SAN ANTONIO -- Toyota is firing back at claims that electronics are to blame for problems with accidental acceleration in their vehicles. But a San Antonio driver says bad circuits are to blame.
Carlos Vazquez, who has a degree in Automotive Technology, says his 2007 Rav-4 and 2007 Camry experienced problems long before the massive recall. He claims both cars would surge in acceleration in cruise control.
"Me and my wife almost hit a car several times," said Vazquez. "Sometimes you have cars in front of you. And sometimes, you can not control it."
Vazquez showed News 4 WOAI paperwork from his dealership which states "no repairs [are] available" for the problem. He believes the problems are not mechanical.
"Something in the program in the cruise control or in the computer is doing this," Vazquez told News 4 WOAI.
This comes on the heels of a report by an Illinois professor, Dr. David Gilbert, who says Toyota's computers can fail, keeping brakes from overriding gas pedals. But Toyota is slamming the study.
"Dr. Gilbert provides no evidence that his scenario occurs in the real world," says Shukri Souri, a engineer hired by the automaker.
Vazquez is not convinced. His Toyota Camry has been parked in his garage for a month now, and that is where he says it will stay.
"It's a good car, but they have to fix the problem. It's already killing people," added Vazquez.
