2005 TOYOTA SIENNA — Complaint #537098
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:CONTROLS:FOOT CONTROL/VALVE filed May 29, 2005
NHTSA complaint #537098 (ODI reference 10122416) concerns a 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA and was filed on May 29, 2005. The owner reports the failure occurred on May 25, 2005. The vehicle had 600 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Tennessee based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as service brakes, air:controls:foot control/valve, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same TOYOTA SIENNA cohort independently describe similar service brakes, air:controls:foot control/valve failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPACE IN A PARKING LOT. I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE, PLACE MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, PUT THE CAR INTO DRIVE, LIFTED MY FOOT OFF OF THE BRAKE AND THE CAR IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT MY FOOT EVEN TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR. WHEN I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT STOPPING THE VEHICLE. THE VAN STRUCK ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT WAS PARKED IN THE PARKING LOT, WENT OVER THE CURB OF THE PARKING LOT, DOWN AN EMBANKMENT INTO A RAVINE AND HEADED TOWARDS A TREE. THE PASSENGER THAT WAS IN THE FRONT SEAT THEN REACHED OVER AND PUT THE CAR INTO PARK, WHICH BROUGHT THE CAR TO A STOP. THE WHOLE TIME THE CAR WAS MOVING I WAS TRYING TO STOP THE CAR BY PUMPING THE BRAKES, BUT THEY DID NOT WORK. THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING THE ENTIRE TIME UNTIL THE PASSENGER STOPPED IT BY SHIFTING INTO PARK. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE FRONT PASSENGER BUMPER AND SIDE OF THE CAR, THE DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT TIRE EXPLODED.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 537098 |
| ODI Number | 10122416 |
| Date Filed | May 29, 2005 |
| Failure Date | May 25, 2005 |
| VIN | 5TDZA23C45S |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.