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.
2009 Rav4 Toyota was traveling about 30-35 mph when the vehicle rapidly accelerated. The engine rpms increased significantly and a loud sound was heard from the engine revving. The brake pedal was immediately depressed firmly and the vehicle was able to slow down. The vehicle was stopped and the engine shut down. After turning the car back on there were no further incidences. The vehicle was taken to the dealership of purchase. An inspection was done by Toyota representatives and the inspection came back with no unusual report. The vehicle that I purchased in new condition is unsafe and I am stuck with a car that I do not feel comfortable driving. It has been parked since February and is no longer being used.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. While the contact was driving approximately 5 mph, the brakes were engaged to the floor. Suddenly, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle would not slow down. The gear selector was shifted into the park position, and the vehicle crashed into the proceeding vehicle. There were no personal injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the technician was unable to locate a problem. The front end damages were not repaired. The insurance company was in the process of appraising and inspecting the vehicle at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was 15,000.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota rav 4. the contact was at a full stop with her foot depressing the brake pedal when the vehicle abnormally accelerated. As the contact attempted to brake, the vehicle would continue to idle at extreme rpms and would not stop. The contact shifted into neutral and was able to stop the vehicle. The dealer advised the vehicle was not on the recall list. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated she had experienced the failure three times after taking the vehicle to the dealer. The failure mileage was 600 and the current mileage was 12,000. Updated 08/11/10. Updated 08/17/10
When coming to a stop, the car increases idle to 1500 -2000 and the brakes sometimes become "squishy" and the brake pedal will feel like there is no pressure. The car will stop, but the idle will continue to rev up. I have to ensure I do not release the brake until the car in front of me is a very safe distance away. The dealer could not replicate the problem. This has continuously occurred since the car was new, it now has approximately 17000 miles. This vehicle, per the VIN was not included in the recall.
Toyota 2009 rav 4. coming off freeway to stop light. I coasted then applied the brakes and the car engine started to rev up. As I applied the brake pedal harder the engine keep revving up. By pushing on the brake with all my force the car came to a stop. It was up to 7000 RPM's. I shoved the shift lever into park and the auto went immediately went back to normal RPM's. my foot was not on the gas pedal. I took the car to Toyota and did a claim form with national Toyota. The dealer could find no problem with the car. Both the dealer and national Toyota said there is nothing else they could or would do. The car is not safe to drive and I have not picked it up from the dealer.
- Minneapolis, MN, USA
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As I drove into our parking lot at work after lunch, I was idling engine with foot on brake as I pulled into a parking spot. I was already making my turn into the parking spot with foot on brake and engine idling when my car began to rapidly accelerate. I responded by applying foot brake and grabbing and pulling the emergency brake but only had about 15 - 20 feet before hitting a concrete wall at the bake of the parking spot. I managed to not hit hard enough for the air bags to deploy but there is damage to my front bumper and hood. This is the only time my car has done this. I bought it new last Aug. 09 and it has approx 12,432 miles. Toyota took it to quality imports Toyota and "investigated" it and has found no defect. I talked to the inspector over the phone and he explained that he spent a few hours going through a series of tests attempting to find or reproduce a malfunction with no success. He told me that while my report is quite common he has never found a defect to explain sudden unexpected acceleration and that he thinks my car is safe and "he would let his daughter drive my car." I attest to the fact that a sticking accelerator and/or a slowly returning accelerator cannot explain this experience and is no "fix" for my accident. My education is in mechanical engineering and I have been an equipment mechanic on machinery for 15 years. I do not believe that just because you cannot reproduce an electronic problem in a matter of hours that the conclusion should be that there is no defect. It does not excuse the fact that there is a major problem and nothing serious is being "investigated."
