This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle erroneously accelerated. The contact was able to stop the vehicle by turning off the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was not available. Updated 5/9/13 updated 05/24/2013
On Jan 9, 2013 while braking in an attempt to stop for a stop sign, the accelerator pedal stuck causing the car to accelerate through the stop sign. As I continued to break while turning left, the car finally came under control. Fortunately, there were no cars approaching the intersection in either direction nor were there any police present. The floor mat was properly hooked in place. The pedal had been adjusted on July 7, 2011 by anderson Toyota of raleigh, nc in accordance with Toyota's recall at that time.. the next day, Jan 10, 2013 I left the car with anderson for repair. (case # tai30110070) on Jan 17, 2013 I was informed that kevin pilotte a Toyota technical rep cleared the car for return to me. No repairs were made to the car to my knowledge. I was informed by anderson's service mgr that the pedal assembly could have been replaced but that this was not authorized by the rep. I was also told that I would be contacted directly at some point by Toyota. Prior to the 2011 recall, I experienced one similar incidence with the pedal but did not report it because I received the recall procedure which I thought took care of the problem. Since I have experienced this problem twice since 2007, obviously it is an intermittent problem but an extremely serious one that can cause injury or loss of life. I will appreciate whatever NHTSA can do to influence Toyota to make an appropriate repair. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle with the brakes engaged, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle crashed into a wall. The contact mentioned that the brakes did not fail and there were extensive damages to the front of the vehicle. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The police was not notified. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who sent a representative to inspect the vehicle. The engineer was unable to diagnose the failure and stated that the vehicle was working as design. The failure mileage was 80,000.
After coming to a complete stop, engine accelerated on its own without pushing on the gas pedal. This was after the recall for the floor mats. The acceleration had enough "G" force to pin the occupants back in their seats. Driver was fortunate that no traffic was ahead. Rapid acceleration appeared to stop after pushing on the gas pedal. Toyota appears to attribute all these incidents to the floor mats. An acceleration that pins you back in the seat --floor mat does not have enough density to accomplish this. This has happened numerous times in the 2 years we have owned this vehicle. Most occurrences have been more subtle than the one described here.
Traveling approximately 45 mph on dry pavement. Went to apply brakes prior to approaching turn lane and could not stop. Brakes were there (pedal was firm and did not go to floor) but accelerator seem to override the braking system. Proceeded to stand on brakes to attempt to stop as there were three lanes of stopped traffic and no where else to go. Shifted car into park to come to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting 8+ cars and pushing them into a very large intersection. Car had approximately 46000 miles on it and had new brakes installed 8 months prior. Car had been serviced 1 month prior for general service point checks. Took car to dealership same day of this incident - they could not find nothing wrong with the car. Offered to service based on a previous recall to remove the current floormat and adjust accelerator. One month prior to this incident the radio stopped working for a couple of days then started working intermittently sometimes displaying garbled text on the radio display.
- Cold Spring, KY, USA
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I was waiting at a stop with my foot on the brake, and the transmission in drive. Suddenly, with no input from me, the engine accelerated. Adding more pressure to the brake I was unable to keep it from moving forward. With full pressure on the brake, the vehicle slowly moved into the rear panel of a car in front of me, doing fender damage to both vehicles. This is the third time in the 5 years that I have owned this vehicle, that it has suddenly accelerated. I've had it to the Toyota dealer twice, and both times they inferred that it was my error. I know that each time this has happened, I was not moving, and had my foot on the brake when the car's engine began to rev up with no action taken my me. Something is dangerously wrong with this vehicle.
Vehicle was recalled by Toyota to have accelerator pedal modified and floor mats changed in order to avoid inadvertent acceleration. Floor mat change applied only to original Toyota supplied floor mats, which above vehicle has, at least according to accessory window sticker supplied at purchase. When vehicle was taken to ourisman Toyota for compliance, dealer marked on customer yellow form that mats were not original Toyota and that they would not be changed. However dealer stated verbally that mats actually were original Toyota, but that customers were not happy with new mats since they were too thin. Therefore dealer decided to comply with safety directive by marking all original mats as non-original mats, which did not have to be changed. Nice to know that the dealer is customer oriented, but I am left wondering if that jeopardizes safety. Incident was reported to Toyota on the safety email address listed on their web site, but no reply received.
While driving on the highway, my accelerator opened to full throttle. I had to depress the brake strongly for between 10 and 15 seconds until the accelerator clicked off. The cruise control was on, but it was not set. The pedal was well clear of the floor mat, and looking down during the incident I could see that it was clear of any objects. It was a terrifying event. Upon notifying a local Toyota dealership, they tested the vehicle and claimed they did not discover what the problem was.
