2009 Toyota Venza owner complaints

I was pulling up to a drive thru window at a fast food restaurant when the vehicle just surged forward I tried to engage the brakes . I hit and damaged two cars in the parking lot before I could bring it to a stop. This was the second time the car had done this but the other time no other cars was involved . *tr

ABS, ESC, and brake indicator lights randomly display upon driving the vehicle. They display intermittently, sometimes after 1/4 mile of driving, other times after 25 miles of driving. They display on smooth or rough roads, with no apparent cause. While I have not yet had an accident or system fail, it is of concern because I transport my daughter in this vehicle. On a vehicle that has 50,000 miles on it and other documented cases of this as well, I believe this is a cause for concern. I am not sure of the cause or the solution to this problem as of yet. The vehicle does not have to be in motion when the lights appear either. They appear at stop signs or lights, when driving slowly, or at highway speeds. I am unaware if the systems themselves stop working upon the indicators activation or

Seat heater or driver side heats up too hot and too fast. Smells like wires are burning. Brought to dealer they are pushing us to install a new seat for $5200.00. And charged us $112.00 for diagnostics. And did not disable the heater. They left it in an unsafe condition. Car was turned on in park also happens while driving. (answered no fire below but you could smell the wire or something burning).

Tl*the contact owns a 2009 Toyota venza. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH and trying to decelerate she noticed that the traction control light illuminated on the instrumental panel. After the contact stopped the vehicle it rolled forward and rear ended the vehicle in front of her. The police was not notified and there were no damages to either of the vehicles. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer and the contact was told the vehicle was in good working order and the vehicle was performing as designed. The failure mileage was approximately 17,000. Updated 03/07/11*lj updated 03/14/11

Hello, I issue this complaint because my 2009 Venza interior started smelling like smoke. It went on for a bit thinking it may be something outside the vehicle. I then realized the smell was coming from the seat I was sitting on. I've read online about this problem and its seems this is a problem many owners of this vehicle have experienced. It seems to me this should be a safety hazard. Thank You [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I put my vehicle in reverse and the brakes seemed to lock, when I put it in drive it continued to back up. No matter what gear I put it in it stayed in reverse. I was blocking a lane at the mall ,u my husband tried to push it while in neutral but he couldn't budge it, it was still in reverse. I think it has a defective transmission, and it only has 40,000 miles on it. Scary and very dangerous situation.

My 2009 Toyota venza with only 70,000 miles suddenly developed a whining, grinding noise while driving and accelerating. The noise was coming from the rear axle. The noise got progressively worse very quickly. After mechanical inspection I was informed that the rear differential was shot. I was also informed that the vehicle shouldn't be driven for long distances because of the potential of the differential to overheat and fail.the failure could be associated with safe drivability issues.

I accelerated to make a lane change,vehicle took off to increasing acceleration I attempted to brake car would not respond. Luckily no traffic was ahead of me. Finally car managed to stop. I didn't think it would. I had to practically stand on brake pedal. I was assuming some how the cruise control was inadvertently pressed but no it was not. *tr

Dear NHTSA, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a matter of significant concern regarding water leakage in my vehicle, which I believe has the potential to compromise the safety and functionality of the car's electronic systems. I would like to submit this report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to address and rectify this issue promptly. During the rainy season, I have observed water leaks occurring on both sides of the front section of my vehicle. This water infiltration has raised serious concerns about the possibility of damage to the car's computer system, thereby posing a potential risk of car malfunction. The electronic components of modern vehicles, including vital con

While driving on the highway I noticed a "rubber burning" smell. I took the vehicle into the dealership the next day. I was told that the ECU related to my driver seat warmer had started to melt. The ECU was removed and the heating element for my driver seat was disconnected. Toyota will not cover replacement of this part stating that it is out of the 3 year warranty period. I pointed out that this seemed to me to be more of a potential recall issue related to a manufacture defect/faulty product. I was concerned about the potential for fire. *tr