2009 Toyota rav-4driven by owner with wife as passenger. Coming down off ramp from two lane road to stop sign in order to turn onto a town street. Although braking hard, car failed to stop and engine decidedly accelerated. Driver able to turn corner and, since no car coming in his lane, was able to pull to side of road. Driver decided to proceed 2-3 blocks to a gas station. Drove slowly to station, pulled in, car refused to stop, in fact it was jerkily accelerating, and bumped into a car whose driver was putting gas into it. No damage to either car or persons. (pressed yes for crash, but was only going about 5 mph or less and driver's car pushed other car into a street.) driver was able to put car in neutral and car stopped. Driver had car towed to Toyota dealer whose service manager, after telling driver his rav-4 was made in Japan and not eligible as a recall car, finally agreed to have car tested. Nothing found and Toyota has refused to replace any parts saying there is nothing wrong with car--to them the incidents did not truly occur. After testing, twice, driver picked up car and was driving home, had to stop for a school bus and while stopped felt engine surging forward again but was able to keep car steady by putting on brakes and put car in to neutral. Only drives car on back roads now. These three incidents are the only ones that have been experienced thus far.
As I was leaving a parking lot I depressed the brake as there was ongoing traffic coming on the road I was entering. The car accelerated and continued to race as I put increasing pressure on the brake and the car did move forward slightly. This happened twice on a car that had less than 900 miles. I have stopped driving the car, a Toyota 2009 rav 4. it was picked up by a Toyota dealer just recently and is being tested. Based on their comment that in the past they have been unable to reproduce this problem even though there are more and more reports of this problem. I currently have 3 other cars and have never experienced this problem. In fact in over 40 years of driving this have never occurred before. It is obviously a car failure not a driver problem. This is a serious accident waiting to happen.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. The contact was approaching a traffic stop and while attempting to apply the brakes, the engine exhibited an unusual increase in engine rpms. The vehicle attempted to accelerate but did not because of steady pressure to the brakes. The dealer performed a diagnostic but could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure and current mileages were 5,404.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. The contact was pulling out of the driveway when the vehicle suddenly began to accelerate up to 20 mph. The contact depressed the brake pedal but the vehicle increased its speed before it finally stopped. The vehicle traveled about twenty feet before it was stopped. The vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 1,000.
2009 rav-4 Toyota was traveling up a gravel driveway. As it proceeded up an incline the car rapidly accelerated. The driver tried the brake to no avail. Fearing that she would be unable to stop, she veered off the driveway into the woods. The car hit several small trees and then turned over on its side. The airbag was deployed. Highway patrol report was made. Incident was reported to dealership. Dealership directed the call to California Toyota office.
TL-the contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. While parked, the contact attempted to shift into reverse but the vehicle suddenly revved up. The contact depressed the brake pedal firmly and shifted into neutral. The contact stated that rpms decreased and the vehicle behaved normally after five seconds. The contact planned to take the vehicle to an authorized dealership. The failure mileage was 9,264. The current mileage was 9,674. Updated 06/29/10 updated 09/21/10
I have a 2009 Toyota Rav4, and took it in to the dealer for accelerator shim placement as per the recent recall. Since the shim has been placed, I have been experiencing periodic episodes of "jackrabbit" starts from a stopped position. The accelerator is very touchy, it either creates a prolonged moment of hesitation, then jerks forward. There was one episode when the vehicle rapidly accelerated, thankfully there were no vehicles in front of me. I returned to the dealer, but since they could not replicate the concern, they dismissed my issue. I am annoyed that Toyota acted as though they have never heard of such a thing.
Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) this is in regards to complaint # 10325940 on a 2009 Toyota rav 4. the detail in the report is correct with the exception of the vehicle was not driven to the nearest dealer. The vehicle was taken to the nearest dealer on a flatbed tow truck. The VIN # for this vehicle is [xxx]. the dealer claimed to have done an approximate 10 mile road test and the diagnostics Toyota recommended that they do. Then after treating us not very nicely at all gave us the standard "it was caused by a floormat" excuses eventhough they claimed that they could not recreate the incident using a floor mat. They returned what is in my opinion an unsafe vehicle to us without having any concrete proof of what happened.