A car pulled out of driveway and I touched the brake pedal and my engine increased acceleration when it should have slowed acceleration and I pushed my car into neutral and I pulled cruise control lever towards me and the engine slowed down-my car had been set to cruise at 52 mph. After the incident I shut the cruise control off as I was heading into town. I then pulled into big scoop(canton, il business) parking lot going less than 5 mph-a lady walked in front of my car and I touched the brake and again I experienced unwanted acceleration and again I was quick in shoving car into neutral preventing a serious injury. I went home and called fort Toyota in pekin, il and I took car in Feb, 17, 2012 at noon. They had their top mechanic check it out-he said he could find nothing wrong. They called Toyota's headquarters and they told them it was a floormat issue. They told me that and I told them it had nothing to do with the floormats but rather after touching the brake pedal is when I received unwanted acceleration in both incidents. They asked me several questions about that and they gave me Toyota's headquarters number and gave me a rental car to use. When I called their headquarters they said it was a floormat issue and that was their final statement on the matter. I told them it was a brake issue but they stuck to floormats as the cause and that is why I'm reporting this matter to you as I feel for the safety of all drivers; this issue needs to be resolved by any automaker with unwanted acceleration problems. A first step is to admit that they have the problem then good(safe) things will result. Thank you for hearing me out. It is appreciated very much, [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
When driving for longs periods, and some short periods including coming home from the dealer when the vehicle was brand new, the check engine, stability control, and 4WD lights come on in the cluster. The cruise control, 4WD, and stability control do not function when this happens. The dealer claims they could not find any codes and cannot fix it. This has been going on since March of 2007, and the warranty has expired. I feel this is a huge safety concern, as I have heard of other Toyota vehicles doing the same thing, and stability control is a safety feature.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign id number:11V113000 (vehicle speed control:accelerator pedal). Since the recall repair, the contact stated that it was difficult to reach the pedal because the pedal was modified too short, resulting in the contact's foot slipping from the pedal. The dealer and manufacturer were contacted and advised to the contact that they would order a new pedal, but the pedal would be the same size as the pedal that was previously recalled. The failure mileage was 65,127 and the current mileage was 65,277.
2007 Toyota Rav4, sudden acceleration while waiting at a stop light. Without any warning the vehicle started to accelerate, even though foot was firmly on the brake pedal the vehicle began pulling forward and through a stop light. As vehicle was pulling forward shifted to neutral, only then did the vehicle's motion stop. Engine continued to rev to very high rpms for about 30 seconds, the rpms then came back down to normal. Drove vehicle 10 miles to get home terrified that it would happen again.
Unexplained/unexpected acceleration: While stopped at a traffic light, the engine suddenly raced. If my foot had not already been on the brake, the car would have surged forward. I keep my foot on the brake, put the car in neutral and then turned the engine off. When I restarted the vehicle, the acceleration had stopped. This has only happened once.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact was approaching a traffic stop driving 2 mph when the vehicle accelerated abnormally. There was an unusual increase in engine rpms of 7000. The contact engaged the brake and placed the vehicle in neutral. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for the failure or diagnosis. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000 and the current mileage is 33,000 updated 03/24/11 updated 04/25/11
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while trying to stop the vehicle and slow down it accelerated into an intersection. The contact had to shift into neutral gear in order to slow down and stop the vehicle. The contact was driving about 25 mph when the failure occurred. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who state that the failure could not be duplicated and the vehicle was a part of any recalls. The failure and current mileages were 41000.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota rav-4. the contact stated while driving 40 mph, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed through a fence and then an embankment. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the neck and back. The contact turned the vehicle off while still in motion. The vehicle sustained damage to the front end. A police report was available. The contact did not call the manufacturer regarding the crash. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 32,000.
2007 Toyota Rav4. S10 appropriate handling- letter from regarding Toyota problems the consumer stated the vehicle would lurch forward after hitting the brake. He stated when he started the vehicle it would rev up to 2,000 RPM. He tried to get it down below 2,000 RPM by hitting the accelerator pedal, but it had no effect.
Unintended acceleration. 1st incident: Minor incident on a wed/thurs that I initially thought was just the brakes going soft and mentally thought to watch them to see if they might need replaced. 2nd more serious incident Sunday, 19sep10: Cruise control on in a 55mph zone, tapped brake going into 45mph zone, used pedal until needing to brake for full stop at intersection. Started braking and engine started revving - hubby says tac reached 2500/3500 RPM. I was busy trying to stop the vehicle and figure out what was happening. Got vehicle stopped and managed to avoid accident. Engine recovered and returned to normal. Drove home, parked and took to Toyota next day. Dealer looked car over and ran diagnostics for 1.5 wks - called in field rep who looked some more. I drove around for an hour with the master mechanic - couldn't get the vehicle to replicate. Same circumstances for both incidents. Dealer nor I could replicate in dealer's presence.
We had a Toyota Rav4, bought new in 2007. We had about 5200 miles on it, when, on May 19,2010, while parking the car in the garage, I put the gear in reverse, with my foot on the brake. The engine suddenly surged, the rpms went above 5000, and in spite of my pressing hard on the brake, the car shot over 1yard out the garage. I put the car in park, and the engine continued at this high speed. I used the key to shut it down. All the lights on the dash shone with an unusual brightness during this event. I called the dealer, metro Toyota, and they told me to bring the car in, which I did, late in the day. The next day, they called me, told me there was nothing wrong with the car, and that the reason of the acceleration was the "rug". the rag was removed, and I picked up the car. Obviously, I drove it home with great care. The next day, in traffic, I was approaching a red light, with a car stopped in front of me, down a little slope on the road. I kept a safe distance of 3-4 car lengths behind the car in front of me, foot lightly on the brake, when the car again surged, but I managed to control it barely avoiding rear ending the car in front of me.very early next morning, I took the car back to the dealer, where it was kept for over 2 weeks, no attempt to repair was done, with the word that the car checked ok.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota rav 4. while braking from a speed of 25 mph, the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warning. In order to stop the acceleration, the contact placed the vehicle in neutral and shut off the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer yet the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The current and failure mileages were 22,000. Updated 8/2/10 the consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 08/09/10
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Shawno, WI, USA