2022 TOYOTA VENZA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

While attempting to cross a busy street, I picked an opening in the coming traffic to cross, released the brake to allow the car to start rolling slowing, but when I pressed the accelerator , I got no response from the car and no acceleration at all for about 3 seconds. Leaving me and my family stuck in the middle of the street with oncoming traffic just seconds away from hitting us. In the 3 seconds span, I tried pressing the accelerator several times until the car finally responded. The car remained ON the entire time. No errors or messages were displayed on any of the dashboards at any time. I have seen several similar stories in online forums with this model. Something is wrong and very dangerous.

ENGINE

While attempting to cross a busy street, I picked an opening in the coming traffic to cross, released the brake to allow the car to start rolling slowing, but when I pressed the accelerator , I got no response from the car and no acceleration at all for about 3 seconds. Leaving me and my family stuck in the middle of the street with oncoming traffic just seconds away from hitting us. In the 3 seconds span, I tried pressing the accelerator several times until the car finally responded. The car remained ON the entire time. No errors or messages were displayed on any of the dashboards at any time. I have seen several similar stories in online forums with this model. Something is wrong and very dangerous.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

While attempting to cross a busy street, I picked an opening in the coming traffic to cross, released the brake to allow the car to start rolling slowing, but when I pressed the accelerator , I got no response from the car and no acceleration at all for about 3 seconds. Leaving me and my family stuck in the middle of the street with oncoming traffic just seconds away from hitting us. In the 3 seconds span, I tried pressing the accelerator several times until the car finally responded. The car remained ON the entire time. No errors or messages were displayed on any of the dashboards at any time. I have seen several similar stories in online forums with this model. Something is wrong and very dangerous.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The left head light has failed. As a result, these are the functionality issues I am experiencing: 1. Loss of power to power mirrors. This causes issues because the mirrors do not retract, and have to be manually adjusted before each drive session. They have folded in while driving, causing hazardous driving conditions without use of the mirrors. 2. Windshield wiper fluid dispenser has lost functionality, causing hazardous driving conditions because I am unable to remove debris and liquid that obstructs my vision while driving. 3. Windshield wipers will only work on one setting, being the fastest setting 4. Dash panel not displaying information such as temperature, trip information, and proper odometer readings. Low fuel notifications not showing properly. I almost ran out of fuel because I was unaware or actual fuel levels 5. Lift gate not opening from key fob 6. Neither headlight will operate in "bright" mode, despite only one head light being compromised. This is a major issues that has affected many Venza drivers. There are a multitude of reports on Reddit and other forums that discuss these issues. What's worse, is that Toyota has tied critical electrical components and functionality to a single headlight, which happens to be very costly to remedy (Over $1000k). There were no warnings present, just issues identified after the headlight failure, and these are only the ones I have discovered thus far. This needs to be recalled

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

The left head light has failed. As a result, these are the functionality issues I am experiencing: 1. Loss of power to power mirrors. This causes issues because the mirrors do not retract, and have to be manually adjusted before each drive session. They have folded in while driving, causing hazardous driving conditions without use of the mirrors. 2. Windshield wiper fluid dispenser has lost functionality, causing hazardous driving conditions because I am unable to remove debris and liquid that obstructs my vision while driving. 3. Windshield wipers will only work on one setting, being the fastest setting 4. Dash panel not displaying information such as temperature, trip information, and proper odometer readings. Low fuel notifications not showing properly. I almost ran out of fuel because I was unaware or actual fuel levels 5. Lift gate not opening from key fob 6. Neither headlight will operate in "bright" mode, despite only one head light being compromised. This is a major issues that has affected many Venza drivers. There are a multitude of reports on Reddit and other forums that discuss these issues. What's worse, is that Toyota has tied critical electrical components and functionality to a single headlight, which happens to be very costly to remedy (Over $1000k). There were no warnings present, just issues identified after the headlight failure, and these are only the ones I have discovered thus far. This needs to be recalled

