Sequoia slips out of park?

m0000 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-25-2005, 09:53 AM

I was going through the NHTSA reports on Sequoias and I found a couple reports of Sequoias slipping out of park even with the shift selector on "P".
Has anyone heard of this or had it happen, or know anything about it otherwise? I think this is going to change my habits with the parking brake. Here's one narrative:

Make : TOYOTA Model : SEQUOIA Year : 2003
Manufacturer : TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Crash : Yes Fire : No Number of Injuries: 1
ODI ID Number : 10087007 Date of Failure: August 5, 2004
VIN : 5TDBT48A03S...
Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Summary:
PUT MY SEQUOIA IN PARK AND SHUT OFF .I GOT OUT TO GO INTO GAS STATION, AS I SHUT THE DOOR TO THE VEHICLE, THE CAR JERKED AND BEGAN MAKING A GRINDING NOISE AND PROCEEDED TO GO IN REVERSE BACK. I WENT TO GET INTO THE VEHICLE TO MAKE SURE I HAD GOTTEN IT INTO THE PARK POSITION AND IT WAS. I COULDN'T STOP IT AND BY THAT TIME IT WAS TOO LATE FOR ME TO GET AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE. IT ENDED UP PINNING MY LEGS BETWEEN A CONCRETE BARRIER THAT PROTECTS THE GAS PUMPS AND THE DOOR OF MY VEHICLE. EVENTUALLY, IT FOLDED THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR BACKWARDS MAKING IT PARALLEL TO THE FRONT BUMPER AND RELEASED ME TO FALL TO THE GROUND. IT THEN CONTINUED IN REVERSE UNTIL IT FINALLY HIT A PARKED CAR AND STOPPED. ALL OF THE WITNESSES, INCLUDING THE ACTUAL POLICE OFFICER NOTED IN THEIR STATEMENTS THAT THEY FOUND THE CAR IN PARK. AT THIS POINT, TOYOTA IS NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS AND A NEUTRAL PARTY WHO QUICKLY CHECKED THE SEQUOIA SAID THEY FOUND NO PROBLEM WITH THE CAR STAYING IN PARK SO THERE WOULD PROBABLY BE NOTHING FURTHER DONE. *AK

PagalDesi4Life · #2 (**permalink**) 03-25-2005, 10:07 AM

Wow, that is the first case I have ever heard like that. I always use my parking brake. I wonder what the update is on that case.

grillmasterp · #3 (**permalink**) 03-25-2005, 10:11 AM

Have the shifter linkage adjusted- its probably loose

notech · #4 (**permalink**) 03-28-2005, 11:10 PM

On several occasions, my dash light to show me what gear I'm in has gone out. Very freaky experience to have no clue what gear I was in. The only way to remedy it was to stop the car, put it in park and start over. It was definitely an intermittent glitch that left me with a very uneasy feeling safety wise.

Also, I don't care for the experience of being able to shut the car off in gear. Take my foot off the brake and start to roll before I try to take the key out. Seems like there are some safety issues with the transmission.