Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2009 Toyota Tacoma owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that she received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V388000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the floor mats were replaced; however, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed and after the accelerator pedal was released, the brake pedal was depressed, and the accelerator pedal became stuck. The contact stated that the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact was able to depress the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty and no further assistance provided. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. While at a complete stop with the brake pedal depressed the vehicle accelerated independently and caused the contact to strike another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was driven home. The contact stated that this was the third time the exact same failure occurred, causing him to strike other vehicles. Previously, the vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the failure occurred due to the floor mat. The accelerator pedal was cut down and the computer system was updated; however, the failure recurred. The failure mileage was 61,000. Updated 05/16/17
Tl contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. He purchased the vehicle on April 20, 2010. While driving the vehicle home on the date it was purchased while he approached a stop sign with his foot on the brake. The vehicle accelerated as he kept his foot on the brake until the vehicle slowed down. He took the vehicle to the dealer and he asked if the brake pedal was too close to the gas pedal. The dealer stated that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. On February 18, 2010 he took the vehicle back to the dealer for inspection and the dealer stated for the second time that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. Immediately after he left the dealer, he drove into a shopping center parking lot and the vehicle suddenly accelerated over a curb and collided into an empty store window. The saint george police department incident number is 10p004639 and the accident number was 239-10. …
While attempting to come to a stop on a highway exit ramp, when I applied firm pressure to the brake about half way down the ramp, the engine accelerated unexpectedly and the rear wheels on my truck began to spin and slip. Although the truck was slowing down it could not come to a complete stop and struck a stopped vehicle at the end of the ramp at slow speed. With extreme pressure on the brake the truck remained stopped but the rear wheels continued to spin at a high rate. I shifted to neutral and turned off the ignition key. The truck is an automatic and was in 2 wheel drive and the auto speed control was not on. I checked the floor mats because I had previously received a safety recall interim notice and had previously made sure the mats were correctly installed. The all weather floor mat was correctly installed and secured to the 2 floor hooks, and was not on the accelerator pedal. …
At or around 1330hrs local time on april11th I was stationary at a red light on e.main street at franklin ave in rockaway borough in dry daylight conditions when my truck experienced full acceleration in an instant propelling me forward until I impacted the vehicle 3 ft in front of me also stopped at the red light. The impact instantly lowered the engine speed to normal idle. This is the third time this happened. The dealer and Toyota try to hide under the floor mats interfering with the accelerator. The last time this happened in 2013 the dealer cut the accelerator pedal and reflashed the computer. It's still not right. Toyota had an independent lab to look at the events recorder and reported everything is fine. The engine speeds up in a rapid manner at a complete stop giving the operator just milli-seconds to try to react. A crash is the result. …
Cruise control became finicky spring/summer 2019. I found articles stating that it could be the clockspring/spiral cable. I replaced the clockspring and that fixed the cruise control issue, but it caused my airbag light to turn on. I have been driving around with the airbag light on for the last year and a half. Over that time, the radio controls on the steering wheel have quit working (first the volume, then the channel, and the mode buttons). These haven't been working for at least 3 months now. Just yesterday, the cruise control went out completely. No warning signs or acting up. It just quit. From what research I have done, this issue was handled under a recall, but the recall only applies to the Tacoma models without audio controls on the steering wheel. Has that changed at all? Why were not all versions/configurations covered?
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, he approached a stop signal. After the brake pedal depressed the vehicle surged and crashed into another vehicle. The contact sustained no injuries. The vehicle was driven from the scene. NHTSA recall campaign id number 09V388000 (speed control) was not related or associated with the recall. The unexpected acceleration occurred two times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who reprogrammed the computer system. In addition, an engineer was referred by the manufacturer to perform an investigation related to the defect, and gather information from the data recorder. The approximate failure mileage was 50,500.
Pulling into a parking space at hy-vee grocery store in mount pleasant, ia at a low rate of speed(<5mph) my 09' Toyota Tacoma accelerated into a grocery cart stall. I had applied the brakes with no results and after a one second lull the truck accelerated quickly into the movable obstruction. I have had previous concerns about the rate of acceleration by the amount of pressure applied to the acceleratior. There have been times where light pressure accelerates the car at a faster rate and times where heavier pressure doesn't get enough response in acceleration. Floormats are secured down and no issues have been found by the dealership I had purchased it from.
I have a 2009 Toyota Tacoma. I have had 3 instances where the truck would hunch up at a stop light like someone was pressing on the gas pedal as I was on the brake pedal. In the last case the truck was being driven out of a church parking lot at a low speed and the vehicle took off and lost control and hit a car. I personally inspected the floormat entrapment the floormat was not even close to the pedal. I have been a technician for 25 yrs and believe it is in the controller. I contacted Toyota and they want to send someone out to inspect it. It has not been repaired for all damage yet. Luckily no one was hurt. This vehicle only has 4,825 miles on it.
Today I was on rt 50 in western fairfax county, va stopped and waiting to make a left hand turn onto centreville rd. All of a sudden my Toyota Tacoma 09 surged forward and gently hit the stopped full size truck in front of me. The gentlemen in the full size truck got out and saw no damage on his truck. I had some minor scratches on the front bumper and on the front license plate. No one was hurt so we did not report anything. I am concerned that there is a defect in my truck that causes this sudden surge. Had someone walked in front of my truck when the surge occurred, someone could have been seriously injured. Luckily no one was hurt.
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control › Accelerator pedal
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2010 passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.
Remedy: Toyota filed an amended defect report on November 25, 2009, stating that dealers will modify the accelerator pedal and, on certain vehicles, alter the shape of the floor surface under the pedal.
Acceleration complaints in other Tacoma years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2009 Toyota Tacoma?
NHTSA has 59 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2009 Toyota Tacoma, 11% of the model year's 519 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2009 Toyota Tacoma acceleration problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 09V-388 (accelerator pedal, Oct 5, 2009). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2009 Toyota Tacoma acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 9,000 miles, and 83% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 16 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.