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The left head light has failed. As a result, these are the functionality issues I am experiencing: 1. Loss of power to power mirrors. This causes issues because the mirrors do not retract, and have to be manually adjusted before each drive session. They have folded in while driving, causing hazardous driving conditions without use of the mirrors. 2. Windshield wiper fluid dispenser has lost functionality, causing hazardous driving conditions because I am unable to remove debris and liquid that obstructs my vision while driving. 3. Windshield wipers will only work on one setting, being the fastest setting 4. Dash panel not displaying information such as temperature, trip information, and proper odometer readings. Low fuel notifications not showing properly. I almost ran out of fuel because I was unaware or actual fuel levels 5. Lift gate not opening from key fob 6. Neither headlight will operate in "bright" mode, despite only one head light being compromised. This is a major issues that has affected many Venza drivers. There are a multitude of reports on Reddit and other forums that discuss these issues. What's worse, is that Toyota has tied critical electrical components and functionality to a single headlight, which happens to be very costly to remedy (Over $1000k). There were no warnings present, just issues identified after the headlight failure, and these are only the ones I have discovered thus far. This needs to be recalled

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

On 1/1/25 around 5PM when it was getting dark, I was driving in my 2022 Toyota Venza LE on the highway in the rain when all of a sudden my left headlight off, windshield wipers stopped working and experienced a host of other electrical issues - engine temp doesn't read, apple carplay stopped talking to device, side mirrors lost power, traction control disabled. It was very dangerous as I lost visibility in heavy rain while on the highway. I was able to slowly drive the car home with hazard lights blinking all the way. There were no error messages leading up to the failure. Only my engine temp not being able to read when the engine was cold that morning. It quickly resolved once the engine warmed up. I drove my car to Toyota dealership in which they spent over a day isolating the issue to faulty headlight assembly sending error codes to the ECU and jamming other zones on the car. They unplugged the left headlight assembly and told me I was ok to drive home. Ultimately I asked for replacement of the headlight and the light was restored and all issues did not return. I no longer have the original headlight assembly for inspection. I made a forum post regarding this issue and 2 other recent venza owners have reached out to me with same behavior which prompted me to make this safety report.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

On 1/1/25 around 5PM when it was getting dark, I was driving in my 2022 Toyota Venza LE on the highway in the rain when all of a sudden my left headlight off, windshield wipers stopped working and experienced a host of other electrical issues - engine temp doesn't read, apple carplay stopped talking to device, side mirrors lost power, traction control disabled. It was very dangerous as I lost visibility in heavy rain while on the highway. I was able to slowly drive the car home with hazard lights blinking all the way. There were no error messages leading up to the failure. Only my engine temp not being able to read when the engine was cold that morning. It quickly resolved once the engine warmed up. I drove my car to Toyota dealership in which they spent over a day isolating the issue to faulty headlight assembly sending error codes to the ECU and jamming other zones on the car. They unplugged the left headlight assembly and told me I was ok to drive home. Ultimately I asked for replacement of the headlight and the light was restored and all issues did not return. I no longer have the original headlight assembly for inspection. I made a forum post regarding this issue and 2 other recent venza owners have reached out to me with same behavior which prompted me to make this safety report.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

On 1/1/25 around 5PM when it was getting dark, I was driving in my 2022 Toyota Venza LE on the highway in the rain when all of a sudden my left headlight off, windshield wipers stopped working and experienced a host of other electrical issues - engine temp doesn't read, apple carplay stopped talking to device, side mirrors lost power, traction control disabled. It was very dangerous as I lost visibility in heavy rain while on the highway. I was able to slowly drive the car home with hazard lights blinking all the way. There were no error messages leading up to the failure. Only my engine temp not being able to read when the engine was cold that morning. It quickly resolved once the engine warmed up. I drove my car to Toyota dealership in which they spent over a day isolating the issue to faulty headlight assembly sending error codes to the ECU and jamming other zones on the car. They unplugged the left headlight assembly and told me I was ok to drive home. Ultimately I asked for replacement of the headlight and the light was restored and all issues did not return. I no longer have the original headlight assembly for inspection. I made a forum post regarding this issue and 2 other recent venza owners have reached out to me with same behavior which prompted me to make this safety report.

