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.
My husband was working out of town on business in ft. Worth, tx. We live in cincinnati, oh. On Dec 4,2008, my husband in his 2007 Toyota rav 4, accelerated at a high rate of speed for about 1/4 mile into his hotel building. This was reported by two eye witnesses (per police report). My husband has no memory of the event. He spent 7 days in the icu and was discharged after 10 days from the hospital. He had one additional surgery and several follow up consultations with several doctors since to determine what caused the accident. Nothing was ever determined. Since the Toyota recall was announced, it may offer an answer as to what happened. His car was destroyed in the accident, but we still have all the information.
Was stopped in driveway of my home waiting for garage door to open (remote controlled.) then I slowly proceeded towards open garage. The car engine suddenly roared and surged forward on its own. I put all my weight unto the brake which seemed to have little effect then shifted into neutral. Only then did the car seem to normalize. I shut it off and haven't tried to drive it since.
About 8 or 9 months ago, I was doing maybe 45 miles per hour when all of a sudden the rpms went wild, the engine howled, and my 2007 Toyota Rav4 limited sped off as if someone had dumped a boulder on the accelerator pedal. My heart was in my throat as I tried to stop the car. Pressing the brake hard didn't do it. I then stuck my foot underneath the accelerator pedal and pushed up with the toe of my shoe a few times. That worked and subsequently I could depress the brake and the car responded normally. I assumed at the time that maybe the driver's-side floor mat had somehow crept up and impeded the free operation of the pedal, a theory that Toyota headquarters also seemed to find plausible (though not for the Rav4, apparently). So I threw out the mat and didn't replace it with anything. We have dirty carpeting now, but we are alive. Of course, in recent weeks, the world has learned that millions of Toyota are potentially afflicted with a sticky accelerator pedal. Two weeks ago, we drove our car to the dealer, downeast Toyota in brewer, Maine, when it was time for its 60,000-mile service anyway, and we insisted that the accelerator be replaced. We discovered later that they hadn't done so, even though we advised them clearly that we?D had a potentially life-threatening incident involving the accelerator. The reason they will not replace the accelerator, they told my wife, is because Toyota believes that the 2007 Rav4 has no accelerator problems. In other words, our car is not part of the recall, so we're out of luck no matter what I've personally experienced.
After running errands, my wife and I were returning home Friday afternoon January 22, 2010 in my 2007 Toyota Rav4 (V6 engine - 30,815 miles on the odometer) when we experienced sudden acceleration while driving in our subdivision. I was traveling at a speed of 20-22 miles per hour when I applied the brake with no response and the vehicle gathered speed (estimated 35 mph) in spite of my efforts to brake hard. As the residential street was to end at a "T" within about 100 yards and there was a car ahead of me, I had to use any means possible to stop my runaway vehicle or a collision was sure to follow. Only after shifting, while continuing to brake, through "park", "reverse", to "neutral" to the unbelievable roaring sound of the racing engine did the vehicle finally stop and a collision was avoided by a few car lengths. I had never experienced this before, and was especially surprised in that I had just had my 30,000 mile maintenance performed at my Toyota dealership on December 18, 2009. Badly shaken, my wife and I drove the three blocks to our house and I immediately called my Toyota dealership for help. I was told that, as my vehicle was not on the recall list, there was nothing he could do for me and he told me to call the Toyota customer care experience center. So I hung up the phone and then called Toyota as instructed. When finally getting through, I related my experience and was told that "Toyota takes this very seriously" and that my information would be passed along immediately. I was assigned a case number and was told that I would hear back from a case worker on Monday, January 25. I did get a call back on Monday, but not from a case worker, but from the same individual I had talked to on Friday. I was told that my issue was no longer a priority since my vehicle was not on the recall list and I should call my dealership and get my car inspected at my expense. I instead left my car parked in my driveway, afraid to chance an accident.
I was turning into a driveway with my foot on the brake when my 2007 Rav4 suddenly began to accelerate. The RPM's were over 6000. I took my vehicle into the dealer that day and they performed a diagnostic check but told me they found nothing wrong. I asked what I could do or who I could speak to and they said there nothing unless the vehicle was recalled. This incident happened in May 2009 and when I had the vehicle in just recently for normal maintenance I again was told there was nothing I could do since it is not a part of the recall. Why isn't it" must someone in my family die before someone will make it a part of the recall list" I am taking my vehicle in for a safety check next week.
This is a possible expansion of the present Toyota "sudden acceleration" investigation. It involves one momentary incident of uncommanded acceleration on a 2007 Toyota Rav4 vehicle in Sept. 2009. It has not recurred nor was it reported to Toyota nor the NHTSA. While traveling on an open highway, with the vehicle under cruise control, I attempted to resume my normal cruising speed after an apparently successful "brake shutdown" of the system. On applying the "resume speed command", the engine went to an apparent full throttle position with the transmission downshifting into "passing gear". this continued for a short time, estimated to be less than 2 seconds, followed by a sharp deceleration and a second full acceleration (again of a momentary length of time). After the second incident, the vehicle resumed normal operation with continued cruise control. At no time did I apply manual brakes or shift out of "drive". the incident has never repeated. The report is strictly to inform you that the apparent problem under investigation should not be limited to 2009 model year Toyota's but should go back further into their fleet with "electronic throttle control".
