Is this a cause for concern?

[Ilovesnow]

I actually stole this article from the 5th gen forum:

Dealers swamped by worried Toyota drivers - Yahoo! Finance

An owner of a 2006 4runner apparently had a stuck accelerator problem.

What do you guys think?

 

[M1911]

Has your throttle stuck? Does the throttle pedal action feel sticky? If not, then I wouldn't be particularly worried.

 

[Will_4R]

The mere fact that you are thinking about this puts you at a great advantage should the throttle stick. You are less likely to be caught by surprize and will know exactly what to do without the few seconds of panic that would normally delay your thought process. Throw her in neutral and break.

 

[M1911]

Throw her in neutral and break.

Yup. Both feet on brake pedal, push as hard as you can, put transmission into neutral, and steer for the curb.

But keep things in perspective. Toyota has sold millions of cars. The number of cars that have actually experienced this is low, so the probability of you experiencing it is small.

The 24-hour cable news media hypes this sort of thing, scaring the bejesus out of people in the process. It's a slow news week since the special election for the MA Senate seat, so now they have to find a new story to hype.

 

[scottm]

No worry. If your truck says "Made in Japan" on the sticker in the driver's door frame, or the VIN starts with J, you most likely have a Denso pedal, made in Japan. Except on the Camry. The pedals that are failing are made in Canada by CTS for North American assembly plants. Apparently you can get down there with a flashlight and read "Denso" on the Denso pedals somewhere.

The failure is on a little shock absorber that gives the pedal some resistance and feel, it can resist too much and the spring can't push the pedal up. Our trucks still have mechanical links from the shifter to the transmission, so you should be able to pop it into neutral and let the rev limiter keep the engine from blowing 'till you get off the road and shut it down. Or you can pull the pedal up with your foot. I wouldn't shut it down with the key in traffic because you'll lose steering and brake assist, and possibly lock the steering.

edit: A little googling indicates that all 4Runners have been made in Japan, so they won't have the CTS pedals.