Issue ID | 772301 |
Internal NHTSA # | 10315912 |
Manufacurer | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
Brand | TOYOTA |
Model | CELICA |
Model Year | 1996 |
File date | 02/10/01 |
Component | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL |
Product type code | VEHICLE |
Description of the problem | This incident occurred when my 1996 toyota celica malfunctioned while i was traveling on i-75 south near piqua, ohio. My lane of traffic (passing lane) was slowing down due to construction, so i attempted to slow down. To my surprise, my brake pedal would not respond (either due to a malfunction of either the cruise control or accelerator--or both), and i had to move to the median. Unfortunately, when i tried to brake again, the brakes would not engage and the median ended. My car traveled airborne off the median and plummeted to the road beneath i-75. My car took out a set of cable wires, jumped a fence, before landing on the busy road below and stopped when it hit a concrete bridge support. An ambulance was called as well as the ohio state highway patrol. Everyone involved was surprised that my passenger and i were not instantly killed! We did suffer some minor injuries and the car was totaled. I distinctly remember stepping on the brake pedal several times to no avail. I reported this to toyota and they were initially very cooperative and understanding. They would not promise anything, but asked what i expected. I told them i thought that toyota should at least replace my car. They did not see a problem with this. They later assumed no liability and refused to do anything. To follow up, i would have needed to come up with $25,000 to hire an accident reconstructionist. I did not have that amount of cash, so i dropped it. I recently have been amazed in reading several complaints very similar to mine and think that the time is right for toyota to right what was obviously a wrong in the construction of my car. My passenger has swelling to her left eye that has healed, but i have had pain in my elbow and shoulder ever since. Thanks for listening. I would appreciate anything you can do to assist. I can not provide the vin #, as the car was totaled several years ago. I left the number [xxx] as the vin number. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S |
Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 500000 |
Number of Occurences | 1 |
Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
City and State | VANDALIA, OH |
VIN pattern | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | Y |
Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
Was incedent reported to police? | Y |
Was medical attention required? | |
Was part original equipment? | |
No. of injured persons | 2 |
No. of fatalities | 0 |
Date of purchase | 03/07/24 |
Was original owner? | N |
Anti-lock brakes | N |
Cruise control | N |
Number of cylinders | |
Drive train type | |
Transmission type | |
Vehicle speed | 70 |
DoT tire identifier | |
Tire size | |
Location of tire code | |
Type of tire failure code | |
Was defective tire repaired? | |
Date of manufacture | |
Type of child seat code | |
Type of restraint | |
Dealer's name | |
Dealer's telephone number | |
Dealer's city | |
Dealer's state code | |
Dealer's ZIP code |