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While the contact was driving 30 mph he attempted to accelerate and noticed that the vehicle began to accelerate uncontrollably, in order to stop the vehicle the contact had to put the vehicle into neutral. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the failure could not be reproduced. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 80,000.
Hit garage with 2007 Toyota rav 4 while moving it in driveway at low speed. Incident happened after a large snow storm and vehicle was being moved to clear area after snow was removed. It seemed like the gas pedal stuck or the brakes failed. No injuries just a dent in the front bumper. The failure has not occurred again. The vehicle was brought to Toyota dealer (lia Toyota in schenectady NY) and concern about possible brake failure was expressed. The dealer checked the brakes and did a diagnostic computer check. They told me " that the diagnostic indicated everything was fine" and gave me a $700 estimate to repair the front bumper damage. I drove the vehicle home and had the dent repaired at a local body shop.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. She stated that while driving up a hill at 35 mph, the vehicle starting jerking and attempted to accelerate without intent. She then tapped her foot on the brake pedal and the vehicle started to decrease in speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test and the dealer could not duplicate the failure. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The failure has occurred three times. The failure mileage was 15948 and the current mileage was 37000.
I bought a new 2007 rav 4 in 07 and have had a problem with the cruise control revving up and down several times in a row while going uphill. I took it to 2 different Toyota dealerships and they said nothing was wrong. Then I called Toyota directly and they said they would make a note of it. First instance almost caused me to hit someone in front of me but I hit the brakes turning off the cruise. Second instance caused a cop to pull me over because he thought I was challenging the car beside me to race when he heard my engine and seen my SUV lunge forward. A detailed description> cruise engaged at 65 mph and RPM at 2500 performs fine until headed uphill then it will increase RPM to 4000 for about 2 seconds then back down to 2500 then back up then back down and so on till it gets over the hill. When I called Toyota they said they don't recommend to have the cruise engaged while going uphill. That's funny I have a Honda and it works fine going uphill. My mother has an 07 Camry and her cruise works fine.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While driving at 35mph she attempted to slow down and when she applied the brake the vehicle didn't stop and she collided into the vehicle in front of her twice. The driver frontal air bag deployed. She received injuries to her face, and knee. She contacted the insurance company they have not investigated the failure yet. Newport news police report number 1049316. The current and the failure mileage were 30,000.
Complaint:second complaint I purchased my Toyota rav 4 2007 in October of 2007. A few months after I had the car I started noticing that the car, for no reason would hesitate, leaving me at times in the middle of crossings an intersections with no power. After others began making comments that there was something wrong I brought it into leith Toyota. The first time was April 24th 2008. I explained to the service advisor I was having intermittent problems with the car. I told him I would start across an intersection (4 lanes) and all of a sudden the car hesitated, there was no power. I would press the gas pedal to the floor and approximately 10-15 seconds later the car would lunge forward. I told them it concerned and scared me. I was told that they could not find any problems. April 28th 2008 I returned again to the dealership advising them there was a problem, I was afraid to drive the car and wanted it fixed. I again was told there was not any problem with the car. This time I refused to leave until the problem was fixed. They finally brought the car back in and told me the models have a problem with the ECM system. I was told they reflashed the ECM system with an update sent by corporate and things should be fine. Yesterday I returned to the dealership. I told them the car was ok for a number of months but again this week I was almost in an accident because the car had started to hesitate again, and I am left in the intersection without power and on-coming traffic. They took the car out and of course the problem is intermittent so they were unable to find anything abnormal. They told me they would check to see if there were any additional computer updates for the problem. The car also looses power on highway at 60 mph, shuts down after a while. They advised me there were no additional updates. I told them the problem is putting me in danger of having an accident. They told me Toyota does not feel this is a problem. Updated IVOQ 07/15/10.
Sudden acceleration of a 2007 Toyota rav-4; has happened three times, this is the latest incident; has happened after going over a very small bump in the road at less than 10 miles per hour.
I have A2007 Rav4 purchased new 11/06/07. The car accelerated as I was backing out of my driveway, causing me to hit two signs across the street, before finally stopping, when it hit the corner of my house. I made a complete loop. This all took place in approximately 2 to 3 seconds. I truly can not say whether the accelerator stuck, it just happened so fast. The damage was $3900. I thought it was just a freak thing, however when I see all have troubles with Toyota, I think it should be reported.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While attempting to park the vehicle, it suddenly accelerated over a curb and crashed into a wire fence. The vehicle was inspected by her local dealer and was advised that there were no related recalls. The manufacturer would not offer any assistance. The failure and current mileages were under 9,563. Updated 04/09/10.
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota rav 4. the contact stated that while driving at 55 mph when braking with his foot on the brake petal the engine did not slow down, it kept going the same speed. The contact was able to slow the vehicle down and it stopped. This has occurred 2 times where the vehicle accelerates on its own. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they told him that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. This issue has occurred when using the cruise control. There have been no repairs done to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 15000 and current mileage was 48000.
First issue-while backing up slowly, attempted to stop before hitting telephone pole, instead of stopping rav-4 lurched backward hitting pole causing $4,000 worth of damage. Cost us $500 deductible, plus over $1000 next several years for losing no-claim credit. Second issue; cruise control while climbing a hill will, the vehicle will accelerate wildly, then cut out, then lurch back and forth until you hit the brake to shut it off. No injuries from this yet, but dangerous if other vehicles present. Updated 02/17/10
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cincinnati, OH, USA