1998 Toyota Tacoma

I STARTED MY TRUCK AND WAS SLOWLY DRIVING DOWN A DRIVEWAY, AS I CHANGED FROM 2ND GEAR TO 3RD GEAR MY VEHICLE ACCELERATION WENT FROM 15MPH TO 67MPH WITHIN JUST A FEW SECONDS AND THERE WAS NOTHING THAT I COULD DO BUT SWERVE TO MISS THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. THE ENGINE ROARED OUT OF CONTROL. AS A SWERVED TO MISS THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME, I WAS FORCED INTO A DITCH AND THE TRUCK ROLLED OVER. *TR

I HAVE A 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA PICKUP. TODAY OCTOBER 14, 2010 I WAS DRIVING ON A SURFACE STREET AND MY GAS PEDAL DROPPED TO THE FLOOR AS I WAS DRIVING. THE ENGINE REVVED UP TO EXTREMELY HIGH RPM'S. I TRIED TO STOP, BUT MY NEW BRAKES WERE BARELY ABLE TO SLOW ME DOWN. I HAD TO PUT THE ENGINE INTO NEUTRAL AND PARK THE TRUCK. A FRIEND AND I LOOKED THE ENGINE OVER AND WE FOUND THAT THERE WAS ABOUT TWO INCHES OF PLAY IN THE ACCELERATOR CABLE WERE THE CABLE MEETS THE ENGINE. WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN WHY I WAS HAVING SUCH POOR PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE. IS THIS COVERED BY ANY RECALLS? THANK YOU *TR

MY 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA EXPERIENCE UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION IN 2004. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED (WORTH ABOUT $12K AT THE TIME) DUE TO THE BENT FRAME CAUSED BY HITTING A CONCRETE WALL, THEN ANOTHER CAR IN A PARKING LOT. MY WIFE, A TOYOTA EMPLOYEE, WHO WAS DRIVING THE TRUCK, SUFFERED BUMPS AND BRUISES DUE TO THE FACT THE TRUCK ONLY WENT ABOUT 30 FEET BEFORE IMPACT. THE INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR FOUND NO PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE, AND POSTULATED MY WIFE HAD HER FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR. SHE GUARANTEED HER FOOT HAD BEEN ON THE BRAKE. THE VEHICLE WAS SHRINK WRAPPED UNTIL A TOYOTA REP COULD READ THE ELECTRONICS. HIS RESPONSE WAS THE SAME. SO WAS HERS. GUESS WHAT MODEL YEAR TOYOTA BEGAN USING THEIR ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM (ETCS)? 1998 - WHAT A SURPRISE. MY WIFE HAS BEEN VINDICATED. TOYOTA'S PROBLEM IS NOT WITH FLOOR MATS OR GAS PEDALS THAT STICK. IT IS WITH THE ETCS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT ANY SPEED IT WOULD ACCELERATE TO OVER A 200RPM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE SENSOR BECAUSE OF THE THRODDLE FAILURE. THE REPAIR COST WERE OVER $600. THE TOYOTA MANUFACTURER WAS CALLED AND REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT THEY WILL CALL HIM BACK BUT NO ONE CALLED UP UNTIL THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT . THE FAILURE WAS 200,000.

I HAVE SEEN IN THE NEWS, REPORTS OF '07 TOYOTA TACOMAS ACCELERATING UNINTENTIONALLY. I BOUGHT A USED 1998 TACOMA ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO AND I HAVE EXPERIENCED PERHAPS TEN OR MORE INCIDENTS OF MY ENGINE RUNNING AWAY TO THE POINT I HAVE TO PUT IT NEUTRAL AND KICK THE GAS PEDAL TO STOP IT. AT LEAST TWICE THAT HAS NOT WORKED , FORCING ME TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE. I NOTICE IT HAPPENS WHEN I'M DOWNSHIFTING FROM THIRD TO SECOND. I CALLED TOYOTA TWO YEARS AGO AND ASKED IF THEY HAD HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM FROM OTHER OWNERS. THEY SAID THEY HAD NOT. THIS IS NOT SO MUCH A COMPLAINT AS IT IS AN FYI TO YOU IN CASE YOU'RE STILL LOOKING INTO THIS. OTHER THAN THAT THE TRUCK HAS BEEN VERY DEPENDABLE. AND SINCE THE PROBLEM IS SO INTERMITTENT, ( IT HASN'T HAPPENED IN A YEAR), I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO GET RID OF IT. BUT I CAN IMAGINE IN THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES THIS COULD BE A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU OR TOYOTA IS LOOKING INTO THIS. THANK YOU, JOHN T. POPE *TR

CRUISE CONTROL IS DANGEROUS, WHEN TURNED ON 90% OF TIME IT WONT ENAGE WHEN BUTTON IS PRESSED, IF YOU DO NOT TURN POWER TO UNIT OFF, IT WILL ENGAGE AT RANDOM AND CAUSE GREAT SURPRISE AND DANGER TO THE DRIVER. COMPLAINED TO DEALER 5 TIMES, UNIT HAS BEEN REPLACED, BUT SAME PROBLEM WITH REPLACEMENT. MANUFACTUER OF TRUCK'S ONLY RESPONSE"ALL PROBLEMS ARE HANDLED BY DEALERS". THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. *AK