This is the third occurrence in a year. The vehicle will randomly turn on and attempt to start. There is no fuel going to the engine, so it does not ignite, but I have read reports if venzas doing this and catching fire. The other challenge is that when this happens, it also activates the engine immobilizer and will not recognize the keys. The first time, last january, we returned from a trip to find a dead battery. After replacing the battery, the engine was locked. I eventually was able to get it started, then left both keys in the vehicle inbthe acc on position for 30 minutes, and it recognized the key. In october, I was out running and returned to find the headlights on and the fan blower running. I disconnected the battery, because it would not recognize the keys. I reconnected it l

I have this car for about 3 years now. I complain about the noise on my steering while I'm turning the steering or driving. I called the manufacturer if there was a recall or defect on my car and they ask me to bring my car to any dealership to diagnose the car and the result is to change the steering column assembly and my factory warranty expires at 60k miles. My concern is why they recalled the other cars steering problem which I have the same problem in my car. Every time I leave a message to the manufacturer they always tells me they forward my request to the national headquarters. I haven't receive any calls or message from them since march 2012 and the noise on my steering is getting worst and the cost of repair is almost 2k. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Toyota venza. While driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel independently veered to the left or right without warning. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to a tire mechanic on the assumption that the vehicle had experienced a tire failure. The technician replaced the tires and performed an alignment, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the vehicle needed an alignment. The vehicle was repaired; however, the steering wheel began to veer to the right while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they performed a calibration update, rotated the tires, and test drove the vehicle. The failure persisted and the dealer was unable to locate the cause of the failure. The

Tl*the contact owns a 2009 Toyota venza. The contact was involved in a crash because the vehicle lunged forward. The contact was attempting to park the vehicle when it suddenly accelerated causing the contact to crash into a handicap sign. The dealer inspected and test drove the vehicle and stated that nothing was wrong with it. The contact stated that the failure only happened at slow speeds, but the dealer did not test the vehicle to confirm that. The failure mileage was 60 and the current mileage was 2400.

Vcs, brakes, ABS lights all on at the same time after heavy rain. Went away, came back a couple of times and now is on constantly. *tr

The driver side sun visor will not stay up and is coming apart. The visor hinge seems to be protruding from the visor which cause the visor not to stay up or go up blocking the driver's visibility. As you are driving the vehicle, you have to duck down to see through the windshield. Also, when turning to my left to check my blind spot, when I turned back to look straight I hit my head on the sagging visor. This could be a major safety concern as visor could hit someone in the eyes and cause and accident resulting in injury or death. *tr

Exactly as another driver stated: the driver side sun visor started to just fall down a little at first. Then it just started falling off a little more sometime blocking my view. I would push it back up and that worked for a couple of weeks until the metal part came through the cloth and it came off totally. I went to price a new one at the dealership and they wanted around $111.00 that wasn't including service. I see there are a lot of complaints about this problem so I don't feel I should have to pay for this visor. There needs to be a recall before someone crashes from this problem. Please don't wait for someone to get hurt before you have a recall. Needs a recall asap.. *tr

While driving at night with the headlights on, the drivers side low beam headlight intermittently goes out. Usually occurs in the "auto" setting but not always. Sometimes after stopping and turning off the engine and lights, the low beam will start working but not always. Next night the lights work as designed but may go out again. Happens in city and highway driving...

Tl* the contact owned a 2009 Toyota venza. While driving 50 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brakes failed to function properly. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags deployed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. A police report was filed. Three occupants sustained minor injuries that required medical attention. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 100,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2009 Toyota venza. He stated that while he was driving in reverse with his foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and hit a tree. The engine was still on; however, he turned the vehicle off and pushed it into the garage for fear that the failure would reoccur. The contact sustained a large laceration to his head. He was required to get staples for his head injury. The airbags did not deploy. The dealer did not offer any assistance; yet, they advised the contact to notify the manufacturer. The manufacturer stated that they would advise him of the diagnosis after they retrieve the vehicle and inspect it. The failure and current mileages were 230. Update 12/14/09 *cn updated 12/16/09*jb