Th- the contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. The contact had the vehicle speed control accelerator pedal recall repair done on the vehicle one month ago. The repairs done for campaign number 10V017000 did not repair the vehicle. While traveling 35 mph the caller tried to come to a stop and the vehicle accelerated. The caller was able to bring the vehicle to a stop by placing the vehicle in neutral. The vehicle is currently at the dealer being inspected again. The contact did not have the VIN number at the time of the complaint.the failure mileage and current mileage was 14300.rl
I was driving my 2009 Toyota Rav4 on Monday April 5, 2010 and was stopped at a red light with my foot on the brake when I felt gas seemed to rev up. I felt like the car would have lurched forward had not my foot been on the brake. Also today after moving forward my car maintain a 20 miles an hour speed without my pressing on the gas pedal, April 13th, 2010.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 5 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and upon release, the vehicle suddenly accelerated causing a crash. None of the air bags deployed and the contact was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed but had not been inspected when the complaint was filed. The current and failure mileages were approximately 18,000. Updated 06/10/10 updated 08/06/10
April 4, 2010 topic: Communication of engine acceleration from: Omitted vehicle: -Toyota Rav4 -purchased 9/26/09 - -year/model: 2009/4443A -engine: 3.5 liter DOHC V6 engine with dual vvt-I -purchased from: Germain Toyota of columbus problem: Today, April 4, 2010, my wife was backing the Rav4 into our car garage. Upon getting the car completely on the floor of the garage (a level surface), she was idling in reverse so that the SUV would finish backing up to insure the garage door would go down without hitting the front of the vehicle. Suddenly, the engine revved up a few hundred rpms. With her foot already on the brake pedal she immediately pushed down very hard on the brake pedal and pushed the console gear shift into neutral. Thus, my wife was able to prevent the SUV from immediately speeding up in reverse which prevented the vehicle from ramming into the garage wall which was approximately 4 to 5 foot from the back of the vehicle. The above action by my wife may have taken 2-3 seconds. However, after getting the Rav4 into neutral, the engine immediately revved up to a few thousand rpms. Within a very few seconds my wife turned the motor off. Fortunately, the vehicle was in neutral when this engine revving occurred. I was in the house in a room directly above the garage and heard both times of the engine revving. My wife also had a similar revving up of the engine that occurred approximately 5 days previous to March 4, 2010 while sitting at a red light. She held the brake pedal down. She only needed to hold the brake pedal down for 1 -2 seconds before she could take her foot off the brake to allow the car to go through the light that just changed to green. Upon letting up on the brake pedal to go forward the rpms immediately reduced. Also, the revving of the engine this time was comparable to the initial engine revving stated above for a few hundred rpms.
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. While the contact was driving approximately 10 mph in a parking lot, the brake pedal was engaged and the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The engine rpms increased up to 100. The gears also shifted into neutral position. The engine was turned off and within a few minutes it restarted. The vehicle began to function normally. The following day, the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure after driving the vehicle. The technician was also unable to locate a failure code. A complaint was filed with the manufacturer who advised the contact to submit an arbitration form and possibly the manufacturer would buy back the vehicle. The failure mileage was 8,850. The current mileage was 8,758.
Drove up to use the atm at bank. Placed car in park and used atm. When I finished, I put my foot on the brake and shifted into drive. Car engine accelerated and car lurched forward. A large cloud of smoke came out of the exhaust pipe. I was able to put the car in neutral and turn off the engine. Putting the car in neutral did not stop the engine from racing. I pushed the car away from the atm and called the Toyota dealer, who came and drove the car to their garage. The dealer found no record of the event on the cars computer and has twice tried to return the vehicle to me. Only after I threatened to go on a local radio talk show, did the agree to continue to investigate. I was able to obtain video of the incident from the bank's security cameras and have shared them with the Toyota dealer and would be happy to share them with the NHTSA. Updated 07/26/10 updated IVOQ 08/04/10
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Diego, CA, USA