ENGINE

We own a 2022 Toyota Venza Hybrid and are having problems with it "lunging forward" when applying the brake. This has happened multiply times. The first is when I was pulling very slowly into the garage because the car just fits through the door having only inches to spare on either side of the side view mirrors. As I was lightly applying the brake, the car LUNGED FORWARD, the word BRAKE in bold red letters appeared on the dashboard (The Forward Collision Warning) and the car jerked to a stop by itself avoiding hitting the back wall. It happened in a split second. No damage, no injuries. Not so the second time. On Feb 13, 2025, we were going to a local business. My husband was in the front passenger seat. We pulled into the parking lot and I turned right into the parking space. As I lightly applied the brake, the car violently LUNGED FORWARD hitting the cement post supporting the building. "No Forward Collision Warning light this time".There was a loud bang noise and both the driver, upper and lower and passenger airbags were deployed. The seatbelts jolted us back to our seats and locked up. There was smoke and a nasty smell (from the airbags). This all happened in a split second. I couldn't open the door, so I had to crawl over the console with help from my husband to get out of the car. I was taken to the ER by ambulance to get x-rays of my chest which was badly bruised and my ankle which was also bruised. My husband escaped injuries but was in shock as well. Since this happened, we have done research on the Internet and found numerous complaints and instances of this same thing happening to drivers when gently applying the brakes, particularly in TOYOTA hybrid vehicles. Many people narrowly escaping severe injuries and death in similar situations. I guess it has to take a few fatalities for Toyota to do something about it. What a shame! The insurance co. totaled the car. We won't be getting another Toyota.

SERVICE BRAKES

We own a 2022 Toyota Venza Hybrid and are having problems with it "lunging forward" when applying the brake. This has happened multiply times. The first is when I was pulling very slowly into the garage because the car just fits through the door having only inches to spare on either side of the side view mirrors. As I was lightly applying the brake, the car LUNGED FORWARD, the word BRAKE in bold red letters appeared on the dashboard (The Forward Collision Warning) and the car jerked to a stop by itself avoiding hitting the back wall. It happened in a split second. No damage, no injuries. Not so the second time. On Feb 13, 2025, we were going to a local business. My husband was in the front passenger seat. We pulled into the parking lot and I turned right into the parking space. As I lightly applied the brake, the car violently LUNGED FORWARD hitting the cement post supporting the building. "No Forward Collision Warning light this time".There was a loud bang noise and both the driver, upper and lower and passenger airbags were deployed. The seatbelts jolted us back to our seats and locked up. There was smoke and a nasty smell (from the airbags). This all happened in a split second. I couldn't open the door, so I had to crawl over the console with help from my husband to get out of the car. I was taken to the ER by ambulance to get x-rays of my chest which was badly bruised and my ankle which was also bruised. My husband escaped injuries but was in shock as well. Since this happened, we have done research on the Internet and found numerous complaints and instances of this same thing happening to drivers when gently applying the brakes, particularly in TOYOTA hybrid vehicles. Many people narrowly escaping severe injuries and death in similar situations. I guess it has to take a few fatalities for Toyota to do something about it. What a shame! The insurance co. totaled the car. We won't be getting another Toyota.

POWER TRAIN

At approximately [XXX] on Friday, [XXX], my wife was slowly pulling into a stripped parking place at Museum Hill's lower paved paved lot on [XXX], in Santa Fe, NM that has three levels when the car suddenly bolted up and over the concrete curb and up a short hill where it faced the fronts of two vehicles; the car stopped (possibly due to automatic braking systems) and rolled backwards into a small tree resting off of the pavement on soil, but against the curb. There is front end dislocation of the right fender and the passenger door hits the fender if trying to open it. The right front tire is broken and the alloy wheel is damaged. After a disagreement with a towing company, I backed the car over the curb and onto the pavement where I installed the spare. The car seemed to be OK to drive and my wife drove it home 3 miles away on back streets. The car's event data recorder was inspected by an employee of EAA from Denver in Toyota of Santa Fe's Dealership shop on [XXX] and the car driven. Toyota's report from their Legal Claims Analyst said that "pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal prior to the impact." My wife was going to her regularly scheduled lunch time support shift at the [XXX], was pulling into her regular parking area, and DID NOT press the accelerator to the floor causing this wreck. I believe that the power steering created a negative voltage drop that caused the concurrent calibration of the accelerator electronics to believe that full power was required at that instant. The safety of my wife was at risk, but no other person was nearby and damage to shrubbery was not consequential. This problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. However, several papers on the subject have been written by Ronald A. Belt, PhD of Plymouth, MN, the latest dated 20 July 2024. The only inspection of the vehicle was on [XXX] by Toyota's EEA Service. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

