204 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota Corolla cite vehicle speed control, 13% of all 1,533 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 2 recalls on this component.
“The contact owned a 2009 Toyota Corolla. The contact stated that while driving at 5 mph and exiting a parking lot when the vehicle accelerated on its own, veered to the left, and crashed into a gate. No warning lights were illuminated and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injury to the right shoulder, right foot, and right hand, but did not seek medical attention. No police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled and towed to a towing company. Additionally, the contact stated in 2021 while reversing from a parking space, as the vehicle was driving forward, it veered to the left and crashed into a tree. The vehicle was towed to the to be diagnosed and repaired. Per the contact, the dealer offered no diagnosis or reason for the acceleration. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.”
“Vehicle speed control / sudden unintended acceleration. This was NOT a "misapplication of pedal" by driver! It was clearly a mechanical failure—apparently accelerator pedal (not floor mat, which was secured on its pegs). NO warning lamp, msg, symptom prior to crash. Afterward, saw NHTSA rpts others FIXED speed control issue & same prob STILL recurred! My VIN wasn't listed as unrepaired (likely the original owner repaired recall issue/s)—yet car was still dangerous! At slow speed, approx 1-2 mph, I was entering my garage in usual way, turning R. Car abruptly sped up uncontrollably (self-accelerated); couldn't stop it! Crashed thru garage doorpost & wall, then backyard fence. Lucky I'm alive & no one in yard. VERY traumatic! Physical injury (neck/back) helped by ibuprofen. FWIW air bag didn't deploy. AAA said they'd only tow for repair, not inspection. I wasn't going to repair; I'd NEVER trust driving that car again & wouldn't sell to ANYONE to drive, due to grave concern same issue'd recur! Available for inspection at PickNPull, Moss Landing, CA. PnP corp agreed they'd haul away ONLY for its OTHER parts—order taker understood it had UNTRUSTED accelerator pedal /…”
“My 2009 Toyota Corolla is once again exhibiting undesired acceleration. Toyota has deemed this vehicle repaired in response to the recall that covered this issue. I was told it was caused by the floormat which it obviously was not. The accelerator pedal sticks and they will not fix it under the previous recall. Is there any steps I can take to get this situation resolved? I was told the car is no longer under warranty so any repairs regarding this issue would be put on me.”
“The car speed variable when I try speed up became slow or sometimes it speed up one time it stops in the middle of rail crossing and completely stop then I moved out and the car pushed up other side and the car accelerated not working properly nod the fuel system also I have big doubt about this car!”
“MY CAR IS A MANUAL. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 25MPH WHEN IN BETWEEN 3RD AND 4TH THE CAR ENGINE REVVED UP TO ABOUT 5K OR 6K RPM. I TRIED TO JUST HIT THE GAS BUT IT WOULDN'T GO BACK DOWN. I DID NOT RELEASE THE CLUTCH. I HAD TO TURN THE CAR OFF AND RESTART IT SO IT WOULDN'T DO THAT AGAIN. IT HAPPENED AGAIN AFTER THAT AND I DID THE SAME THING BY RESTARTING IT. I NOTICED A DIFFERENT PRESSURE IN THE GAS PEDAL WITH MY FOOT DURING THIS OCCURRENCE. AFTER THE SECOND TIME, IT DID NOT OCCUR AGAIN. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPEND. IT HAPPENED ABOUT 10,000MILES BEFORE. THIS HAPPENED AT ABOUT 101,500MILES.”
“AT RANDOM TIMES THE CAR BEGINS TO ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN WITH NO INTERFERENCE TO THE PEDAL. IT WILL KEEP ACCELERATING UNTIL I HIT THE PEDAL AND PULL UP ON THE PEDAL WITH MY FOOT. IN NEUTRAL THE ENGINE WILL REV UP TO OVER 6,000 RPM AND CONTINUE GOING UP. THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING A NORMAL SPEED AND IS RANDOM.”
Showing 6 of 204 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2010 HIGHLANDER, MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 COROLLA, VENZA AND MATRIX PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CAN GET STUCK IN THE WIDE OPEN POSITION DUE TO ITS BEING TRAPPED BY AN UNSECURED OR INCOMPATIBLE DRIVER'S FLOOR MAT. THIS RECALL IS AN EXPANSION OF A CAMPAIGN OF 3.8 MILLION OTHER TOYOTA VEHICLES ANNOUNCED IN 2009 FOR THE SAME ISSUE (SEE 09V-388).
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2010 AVALON, MODEL YEAR 2007-2010 CAMRY, MODEL YEAR 2009-2010 COROLLA, COROLLA MATRIX, RAV4, MODEL YEAR 2010 HIGHLANDER, MODEL YEAR 2008-2010 SEQUOIA, AND MODEL YEAR 2007-2010 TUNDRA VEHICLES. DUE TO THE MANNER IN WHICH THE FRICTION LEVER INTERACTS WITH THE SLIDING SURFACE OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL INSIDE THE PEDAL SENSOR ASSEMBLY, THE SLIDING SURFACE OF THE LEVER MAY BECOME SMOOTH DURING VEHICLE OPERATION. IN THIS CONDITION, IF CONDENSATION OCCURS ON THE SURFACE, AS MAY OCCUR FROM HEATER OPERATION (WITHOUT A/C) WHEN THE PEDAL ASSEMBLY IS COLD, THE FRICTION WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS OPERATED MAY INCREASE, WHICH MAY RESULT IN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECOMING HARDER TO DEPRESS, SLOWER TO RETURN, OR, IN THE WORST CASE, MECHANICALLY STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.