10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
15,039 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Toyota Venza engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Toyota Venza Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #36

Oct 022015

Venza

  • 50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Noticed the car accelerating a little bit, nothing like a throttle stuck or anything but just accelerating a bit more than I think, curious to know if anyone else is having this issue at all

- Boston, MA, USA

problem #35

Jan 172015

Venza 6-cyl

  • 108,000 miles
Toyota 2009 Venza systemic speed sensor failures: Right rear speed sensor 1/17/2015: Left rear speed sensor May 2013: Left front speed sensor April 2012 in each case, the antilock brake system (ABS) and the vehicle stability control (vsc) systems were disabled, creating hazardous vehicle operation, especially in snow/ice. Researching, I determined that no recall had been issued, but that knowledge of the defective speed sensors and that their failure disabled the ABS and traction control systems were common knowledge. I notified Toyota customer assistance center of my concern, on January 22, 2015 (Toyota case # [xxx]), and made formal request for full reimbursement of the charges for the third repair on the basis that Venza speed sensor failures are a systemic, recognized issue causing hazardous driving conditions, and clearly should have been the subject of a recall long past. I notified Toyota that the criteria for notification of the issue to the department of transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) were clearly met. Per United States code for motor vehicle safety (title 49, chapter 301), motor vehicle safety is defined as 'the performance of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in a way that protects the public against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring because of the design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle, and against unreasonable risk of death or injury in an accident, and includes nonoperational safety of a motor vehicle.' Toyota rejected my request 3/10/15 on the basis that it did not meet the criteria of their new vehicle limited warranty, completely disregarding the stated concern. Given that Toyota has willfully chosen to not address the recall and hazard issues raised, this complaint is submitted. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Golden, CO, USA

problem #34

Jan 082015

Venza 6-cyl

  • 31,928 miles
On January 8th,2015 I had the right front wheel speed sensor replaced on our vehicle. An internet check revealed that a technical service bulletin ref: Tsb 0031-12 was issued. NHTSA ref: 10052153 for the 2009 Venza was also issued due to numerous complaints of faulty wheel speed sensors.the faulty wheel speed sensor caused 3 warning lights to come on. The ABS, vsc and brake system warning lights could you please include this VIN if a recall is announced. Thank you.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #33

Dec 072014

Venza 6-cyl

  • 24,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was sitting in the drive thru line of a fast food restaurant when the car took a sudden surge forward. I steered hard to keep from hitting the vehicle in front of me and manage to hit the bumper on right side doing over 1500 dollars in damage and swerved into another parked car doing damage to it also. The Venza had damage of more than six thousand dollars. The car has been repaired but I am afraid to drive it so it has been sitting in the carport since the day the repairs were finish. By the way that was the second incident of that kind in that car. There is something wrong with that car. Please investigate before someone is hurt or killed.

- Columbus, GA, USA

problem #32

Nov 212014

Venza

  • 65,000 miles
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.

- Wales, ME, USA

problem #31

May 172013

Venza 6-cyl

  • 28,303 miles
Driving home from work stopped @ stop sign, the lights on the dash lit up for check braking, ABS, vcs system call your dealer...... so continued to pull out from stop, and squeals the tire, and the vehicle is all over the road when accelerating. Was told it is not a recall problem and my warranty just ran out...... vehicle mileage 28385.................. if this happens please be careful car does not handle the same and you lose control easily. I think that all wheel drive is involved but it doesn't handle the same when driving. Taking to dealer this week! Toyota ref # [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Huntingdon, PA, USA

problem #30

Apr 262013

Venza

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving home from work Friday morning and the vsc, ABS warnings begin to come up. An issue which was noted when we first purchased the car and around 20K miles the dealer told us we needed a new battery which we had to purchase out of pocket. Since then we purchased an extra warranty to cover all components of the vehicle. This time the dealer is stating that it is a speed sensor and that the insurance covers it but we will have to pay for the labor roughly 400 dollars. The dealer informed us that the issue at hand was for a speed sensor but that it is ok to drive the car. We drove the car and noticed that in the rain the car skids when you try to brake and feels very unsafe so we ended up staying home.