At approximately [XXX] on Friday, [XXX], my wife was slowly pulling into a stripped parking place at Museum Hill's lower paved paved lot on [XXX], in Santa Fe, NM that has three levels when the car suddenly bolted up and over the concrete curb and up a short hill where it faced the fronts of two vehicles; the car stopped (possibly due to automatic braking systems) and rolled backwards into a small tree resting off of the pavement on soil, but against the curb. There is front end dislocation of the right fender and the passenger door hits the fender if trying to open it. The right front tire is broken and the alloy wheel is damaged. After a disagreement with a towing company, I backed the car over the curb and onto the pavement where I installed the spare. The car seemed to be OK to drive and my wife drove it home 3 miles away on back streets. The car's event data recorder was inspected by an employee of EAA from Denver in Toyota of Santa Fe's Dealership shop on [XXX] and the car driven. Toyota's report from their Legal Claims Analyst said that "pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal prior to the impact." My wife was going to her regularly scheduled lunch time support shift at the [XXX], was pulling into her regular parking area, and DID NOT press the accelerator to the floor causing this wreck. I believe that the power steering created a negative voltage drop that caused the concurrent calibration of the accelerator electronics to believe that full power was required at that instant. The safety of my wife was at risk, but no other person was nearby and damage to shrubbery was not consequential. This problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. However, several papers on the subject have been written by Ronald A. Belt, PhD of Plymouth, MN, the latest dated 20 July 2024. The only inspection of the vehicle was on [XXX] by Toyota's EEA Service. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

At approximately [XXX] on Friday, [XXX], my wife was slowly pulling into a stripped parking place at Museum Hill's lower paved paved lot on [XXX], in Santa Fe, NM that has three levels when the car suddenly bolted up and over the concrete curb and up a short hill where it faced the fronts of two vehicles; the car stopped (possibly due to automatic braking systems) and rolled backwards into a small tree resting off of the pavement on soil, but against the curb. There is front end dislocation of the right fender and the passenger door hits the fender if trying to open it. The right front tire is broken and the alloy wheel is damaged. After a disagreement with a towing company, I backed the car over the curb and onto the pavement where I installed the spare. The car seemed to be OK to drive and my wife drove it home 3 miles away on back streets. The car's event data recorder was inspected by an employee of EAA from Denver in Toyota of Santa Fe's Dealership shop on [XXX] and the car driven. Toyota's report from their Legal Claims Analyst said that "pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal prior to the impact." My wife was going to her regularly scheduled lunch time support shift at the [XXX], was pulling into her regular parking area, and DID NOT press the accelerator to the floor causing this wreck. I believe that the power steering created a negative voltage drop that caused the concurrent calibration of the accelerator electronics to believe that full power was required at that instant. The safety of my wife was at risk, but no other person was nearby and damage to shrubbery was not consequential. This problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. However, several papers on the subject have been written by Ronald A. Belt, PhD of Plymouth, MN, the latest dated 20 July 2024. The only inspection of the vehicle was on [XXX] by Toyota's EEA Service. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The front windshield developed a thin, foot-long crack at the bottom base of the windshield during the onset of the cold weather this winter. This issue inhibits visibility and compromises the integrity of the windshield. Message boards on the internet indicate that it has happen with this make and model of vehicle frequently.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

My wife and I stopped to get our mail at our community HOA mailboxes. I was driving. I stopped, set/engaged the brake hold button while my wife got the mail. She was about to get back in and suddenly the car lurched forward very rapidly and crashed into the neighborhood playground and the chain linked fence. I could not stop the acceleration and had to keep forcefully applying the brakes and the vehicle finally quit. I was able to steer to avoid some kids playing basketball. I could have injured my wife or others, it could have been very tragic. The 3 boys got out of the way and helped us afterwards picking up the car debris left all around. The damage happened very quickly. I felt such shock afterwards and trauma wondering what happened and what could have happened. The police did a report and took pictures, our insurance declared it a total loss. We have contacted Toyota and are waiting for someone to inspect it before it is hauled away. No warnings prior, the vehicle has worked well. As I managed to drive it home, we noticed a machanical error code after the fact.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My wife and I stopped to get our mail at our community HOA mailboxes. I was driving. I stopped, set/engaged the brake hold button while my wife got the mail. She was about to get back in and suddenly the car lurched forward very rapidly and crashed into the neighborhood playground and the chain linked fence. I could not stop the acceleration and had to keep forcefully applying the brakes and the vehicle finally quit. I was able to steer to avoid some kids playing basketball. I could have injured my wife or others, it could have been very tragic. The 3 boys got out of the way and helped us afterwards picking up the car debris left all around. The damage happened very quickly. I felt such shock afterwards and trauma wondering what happened and what could have happened. The police did a report and took pictures, our insurance declared it a total loss. We have contacted Toyota and are waiting for someone to inspect it before it is hauled away. No warnings prior, the vehicle has worked well. As I managed to drive it home, we noticed a machanical error code after the fact.