bulletin and explained what had happened. I asked him if this had to do with the recent recall - he said that this wasn't recent since the date on the bulletin was 2007. He said probably the ECM needed to be replaced and would call when he knew for sure. A few hours later he said that the ECM was replaced at no charge. In the interim, I had done some research and found that there was a recall bulletin issued on 8/26/10 so when I picked up the car later that evening, I questioned a different service rep and he said he didn't know about any recall! Huh? Didn't the other rep tell me that this was from 2007? I said why did you replace the ECM then, he said because there is a start up issue with the ECM. I told him we weren't having start up trouble, but that the engine light came on and the car started to jerk. I told him what I had learned about the engine stalling while driving and asked him if these issues were fixed with this replacement and he said no, just the start up issue!! He said since there wasn't a recall on the stalling issue, they couldn't fix this. I was totally confused and did not feel safe putting my daughter back in that car. Now I see all these complaints going back to 2007 regarding this. Toyota has known about this for 3 years and has done nothing to inform the public. Meanwhile my daughter has basically been driving a time bomb for the past 3 years!! I don't feel that the replacement has corrected the problem, so now what is my recourse? Please help!

Filed Aug 26, 2010 · Electrical · WA

My check engine light came on a few months ago, and then turned off. My transmission started shifting rough and jerking between gears - particularly going in and out of reverse. A few weeks later my dash light went out, and my tail lights stopped working. I called toyota, and they had me come in to the dealership to have my ecu re-calibrated. Rather than re-calibrating it, I was told after the appointment that they had replaced the ecu. The replacement ecu was installed on august 7, 2010. They were unable to help me with the lighting problem because they said it was a fuse problem. None of my fuses are blown. The car does not have as hard of a time shifting between gears as it did before the ecu replacement, but now I am hardly able to accelerate up the hill to my house. My engine revs up to almost 4000rpm just trying to get up to 30mph. The engine is working hard and is loud, the car has been vibrating during acceleration, and it takes a lot of pressure on the brakes to stop the car. There was a recall announced on my car, and I went to toyota.com to check my VIN. It is involved in the recall, but I already had the new part they say I need installed and the problem persists. I want to return this car.

Filed Aug 25, 2010 · Engine · 19,000 miles · TN

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota corolla. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The vehicle was repaired by replacing the ECM yet the failure recurred. The contact stated the vehicle began to jerk violently before stalling. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer for further repairs. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileage was 19,000.

Filed Apr 26, 2010 · Acceleration · 16,500 miles · IL

I had just started my 2007 toyota corolla in a parking lot, I backed out of a my parking space, and put the transmission in drive. I was traveling approximately 3-4 MPH, when I applied the brake to stop. The car continued to lurch forward. Even though my foot was on the brake. I applied more pressure to the brake, but the car continued to move. I had to shift the transmission into park, in order to stop the car. I then looked down at the brake and accelerator pedals. My foot was firmly on the brake and the accelerator was not depressed in anyway, however the engine RPM's continued to increased. I had to turn the engine off to stop the engine speed from increasing. I took the car to toyota dealership immediately, but they found nothing wrong with the car.

Filed Apr 8, 2010 · Electrical · 50,000 miles · VA

My 2007 toyota corolla's engine shut off as I was getting off the entrance ramp to a busy highway. I was able to glide the car to the side of the rode. I restarted the car and pressed down the accelerator and the car would not go (even when I pressed the accelerator to the floor). The car shut off again. I restarted it, it lurched forward and immediately shut off again. I could not restart it again. The check engine, oil light, and battery light all came on but only the check engine light remained on. I had the car towed to the local toyota dealer and they determined the problem was the ecu.

Filed Mar 16, 2010 · Acceleration · 38,000 miles · OR

2007 toyota corolla: when coming to a stop car will spontaneously accelerate and lurch forward. We have been spared any accidents but it is happening at least twice a day now and will do it when coming to a stop, and backing up. We have come close to hitting our garage and other cars because of this spontaneous acceleration problem. Failure started around 38,000 miles and is still continuing now at about 49,000 miles. Car has been to a trusted mechanic once and the toyota dealership three times. Both said they found no problem and because we never know when the problem will occur, could not get the car to replicate it. Talked with dealership mechanics several times and all say there is nothing they can do until they can replicate the problem. Car does not fall under most recent toyota recall, but is exhibiting similar problems to those listed in the recall.

Filed Mar 14, 2010 · Acceleration · 38,000 miles · MD · crash

Approximately jan 26, 2010 2007 toyota corolla engine accelerated up to approximately 7000 rpms while my wife's foot was on brake only, car waiting for about two minutes at traffic light. Car was turned off. Car towed to toyota dealer, dealer found nothing wrong, nothing done. Feb 12, 2010 again the car was idling, waiting for traffic to clear, to make right turn. This time engine started wildly accelerating as soon as my wife gave car a little gas, the car lurched forward rapidly, she hit another car, caused damage to both cars, no injuries. Car engine raced very fast again just after accident. Car towed to repair shop for body work only. Feb 24 just after car picked up at body shop, car was waiting in traffic to make left turn, foot on brake, engine accelerated up to 7000 RPM again, car turned off, towed back to toyota dealer. It still sits there today, march 15. Dealer will not look at car, national toyota tech team says they will call to set up appointment to look at car, maybe call this coming week, may not even start looking at car for several more weeks. We have not had use of car for one month, toyota is convinced nothing is wrong, car is not recalled, toyota seems determined to prove car problem did not cause accident, show no concern for what is causing problem. We have extended warrenty, but car is not getting fixed, we can not get rental car while car is in shop because toyota is not being fixed. Car seems to be excellent canidate for studies, since it has had 3 sudden accelerations in a short time, two of them involving foot on brake, not accelerator, points to software problem. Toyota acts like they do not want software problem to be found.