15 complaints reported

1998 Toyota Tacoma VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
15
Crashes
3
Fires
0
Injuries
2

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Apr 2013 Crash Injury

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

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jul 2013
Mar 2010 Crash Injury

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

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Apr 2004
Feb 2010

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.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Sep 2009
Nov 2007

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

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Nov 2007
Jan 2002

WHILE DRIVING AT 60MPH ACCELERATOR PEDAL WILL STICK ,AND VEHICLE WILL STAY AT SAME SPEED, CAUSING IT TO BE HARD FOR CONSUMER TO STOP. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Dec 2002
Jan 2002

WHILE DRIVING AT 60MPH ACCELERATOR PEDAL GOT STUCK ,STAYING AT SAME SPEED, AND MAKING IT HARD FOR CONSUMER TO STOP. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Feb 2002
Oct 2001

VEHICLE EXPERIENCING PROBLEM WITH ACCELERATOR PEDAL STICKING. DEALER NOTIFIED. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS MATTER. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jul 1999
Aug 2000

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

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
May 2000

VEHICLE EXPERIENCING HARD ACCELERATION. NLM

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Oct 1998
Jul 1999

VEHICLE WAS AT COMPLETE STOP WITH AIR CONDTIONER ON, IDLE KICKED IN & LURCHED THE VEHICLE FORWARD. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER TWICE. THE TROTTLE SENSOR WAS REPLACED THE FIRST TIME. THE SECOND TIME CONSUMER WAS INFORMED BY MECHANIC IT WAS THE NORMAL OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Mar 1999

CONSUMER STATED THAT IN EARLY MORNING WHEN HE WARMED UP VEHICLE, AND SWITCHED TRANSMISSION FROM PARK TO DRIVE, VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED UP TO 15 MPH WITHOUT STEPPING ON GAS PEDAL. ALSO, THIS PROBLEM HAD HAPPENED WHEN HE WAS BEHIND ANOTHER VEHICLE. HE HAD TO STEP ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO STOP VEHICLE. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Mar 1999
Jan 1999

THROTTLE SENSOR FAILED. YH

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 1998
Jan 1999

THROTEL POSITION SENSOR FAILED. YH

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Jan 1998
Jan 1999

THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR FAILED. *YC

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Dec 1998
Sep 1998 Crash

WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AT 40MPH ON DRY PAVEMENT, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED, RESULTING IN A COLLISION. THE DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 1998 TOYOTA TACOMA, Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Incident: Apr 1998

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 1998 Toyota Tacoma has 15 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.