2014 Toyota Yaris

I RENTED THIS VEHICLE AT A MAJOR AIRPORT 2 DAYS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. IT WAS CLOSE TO 4 PM WHEN I ENTERED THE HOTEL PARKING LOT AT 5 MPH AND SLOWED EVEN MORE WHEN I ENTERED THE PARKING SPACE IN FRONT OF MY HOTEL ROOM. I WAS ALMOST PARKED AND HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE TO MAKE A COMPLETE STOP JUST ABOUT 3 FEET AWAY WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS A SOUND IN THE ENGINE LIKE THE TURBINE OF AN AIRPLANE AND THE CAR TOOK OFF FAST SPEED. INSTINCTIVELY I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE EVEN DEEPER BUT THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND: IT WENT OVER THE WALK WAY AND ALTHOUGH I TRIED I COULD NOT CONTROL IT. IT STOPPED WHEN IT REACHED THE WALL OF THE ROOM RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO MINE AND BROKE INTO IT. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED IT OFF. THE ENGINE WAS STILL MAKING THE SAME TURBINE SOUND WHEN I TURNED IT OFF. IT WAS AN APPARENT CASE OF SELF ACCELERATION. EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO SUDDENLY AND SO FAST! THERE WAS A MAJOR PROPERTY DAMAGE TO THE BUILDING CAUSED BY THIS MALFUNCTION. FORTUNATELY NO BODILY INJURIES RESULTED FROM THIS ACCIDENT. THE FRONT OF THE CAR WAS TOTALLY DAMAGED. IT WAS PULLED OUT OF THE ROOM WITH POLICE HELP AND LATER TOWED FROM THAT LOCATION. THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WAS 3:55 PM, THESE FACTS ARE TRUE AND CORRECT EXACTLY AS THEY HAPPENED AND I HAVE A WITNESS.

Reported

Jul 2015

Incident date

Jun 2015

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

Crash

I RENTED A 2014 TOYOTA YARIS FROM FOX RENT A CAR AT THE ORLANDO, FL AIRPORT ON 2/26/14. THE CAR HAD SEVEN MILES ON IT. AFTER DRIVING TWO BLOCKS THE CAR JUST STARED TO COAST. I PUMPED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BUT THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. THE ENGINE DIDN'T SPEED UP, THE CAR JUST KEPT COASTING. WHEN THE SPEED DROPPED TO APPROX. FIVE MILES AN HOUR THE TRANSMISSION CAUSED THE CAR TO JERK FORWARD AS IF IT WAS ENGAGING AND THE CAR DROVE AS IT SHOULD. AFTER DRIVING ANOTHER TWO OR THREE BLOCKS THE SAME THING HAPPENED. BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY HAZARD OF ENTERING AN INTERSECTION OR ENTERING A FREEWAY WITH NO POWER I CALL FOX RANT A CAR AND TOLD THEM OF THE PROBLEM. A WOMAN IN THE ROADSIDE SERVICE OFFICE TOLD ME THE CAR PROBABLY HAD A TRANSMISSION WHICH COULD BE SHIFTED FROM AUTOMATIC MODE INTO A MANUAL MODE AND I PROBABLY DONE THAT BY MISTAKE. I TOLD HER THIS WAS A BARE-BONES CAR WITH NO OPTIONS AND THE CAR DID NOT HAVE THAT TYPE OF TRANSMISSION. THE NEXT DAY WHEN WE TRIED TO DRIVE IT, IT CONSTANTLY WENT INTO THIS MODE WHERE THE CAR WENT INTO THE COAST MODE AND THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT REENGAGE UNTIL THE CAR SLOWED DOWN TO ABOUT FIVE MILES AN HOUR. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE TOYOTA DEALER IN MELBOURNE AND THEY CONDUCTED COMPUTER TESTS AND EVEN TOOK IT ON A TEST DRIVE WITH THE COMPUTER ON BOARD. THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG. I CALLED FOX RENT A CAR AND AFTER MUCH HASSLE THEY DELIVERED ANOTHER 2014 YARIS WITH 1049 MILES ON IT TO ME. THIS CAR DOES THE SAME THING.THE VIN NUMBER GIVEN ABOVE IS FOR THE SECOND CAR. APPARENTLY THERE IS SOME ELECTRICAL PROBLEM THAT CAUSES THIS MODEL TO DISENGAGE THE POWER TRAIN AND GO INTO THE COAST MODE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE CAR WILL DO THIS. PLEASE LOOK INTO THE DANGEROUS SITUATION. THANK YOU *TR

Reported

Mar 2014

Incident date

Feb 2014

Mileage

Not provided

Outcome flags

None reported

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 Yaris vehicles manufactured August 31, 2011, to February 9, 2015, and sold or registered in Puerto Rico. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with a roof headliner that does not provide the proper occupant protection in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 201, " Occupant Protection in Interior Impact."

Risk: If the vehicles are equipped with a headliner that does not meet the impact requirements, there is an increased risk of occupantl injury in the event of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the headliner, free of charge. The recall began on June 22, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.