Think Your Recalled Toyota Is Fixed? Maybe Not

As Toyota continues to slog through the millions of cars and trucks on it massive recall list, several drivers whose vehicles have been to the dealer and back are saying that there cars are still experiencing problems with sudden acceleration and bad braking.

A quick search of the NHTSA complaint database by Consumerist found these examples.

Here’s one driver who says she had the dealer do recall work on her Toyota Matrix on Feb. 10:

On February 26th, I was driving about 5 mph in a parking area with my son. I put my foot on the brake and I felt the car push forward. I put my other foot on the brake as well. My son said “it’s doing it again, Mom!” I put it in neutral and we both heard the engine wind out like I had pushed the gas pedal to the floor. This obviously means the recall “fix” isn’t working! I contacted my dealer and am getting a loaner car.

And another complaint from just a few days ago:

After checking with the New Jersey dealer where I bought the this car 5-1/2 months ago, I was told my vin # was ok for no problem with the gas pedal sticking, but i should go in for the mat/gas pedal problem. I did & was told it was done. On 2/16, i was pulling into a spot at CVS. I took my foot off of the gas pedal and started to put the foot on the brake when the car suddenly flew up forward over the cement curb and into the dirt and bushes which, thank god stopped the car. I will never get back into my 2010 Toyota Camry again. They hauled the car to their dealership and got me a Honda rental. I made an appointment with [name redacted] general mgr.. He told me so far they had not been able to find anything in the car.

I told him I would never drive that car again and my sons had told me no matter what these people said I was not to drive it. I explained along with never being able to drive that car again i would not now purchase another Toyota. He told me they could give me a $17,000 refund leaving me to eat $10,916. On a car i have had for 5 ½ months and had only 2,091 miles on it. I was told to talk to someone at their corporate office in CA and they offered me nothing but a slick “your word against mine” nothing help. I could see the writing on the wall I went out the next day, bought a Ford Fusion and drove away in my new car.

And yet another:

On 2/12/10 my 2010 Toyota Camry received an acceleration fix. In addition I was informed a fail-safe computer program was put in. On 2/17/10 as I was entering my parking slot, the car did an unintended sudden acceleration without my foot being on the accelerator. I was pressing the brake. I jammed both feet into the brake. After 3 seconds, as my car was climbing up a snow bank, it stopped. The engine was idling while my gear shift was in drive. This is the second level on the fail-safe system. This means that: “If both accelerator position sensors fail, or if one throttle position sensor fails, the ECM will…return the engine to idle speed. Had the incident happened one minute earlier, I would have been in a high car/pedestrian area and would not have been able to avoid an accident. The whole event took 5-6 seconds before the car suddenly stopped. The fix done by Toyota is not the fix for the acceleration problem.

Complaints like these lend credence to reports claiming there might be more to the sudden acceleration issue than bad floor mats and “sticky” gas pedals.

“There is already doubt out there that the solutions Toyota has put forward really fix the problem of unintended acceleration,” Aaron Bragman, auto industry analyst at IHS Global Insight, told the L.A. Times.

Toyota claims they have not heard of any post-fix recall problems, but that they are taking it seriously.

“We very much would like to have any of those individuals who claim they’ve had unintended acceleration after the fix go back to the dealership,” Migliore said. “If there was an accident, we want to see the vehicle and the driver and the accident report.”

Toyota’s Fix Is a Bust, Owner’s Claim [L.A. Times]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.