Toyota's Tacoma Falls Under Fire Yet Again

Your fanboism has blinded you that much huh. Sad.

Not true, drew. XeroKool is correct ... this time! :-)

I can personally back up XeroKool's story. Here goes.

In 1986 the Audi 5000 was the target of an "unintneded acceleration" expose by the "60 Minutes" TV show. Sales of this car dropped so dramatically that at one point Audi seriously considered withdrawing from the U.S. market.

It's a good thing that Audi didn't withdraw. The NHTSA investigated these incidents, and concluded that the drivers were putting their foot on the wrong pedal.

In December 2005 I acquired a new 2006 Audi A8L. About two months later, after smoothly pulling away from a dead stop, the car's engine suddenly started racing and the car started to accelerate like a bat out of Hell. I applied the brakes. The car slowed down, but resumed acceleration once I lifted my foot off of the brake pedal. I then put the car in neutral and came to a stop, the engine still racing. The Audi's engine stopped once I turned off the ignition. When I started up the car again, it behaved normally for about about a half-mile, then began accelerating rapidly by itself again. I turned off the ignition again, waited for about a minute, and restarted the engine. The car behaved normally after that.

I was concerned. I stopped by my Audi dealer's service department the next day, and told the service writer what had happened. The guy looked down at the car's floorboard, and noticed that the floor mat had crept up underneath the throttle pedal. He asked me if the mat was like that when the engine started racing. I told him I wasn't sure. He told me that the snagged floor mat was probably the cause of the problem, and that I should make sure the mat didn't get caught under the throttle again. The Audi has plastic snaps built into the carpet to hold the floor mats in place, but the mats usually work loose in a day or so(for me at least).

Anyhow, the problem didn't recur until about a month ago - over 2 years after the first incident. I noticed that the floor mat had indeed crept up under the gas pedal. I pulled the mat out from under the throttle, and the engine stopped racing.

My car is a 2006 model. I don't know whether it has an electronic or mechanical throttle linkage. Regardless, a loose floor mat was the culprit - a very simple answer to a vexing question.

I had the same problem as Audiphile with my own 2006 Audi A8L. I had gotten the all season weather mats from Audi and placed them in my car and one day about few months later, my car roared to 100 mph on I-75 and I did not know how to stop it and placed the gear into neutral, which was a stupid idea and then immediately looked down and saw the mat on the edge of my accelerator pedal. I immediately moved it away and the car slowed down. I complained to the Audi about the mats not flushing properly at all with the floor hooks.

My car came with simple inexpensive carpet clips as part of the factory floormats to ensure this doesnt happen, I believe others should follow as well.

The untold story:

"I was driving in the rain, and when I picked my cell phone to up to make a call so I could be further distracted [my coffee wasn't enough], I looked up and saw brake lights, so I tried to slam on the brakes but instead hit the gas pedal"

The brake pedal is in no way at all connected to the gas; I know there are stories of Aerostars and eletrical issues w/ the cruise control components causing the engine to rev but seriously.. I hit the brakes and my truck took off?

The traction control would have kicked in if the rear tires started spinning.

idiot.

Traction control is not widely available on Tacomas.

I've only had the accelerator stick on me once in a vehicle. It was a Ford Exploder. I had the car floored while going up a steep grade in the mountains. I let off the gas and the car kept going full throttle. I loved that vehicle's sprirt! :)

Oh, all you got to do is turn the key off, duh. Neutral would work too. You think a vehicle theft investigator could figure that one out. If you are in a situation where flooring your car for 3 seconds ends in that sort of disaster, you oughta re-think your driving technique.

I don't want to discount any of the sarcastic comments being made, but I live with this concern daily that I may cause a sudden acceleration in any vehicle that I drive.

Why, you ask?

Because modern vehicles have narrow foot wells and poorly sized foot pedals. But mostly, it's because I have size 14 feet!!!

I once got my foot caught under the brake pedal in a VW Beetle while driving on I-580 in the SF Bay Area. Not fun when you're keeping up with traffic that's all doing 80 m.p.h.

I have size 14 feet too, Bored, and I have had the same problem with some cars. About three years ago I was considering buying a Chrysler 300. I noticed that the dead pedal wouldn't allow me to fully stretch out my left leg, causing discomfort. I could put my left foot directly on the floorboard, but the dead pedal was so wide that my left foot routinely got caught under the brake. Thus I didn't buy the car.

one look at the picture and HOLY CRAP!!! i wouldve thought that the engine would have exploded if it got smashed like that.

btw, where did the headlights go? no trace of them..............

Oh what a tangled web Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki-gaisha weaved, When first the crumball Tacoma practised to deceive!

:-(

You really like that "tangled web" cliche a lot, don't you? You've only used it like 12 times this week...

