There are 7 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2004 Toyota Tundrain NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
We had just provided a jump start from our Truck to a disabled older Honda Passport with a suspected low battery. This wasn't successful as it turns out it was a broken fuel pump causing the issue with the Honda. We had taken off the jumper cables, closed the hood and I pulled over to let my husband get into the vehicle. I was at idle, in drive with my foot on the brake when our Tundra started to accelerate rapidly. My husband wasn't even fully in the vehicle. We were on a one way street in a mixed residential/commercial neighborhood about 4 buildings down from a T intersection with a light. Luckily, the light was green in our favor as I had literally no control of the acceleration of the vehicle. I had my foot slammed on the brake with no response. We entered the intersection going roughly 25-35 miles an hour and careened left into the correct lane for our vehicle. Again, we were extremely lucky that there were no other cars in front of us nor any pedestrians. I was in a panic as the truck kept accelerating. I slammed on the emergency brake and threw the car from Drive into Park and only then did the truck slow it's crazy acceleration. We pulled over to the side of the road and I jumped out and wouldn't get into that truck again. My husband started the truck again and it seemed fine so he drove it the mile or so home with no incident. The next day he drove it 6 miles to a mechanic's shop , again with no incident. The mechanics performed tests on all the suspect parts and couldn't find anything defective. In the meantime, I came across stories on the internet about previous problems with some Toyota's Unintended Acceleration problems caused by faulty Electronic throttle systems so I have asked my mechanics to replace ours in our truck . We do not have a floor mat, so that clearly was not the issue.
VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE DOWN A STEEP HILL AND NO MATTER WHAT I TRIED TO STOP IT, NOTHING HAPPENED, IT JUST KEPT ACCELERATING.
VEHICLE VSC TRAC AND VSC OFF LIGHT FLASH AT RANDOM AT ANY TIME ANY SPEED. APPEARS TO EFFECT THOUSANDS OF TOYOTA'S. WORRIED IT WILL CAUSE AND UNCONTROLLED THROTTLE/BRAKE APPLICATION. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA TACOMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS SHIFTED INTO REVERSE WHEN IT ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED. THE BRAKES HAD BECOME UNRESPONSIVE AND THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO TWO VEHICLES, INJURING ONE BYSTANDER. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN AND THE DEALER CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER WAS GOING TO SEND AN ENGINEER TO FURTHER INSPECT THE FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 158,000.
I WAS IN LINE TO GO THROUGH THE GATE AT THE LAKE. I HAD 6 CARS IN FRONT OF ME AND I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE WAITING FOR THE CARS TO MOVE. THE RPM WENT UP IN MY 2004 TUNDRA AND THE TRUCK STARTED TO MOVE FORWARD. I PUSHED HARDER ON THE BRAKE BUT IT DID NOT STOP. IT CONNECTED WITH THE BUMPER OF THE CAR IN FRONT AND STARTED TO PUSH IT. I PUT THE TRUCK IN NEUTRAL AND TURNED THE IGNITION OFF. THE TRUCK STOPPED THEN. THE DAMAGE WAS ONLY A SCRATCHED BUMPER. *TR
THE BRAKES FAILED TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL AND THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO GAIN IN SPEED AS I WAS EXITING THE FREEWAY. I TURNED THE IGNITION OFF AND TRIED TO NAVIGATE A LEFT TURN AT 70+ MPH. WITH THE REAR END HOPPING SOMEHOW I NEGOTIATED THE TURN BUT COULD NOT TURN AGAIN. I CROSSED THE NEXT STREET AND ENDED UP GOING THRU THE WALL OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING AND STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIVING ROOM. IT WAS ONLY GOD'S DESIGN FOR ME NOT TO DIE THIS DAY. HAD I NOT MADE THE FIRST TURN I WAS GOING TO RUN INTO A SMALL GROVE OF MATURE TREES. ALSO, IF ANY OTHER CARS HAD BEEN ON THE STREET I COULD NOT HAVE AVOIDED THEM. LUCKILY THE SINGLE MOTHER OF 3 SMALL CHILDREN WERE NOT IN THE LIVING ROOM. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA TUNDRA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT WOULD INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATE. SHE WOULD ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE YET THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND BEFORE STALLING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO ADVISED THAT THE THROTTLE WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE THROTTLE WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE THROTTLE WAS REPLACED A SECOND TIME AT A LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY BY A CERTIFIED MECHANIC BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE THROTTLE WAS REPLACED A THIRD TIME YET IT DID NOT CORRECT THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO ADVISED THAT THE THROTTLE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE CONTACT ADVISED THAT THE THROTTLE WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES TO NO AVAIL. THE DEALER THEN ADVISED THAT THERE WAS WATER LEAKING INTO THE CONNECTOR THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD GLASS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED WITH THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE STALLING AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A CRASH. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,484 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 42,556.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026