| Issue ID | 787247 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10328067 |
| Manufacurer | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
| Brand | TOYOTA |
| Model | CAMRY |
| Model Year | 2010 |
| File date | 27/04/10 |
| Component | POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Tuesday april 27 i was driving my 2010 camry in the great smoky mountains descending a mountain road. I tested downshifting at several speeds into various gears to determine if it was possible to slow down the car under runaway accelerator conditions. I had wrongly assumed that bad drivers had failed to use the controls of the car to slow down and stop such vehicles. The computer refused to accept my command to downshift into 1st gear at speeds above 25 mph. I did not try higher speeds into 2nd. Clearly the product manager and program engineers at toyota do not understand that saving the transmission or engine from stress could lead to destruction of that same car and it's occupants in their foolish decision to limit driver command and control. A fault in the computer could lead to entire failure of the transmission shift commands and engine control system ecu. This same flawed thinking has led to many airbus aircraft fatal crashes. The flight control computer feels it is more intelligent that the stupid captain at the controls so it will not allow a flight control input it does not agree with. When the sensors are defective, or the flight envelope requires emergency actions, etc., tough luck. Now, i realize that toyota has followed the same flawed thinking. I am an instrument rated pilot and i believe the operator should have total control of the vehicle. No command interlocks to prevent emergency operations should be tolerated. How can i trust this vehicle now that i know it will kill due to programming errors even if i try to regain control in a normal manner? |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 4600 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | UMATILLA, FL |
| VIN pattern | 4T1BF3EK0AUXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 25 |
| 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 |