- Uniondale, NY, USA

problem #29

Apr 022012

Venza

  • miles
2009 Toyota Venza. Consumer states unintended acceleration the consumer stated he had difficulty finding the brake pedal. Primarily, if he parked in his driveway, which has a slight downward incline, there were times when he entered the vehicle and it would begin to drift backwards. At times, he would miss hitting the brake, to try and stop the vehicle. The consumer believed the problem was due to smaller seat size and body position alignment. The consumer stated there was a difference in the brake pedal size and distance/position of the accelerator.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #28

Aug 182009

Venza

  • 60 miles
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.

- Sworster, MA, USA

problem #27

Nov 042010

Venza

  • 6,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Venza. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the floor mats curled up and stuck beneath the brake pedal. The floor mats had not been removed. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

- New Rochelle, NY, USA

problem #26

May 292010

Venza

  • 16,103 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Venza. The contact stated that as she was driving at 1 mph with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into another vehicle in front. There were no injuries and no police report filed. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealership for body repairs. The contact called the manufacturer and filed a complaint; the manufacturer stated that they would have a representative inspect the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 16,103. Updated 10/27/10

- Lomita, CA, USA

problem #25

May 192010

Venza

  • 1,200 miles
I was gently accelerating onto NJ rt. 22 East at 7:40 am on May 19, 2010. Very suddenly, the vehicle accelerated at full throttle, even after I removed my foot from the accelerator pedal. I applied full pressure on the brake, but it kept accelerating. I then applied the emergency brake, and while weaving in and out of traffic at very high rate of speed, attempted to get the vehicle out of drive. I drove on to the shoulder to avoid traffic. After some combination of braking, applying the emergency brake, and putting the vehicle in neutral or reverse, it came to a stop. I am not sure when I was able to put it in park, but I pressed the ignition button and the engine stopped. I put on my hazard lights, took a deep breath, and realized that the rear driver's side corner was protruding the right lane. So as not to be a further hazard to traffic, I started the vehicle to move it. A warning light appeared on the dashboard telling me to "check the brakes with the dealer, " or something to that effect. The smell from the over heated brakes was very strong--strong enough to prompt me to open the windows. Oddly enough, the car ran fine after restarting. It was as if I rebooted the computer. I was very close to the dealer from which I purchased the vehicle, so with the hazard light blinking, I drove slowly to the dealer service center. They said they inspected the vehicle and found nothing wrong. They also brought in a Toyota engineer who said they found nothing wrong. The vehicle was only 2 weeks old when the sudden acceleration occurred. I do not feel save driving this vehicle. I do not want it back. They still have possession of it. On a side note, I would feel better if they were not able to sell it to anyone else. Please contact me ([xxx]) at [xxx] with questions. Please help us. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Union, NJ, USA

problem #24

May 052010

Venza

  • 11,000 miles
Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) my 2009 Toyota Venza VIN [xxx], exhibited severe unintended and uncontrolled acceleration at 7:45am on May 5, 2010. The car was running for less than two minutes when I stopped to make a turn from lorain avenue, silver spring md, onto westbound md 193 university blvd. I accelerated to enter traffic and the car took over and accelerated to full throttle on its own. The same behavior as if going into cruise control "resume" mode after being in "coast" except that the cruise control was not engaged. I applied the brakes firmly but they did not sufficiently slow the car nor did the accelerator pedal return to idle position. I was able to shift into neutral and guide the car to a safe stop. The engine continued to run at full throttle and the tachometer was well into the red zone, above 6800 RPM. The engine stop button did not stop the motor when pressed per normal operation. Only when I pressed and held the engine stop button down did the motor stop. I place the transmission into park and applied the foot brake. I checked to see if the floor mat was entrapped in the accelerator pedal and it was not. I restarted the car and it again immediately revved to full throttle. I shut the car down and left it (with my children, ages 2 and 6, who had been their second row car seats and were now in tears). After about an hour I returned to the car by myself and started it again. This time it started normally and idled at about 800 RPM. I drove the car to my home two blocks away and parked it. Koons tysons Toyota towed the car to its location at 8610 leesburg pike vienna, va 22182. They have had the car for over 24 hours and failed to follow through on appointed times to call me back with a status report on the vehicle.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