@ 07G35J,

I gladly take the "tangled web" comment any day over anything from the minds of Toyota fanboy nut jobs like GoObama[08]!

the few NEURONS in his little brain are TANGLED to the point of being SCRAMBLED.

that's why he loves the 'tangled' cliche so much.

Ferrari Sucks (!)

Clearly he pressed the wrong pedal. Cars don't accelerate when you hit the brake.

Well maybe not since Lexus is haveing troubles with Brakes as well read article
http://www.autospies.com/news/Lexus-LS-fails-Auto-Motor-und-Sport-braking-test-AGAIN-28551/

Considering most new toyota are known to have a a hesitation and lurch forward issue (just google it). This event would be very easy to believe.

I think toyota is in trouble here!

actaully there are reports of this in the 4-speed automatic as well.

just google it!

Does this vehicle have a drive-by-wire accelerator? (I highly doubt it.) Otherwise, it's gotta be the wrong pedal (user error).

if it had cruise control, this could've happened spontaneously.

this happened to me TWICE on a 2000 ford. for some reason, the solenoid simply engaged on its own and the car took off. after shutting down and restarting the engine, it was ok. then on the way home, it did NOT re-set. had to ride my brakes to get home.

the dealer replaced the solenoid. TWICE.

of course, unlike ford and euro cars, toyotas have RELIABLE electric components, so this was likely not a reason here.

well those japs have small feet so maybe the pedals where to close

What a stupid lawsuit claim. lool, I tapped the brakes but made the wheels to spin. lool Sadly I'm sure this guy with his lies will get some money, since we have the best legal system in the world, stick with your lies and you'll get rewarded for them.

What if he was falling asleep and pressed the accelerator instead? Or was caught in the floor mat, etc, etc...?

But I guess he's an example of a bad driver who wants to blame someone else for his mistakes.. And oh how shocking, he's an ex investigator too? hmmm you go man, you know all the tricks in the business!! lol

BECAUSE TOYOTA BASHING IS DISERVED THEY ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK. AND DO NOT STAND FOR QUALITY LIKE YOU THINK.

THE CARS THEY BUILD ARE A RIPP OFF
I MEAN A TOYOTA CAMRY LOOKS LIKE A LEXUS YOU CAN NOT TELL THEM APART EXCEPT FOR THE NAME PLATES AND YOU PAY 10 THOUSAND OR MORE FOR THE SAME CAR.

crappyallcadillac and his ilk do not "DISERVE" fine automobiles like toyotas (to say nothing of Lexi), but they are jealous of the INTELLIGENT people who choose these cars which PAY FOR THEMSELVES in their low operating costs and longevity.

so they can ONLY SPEW HATE, in their jealousy and ignorance.

hey cruddylac man, if you cannot make civil and CONSTRUCTIVE comments, just STFU.

Wait...wait...wait...so Tacomas are not indestructable!?! So their commercials are lies!!!!

ford's qulity is up while toyota's is sinking like the titanic

YOU ARE CORRECT TOYOTA QUALITY AND STYLE IS SINKING! WHILE THE AMERICAN AUTO'S STYLE AND QUALITY IS GOING UP. I THINK TOYOTA IS DOING WHAT THE AMERICANS DID IN THE EARLY 80'S AND RESTING ON LOYALTY WHICH ALOT OF AMERICANS SOMETIMES ARE NOT LOYAL FOR LONG.

the "qulity" of spelling and commentary of the haters speak for themselves.

and are fully reflective of their level of mentality.

The Ford Fusion is the only thing saving them right now. Get a clue. After all those years of owning Mazda, you're just now able to build a reliable car that's half way fun to drive. C'mon.

AND TAKE THEIR MONEY!

actually BlindDeafDumb Monkey, it is japanese sport bikes which kill a lot of americans.

but the japanese only PROVIDE the tools, with which fools harm themselves. tools which, the truly skilfull and intelligent, find are of high quality and efficiency. but in the hands of IDIOTS, CAN be harmful.

hey evilm and caddyman, have you ever closely examined those NICE SHINY SHARP tools the old samurai used to use?

Why not...domestics being doing the same for years. Remember the Pinto and Fiero?

Of Course it's the Floor mats !! I agree, use factory mats, or nothing at all!!

Hello

For anyone that is getting a hard time from Toyota in terms of the Toyota Tacoma Frames rusting out please try this website The Center for Auto Safety It has alot of valuable information on it and you can file a complaint if you wish. Another website is Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) | U.S. Department of Transportation file a complaint and they will start investigating your complaint. Hopefully this can help alot get many of these defective vehicles off the road and correct corporate irresponsibility.
Thanks
http://www.allworldauto.com/comments/TOYOTA_TACOMA_comments_and_complaints_202-2- 109-4.html
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/slideshow/news/15876993/detail.html
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/investigative/15879699/detail.html
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/15877183/detail.html
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/toyota-offers-to-buy-back-rusty-tacom- as
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/investigative/16192222/detail.html