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Toyota recall: Tips for owners of Camry, Corolla, Matrix, other suspended cars

James Raia

When the sale and production of the Toyota Corolla, the biggest selling car in history, and the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger in the United Sates the past seven years, comes to a sudden halt, something is obviously wrong

Toyota Motor Co., confronted the problem with a sudden and unprecedented announcement. Sales of several years of the Corolla and Camry models as well as six other Toyota models have ceased. Likewise, a temporary production halt of the same eight models from numerous North American production plants has been announced.

The models which will no longer be sold and which will stop production in early February include: 2009-10 RAV4, 2009-10 Corolla, 2009-10 Matrix, 2005-10 Avalon, 2007-10 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-10 Tundra, 2008-10 Sequoia.

Toyota Corolla 2009
Toyota Corolla 2009

The announcement comes on the aftermath of two recent recalls of several million Toyota models for two unrelated issues: moving floor mats causing obstructed accelerator pedals and sticking accelerator pedals.

The two issues are the alleged cause of more than 100 accidents, including the death of four people in a December accident.

With the latest announcement of Toyota’s cease of sales and production, many Toyota owners expressed concerns.

Just prior to the latest announcement, Toyota addressed the owners’ anxiety.

“The possibility of this (sticking accelerator) happening is very rare,” John Hanson, a Toyota spokesman, said in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor. “The problem involves a specific accelerator pedal assembly from a specific supplier. And it happens over time, not overnight.”

“This is a wear issue,” Hanson said. “The owner will begin to feel that the accelerator is a little rough when they push it down. It doesn’t operate as smoothly as it used to.”

Customers who experience with the aforementioned models should call their dealer or Toyota’s customer hot line at 800-331-4331.

If owners don’t address the problem, the issue can get worse, Toyota’s spokesman explained.

“We’re at least a month away from sending official notices (to owners),” Hanson said “We don’t have the specific remedy for developed fully yet.”

The latest announcement is separate from the acceleration problems caused by floor mats jamming the accelerator, a problem for which Toyota issued a recall in November.

The vehicles involved in that recall are the 2007-10 Camry, 2005-10 Avalon, 2004-09 Prius, 2005-10 Tacoma, 2007-10 Tundra, 2007-10 ES 350, 2006-10 IS 250, and 2006-10 IS 350. (To view more information about that recall, click here.)

Shortly after the announcement of the sales and production halt, Toyota posted on its web site:

“No Lexus division or Scion vehicles are affected by these actions. Also not affected are Toyota Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser and select Camry models, including all Camry hybrids, which will remain for sale.”

Article Last Updated: May 28, 2013.

9 thoughts on “Toyota recall: Tips for owners of Camry, Corolla, Matrix, other suspended cars”

  1. I just purchased a new 2010 Toyota Venza. This is supposedly built on a Camary only bigger. I have not taken possession of this car yet and I am not too happy about going through with this purchase. How can I decipher if the Camary that this car is built on is a smart purchase? In the future all Toyota's of this year will be suspect and I am no longer convinced it will hold its value even if it is not listed in the recall.
    I appreciate your reply and look forward to hearing from you.
    Ann Montgomery, Pleasanton, CA

    Reply
    • Ann:
      Thank you for visiting my web site. I am an editor and reporter. I do not work for Toyota or any other auto manufacturer. My suggestion is to visit Toyota's web site or contact your local dealer or mechanic and ask for their expert opinions.

      Reply
    • I recommend you visit a Toyota dealer and buy a new one. I have a Honda and when I go to the dealer for service I see lots of different mats for sale. I suspect the Toyota dealerships are similar.

      Reply
  2. We purchased a 2009 Venza in August. It is a remarkable car — the best we've ever had for comfort, ride, space and style. In the Venza, it has the driver's floor mat secured with hooks so the mat does not creep up to the accelerator to cause a jam. Other Toyota models (for some reason) do not have this kind of rubber mat. My dealer tells me that the sticking acceleration is a "wear" issue usually in older year models not in new cars. I am comfortable knowing this, I have no sticking pedal issues only smooth performance. There is an emergency list of instructions what to do if the accelerator sticks while driving in this Weekly Driver.com (January 27, 2010) posting. We have the keyless ignition feature – so it's easy to stop the engine if necessary. I recommend buying the Venza. It will be months before Toyota recalls new Venzas into the shop to fix the accelerator or replace it, my dealer says and they are a reliable busines. Of course, they sell cars for a living, so I do my own research. Reply if you have any other questions about the Venza.

    Reply
    • I don’t own a Toyota, but if my engine suddenly started to accelerate on me, I’d put the transmission in neutral, so the brakes and power steering still worked, then I’d pull over. Shutting off the engine is not a good idea while you are still moving.

      Reply
  3. I have a 2004 Toyota Camry and I know I've experienced unintended acceleration while my foot was only on the brake. This is not just an accelerator pedal issue. It is likely a drive-on-wire electronics/programming issue. There are multiple lawsuits against Toyota right now that involve automobiles going back to 2002 which are not in the recall. 2002 was the year they began using computer systems to control the acceleration.

    Reply
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