problem #23

Feb 072010

Venza

  • 7,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Venza. The contact stated that while traveling at approximate speeds of 35mph and attempting a turn, the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warning. The contact confirmed his foot was not depressing the accelerator pedal when the failure occurred. The vehicle proceeded to crash into a concrete curb. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where an investigator was brought in to further assess the failure. The investigator attributed the failure to an extra all weather floor mat. One week after the crash, the contact received a recall letter (NHTSA campaign id number 10V023000) relating to the failure. The vehicle was being repaired by the dealer. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were approximately 7,000.

- Miami , FL, USA

problem #22

Sep 162009

Venza

  • 12 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Venza. The contact stated that when she attempted to accelerate, the vehicle would drag for a few seconds and then bolt forward. The contact noticed the problem since purchasing the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that there was an electronic impulse in the new accelerator pedal for the vehicle that caused a slight delay when accelerating. The failure mileage was 12. The current mileage was approximately 5,100.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #21

Jan 152010

Venza

  • miles
I have been informed by "toyotaownersonline" that my 2009 Venza is included in "(safety recall 90L)." They will 'notify me by first class mail as soon as my dealer is ready to perform the remedy on my vehicle." Since this recall began in January and it now April 25, I am wondering how long this will take to fix"?" I have not been notified yet. Thank you.

- Warminster, PA, USA

problem #20

Apr 152010

(reported on)

Venza 6-cyl

  • miles
2009 Toyota Venza. Consumer states unintended acceleration. The consumer stated the unexpected momentay surge usually happened when she removed her foot from the accelerator pedal to coast or slow down without braking. When she put her foot back on the gas pedal, the vehicle would surge. Sometimes, the transmission would shift harshly after the acceleration surge. The surge onlay lasted 1-2 seconds.

- Greenbrier, AR, USA

problem #19

Apr 072010

Venza

  • 4,500 miles
When backing up my 2009 Toyota Venza, we experience rapid, unintended acceleration when applying just a gentle depression of accelerator.

- Clermont, FL, USA

problem #18

Mar 262010

Venza

  • 20,000 miles
Vehicle accelerated without my foot on accelerator. We have owned the car for a year, and it only happened once. I pushed the accelerator all the way down, then when I released my foot, it continued to accelerate. I put the car in neutral, and hit the accelerator pedal several times, which "loosened" the pedal, and the car ran normally from that point forward.

- Arlington, WA, USA

problem #17

Mar 272010

Venza

  • 20,500 miles
2009 Toyota Venza -vsc/trac. This problem has occured twice. Once in a parking lot and the other at a stop light. In the parking lot, I put the car in drive and the vsc light came on. Car was stuck - it would not move forward. Brake was lightly applied, not heavily applied. To fix problem, put car in park and started all over again. Problem resolved. 5 days later, I pulled out of a parking light and started to lightly apply the brakes for an upcoming red light. After I was stopped for about 30 seconds, the vsc/trac light came on again and the car was stuck (would not move forward). I tried tapping breaks to release, but ultimately had to put the car in park, turn off the car and start over again. In both instances, I did not have my foot heavily on the brake. In the first instance, I was on a less than 1% decline and the 2nd instance was on a flat road - and the roads were dry. I tried to reproduce the problem at home, but found the only way I could get the vsc light to come on was by heavily applying the brake. In both instances described, I had not applied the brake heavily at all.

- Encinitas, CA, USA

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