2021 TOYOTA SIENNA Vehicle Speed Control Problems

See attached document for complaint.

Sometimes when each of us 2 are slowing to a stop while applying the brake, the Sienna will lunge forward. This unexpected event may cause a rear-end collision if too close. Also, it is enough to cause us to hit our head on the head rest. Can’t understand why this happening. We are sure we only have our foot on the brake and not the accelerator.

When my car is going down a steep hill and I have the brake applied, Suddenly the car will speed up and lurch forward instead of continuing to slow down. This is not how cars normally behave in the 30 years I have been driving. I could have slammed into the car in front of me. This has happened over 100 times. My vehicle has approximately 27,000 miles and I have mentioned it at the Toyota service center and it has been checked out and there are no issues that they see. No warning, lamps or messages appear at all

This incident had happened twice in the last 30 days. I have been stopped, then starting to accelerate after a stop sign, I push on the accelerator and the vehicle slows down, as if it’s losing power for about 5 seconds. I do not release the accelerator and after the 5 seconds of what feels like no power, the van begins to accelerate like normal. This poses a severe safety risk while crossing intersections when you believe your vehicle should respond when pushing on the accelerator. I did not have any notifications pop up on my van, I was in an open intersection on both instances, with no one in front of me. Speed limit was about 5mph, coming off a complete stop. This is extremely dangerous, especially when your vehicle feels like it stalls without any reason. The gas pedal is completely non-responsive for 5 seconds.

In the 2-1/2 years than I have owned and driven this vehicle, I've had no problems. On Saturday, [XXX], driving home from a 80 mile trip, as I deaccelerated to make a left turn onto my street (speed was 7mph) I tapped the break pedal and the vehicle went bonkers! The Sienna veered right at a high rate of speed that the front end cleared the curb; the back end smashed into the curb flattening both rear tires and damaging the metal hubcaps; the vehicle speed tore off the bumper and both rear panels. I was able to steer the vehicle: missing a large 2-foot high tree stump; two other large trees; a 10-foot high solid fence at the yard back. I then drove down the sidewalk to the next intersection and was finally able to slow down. This entire time, my foot was on the break, but the vehicle would not stop. The Sienna is now at Faulkners Collision Center in Mechanicsburg with virtually no front end damage but colossal rear damage. The vehicle had 5-full maintenance checks since purchase. I was not told of any suspected problems and never received a vehicle recall. I could have been killed or may have killed others as there is a playground on the corner of this block. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Since we have owned the vehicle (April 2021), we've had three separate incidences where, when pulling out into traffic from a stop, and the accelerator (gas pedal) is pushed, the vehicle begins to move, but then power is immediately lost, leaving you stuck for a moment. Each time has been temporary, and when the pedal is released and depressed again, the vehicle begins moving. However, this sudden loss of acceleration and few second delay in movement of the vehicle now in the path of oncoming traffic can lead to an accident. The most recent occasion happened on July 24, 2023. We've reported the problem to the dealer two times, the most recent today, July 28, 2023, with no resolution.

when braking the car lunges forward on its own. this has happened multiple times and others speak of it too

The vehicle gets a jolt of power or speed while braking slowly or coming to a stop. This could result into an accident. This was addressed to multiple Toyota dealers and the problem was unidentified or undetectable to the technician multiple times. The problem is reported by several Sienna forum users but it is not being fixed by Toyota dealers.

Our Sienna has had incidents of unintendedly accelerated a minimum of 25 times. I have been unable to stop the vehicle several time to the point where I have had to go through a lighted stop intersection. There have been numerous "close calls” where I have nearly hit the vehicle in front of me. My wife, while driving to pick up my 4 children, actually bumped into a vehicle in front of her. It is a serious risk to expect that I drive the vehicle with my wife and 4 kids inside, yet Toyota expects I will drive the Sienna for over a month while they wait to get the report back about the vehicle. I am not willing to put my life at risk along with my wife and four children while we wait for Toyota to address the issue. We brought the Sienna in after the initial few close calls (March 14, 2022), and they were unable to find anything wrong. After receiving the vehicle back, the issue continued. Once my wife was in an accident with the Sienna, we have decided we will not be driving it until we are assured it has been resolved. It was brought back to Toyota on April 19, 2022). At this point and I not confident Toyota will be able to fix the issue. Toyota has deemed the car safe to use; even though they have not received back the report. It's reckless and immoral to knowingly place someone in a vehicle that has already caused 1 accident (although thankfully very minor) and something I am unwilling to do. Meanwhile Toyota has offered nothing to keep me safe or offered a vehicle in the meantime. The forward collision does not work. The entire vehicle is available for inspection. I am not certain what Toyota has inspected, but an inspection was performed on May 10th and the results will not be available until June 13th. Problem is not able to be reproduced as the car has not been driven. The warning sign prior to the accident was numerous other near misses.

We were driving down the freeway when we got rear ended hard by a large pickup. Then we lost electrical and engine power. The brakes stopped working. The hazard lights stopped working. Luckily we were able to coast to a complete stop as there was no way to stop the car. The police came and took a report. Then the car was towed to a body shop. We're awaiting the insurance company adjuster for inspection.