random loss of power while driving, spontaneous start up
9:30am CST, August 13, 2016 I was driving my 2015 Rav4 to work from Glenwood, IA to Omaha, NE when the entire power/electrical panel went out. The entire car shut down. No power to anything, even power steering. I'm not a big girl so needless to say I don't have very strong arms. It was very difficult for me to steer the car from one lane to the other. The most terrifying part of this is that I was in the left lane of a 2 lane road merging from I29 north bound to I80 west bound. During this merge there are NO SHOULDERS. The only thing on each side are concrete barriers. When the power went out and I lost control of the steering the first thing I did was try to restart it buy pushing the break (no good), putting the car in neutral and trying to turn it over again. Nothing. I then tried to rev the engine (useless considering it wasn't on, but I was scared and would try anything). Finally (bear in mind this all happened within a matter of seconds) I pushed my hazards on and put on my right blinker. The highway was extremely busy (there was an event at the Henry Doorly Zoo) and I almost got in 2 accidents trying to cross to the right side of the road (again, there were no shoulders). I knew that the cement barriers would eventually end and there would be an open area approx. 50 yards long in the middle of the 2 merging highways. I was praying that my car would coast to it without getting in an accident. When the grass came up after the barriers and I knew the open cement area was coming, I went ahead and started going in the grass as I did not know how much more forward motion was left in the car. I drove 1/2 on the grass and 1/2 still in the right lane of traffic when the open area finally came up. I barely had enough speed to stop right off of the shoulder. I was approx. 12'' off of the interstate. Cars kept flying by with no regard to safety. I called my mom and told her where I was and she came and sat for 4 hours with me while waiting for tow service. While waiting, I was sitting in my passenger's seat with my knees out, the door open and my keys around my neck when my car started on it's own. I've read other electrical complaints where this has happened, also (the most recent complaint from Oct 2015). When the tow truck finally came and took the car to the dealership I bought it from the 'Toyota Master Technician' immediately said the problem was the after market remote start that was installed not even 6 months ago. I asked the dealership to take it out and they said they could but it would cost me +$200. So, naturally upset, I called the company who installed my remote start. That company (I was talking to the manager) was extremely baffled as to why they were being blamed because they do the after market install for everything for that particular dealership. After freaking out and telling the manager of the store I wanted it removed for my safety and that I WAS NOT paying Toyota to do it, the store manager was kind enough to send a technician to do it. When the technician finally showed up (by now it was 4:57pm) he looked at the bypass, found nothing wrong, then thought maybe it was the remote start itself, but that wasn't it either. The after market girl from Toyota at the dealership was talking to me when it was brought up that it might be the ignition. At this point I'm starting to come out of shock, hear that it wasn't the remote start, and IN FACT it WAS the car itself so I start to cry. This is my 5th Toyota that I've owned. I was saved by my first one and now this one tried to kill me. After confirming it was NOT the remote start, again, the remote control tech came in again with a tiny little fuse thing (again, a Toyota part) and said it was a Toyota issue. We could not confirm this as it was a Saturday and all the service people had left right at 5pm. No one cared about my issue or the fact that I was freaking out because I, HONESTLY, could have actually died in a car accident on the interstate losing power and steering control at 65 mph. At that time I was told that the dealership would look at it on Monday and give me a call advising me of what the diagnosis is. It is now 6:30pm CST 8/15/16 and I have had no call from the dealership/service department. I contacted Toyota corporate earlier and opened a case. I am ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED to drive this car. I know what they will do, they will change the fuse or say 'Everything is OK now' and then hand me the keys and expect me to TRUST them with my life. They had already lied once and said it was the remote start when it clearly was not, then they said they would keep me updated, which they did not do also. I told corporate I DO NOT want that car back. It is on a lease, I have only had it for a little over a year, there is NO WAY this should have happened. I do NOT trust that car and after Toyota blaming their OWN after market company for installs I do not trust them. I told Corporate that I wanted a different car. I will be ok with finishing out my remaining months on my lease but who is to say this same thing would not happen again? Again, I had read complaints on here about other peoples' 2015 Rav4s have had the exact same thing happen to them, except several times. Once is enough for me. I am absolutely TERRIFIED. I hope I get a proper resolution from both Toyota Corporate as well as an answer/diagnosis from the Toyota dealership in Bellevue, NE. I'll keep this updated if I can.
Update from Aug 16, 2016: 8/16/16 10:45am CST
The dealership called. As expected they said that the issue was the remote start. They said something about the wires being spliced and if "I wanted the problem fixed correctly" (why would I want it fixed incorrectly?) that I should have them do it, they would have to re-cut the wires and re-solder them together for $369.00. They also stated that "this will help and prevent the fuse from blowing again".... Again. When I told Travis the service worker for the dealership that the remote start installer stated it was not the start or the bypass he literally said "I don't give a crap. I don't give a crap what they said!" Unacceptable. I contacted Toyota corporate to update my case with the new information including the way I was treated by the service worker. After I got off the phone with them I called the GM of the dealership, Brian, to let him know the way I was treated. He was more interested in knowing the issue and immediately blaming the remote start company (again, whom they use to do their after market installation) than addressing the rudeness of the service worker. He was more intent on turning the issue around on me stating that "he can't be held liable for anything that I do to the car after it is purchased and taken from the dealership". I understand that. I would be ok with that --IF the issue WAS THE REMOTE START. He stated he was going to look in to the issue and call me back. I told him I already know what is going to be said. The service workers are going to tell him that it is the remote start and I will owe $369 to fix it. I'm just a P-on. I have no pull. But NO ONE should be treated this way. NO ONE. I am waiting for a call back from Toyota Corporate for an update on my case. I will update this again when I have more information.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
random loss of power while driving, spontaneous start up
9:30am CST, August 13, 2016 I was driving my 2015 Rav4 to work from Glenwood, IA to Omaha, NE when the entire power/electrical panel went out. The entire car shut down. No power to anything, even power steering. I'm not a big girl so needless to say I don't have very strong arms. It was very difficult for me to steer the car from one lane to the other. The most terrifying part of this is that I was in the left lane of a 2 lane road merging from I29 north bound to I80 west bound. During this merge there are NO SHOULDERS. The only thing on each side are concrete barriers. When the power went out and I lost control of the steering the first thing I did was try to restart it buy pushing the break (no good), putting the car in neutral and trying to turn it over again. Nothing. I then tried to rev the engine (useless considering it wasn't on, but I was scared and would try anything). Finally (bear in mind this all happened within a matter of seconds) I pushed my hazards on and put on my right blinker. The highway was extremely busy (there was an event at the Henry Doorly Zoo) and I almost got in 2 accidents trying to cross to the right side of the road (again, there were no shoulders). I knew that the cement barriers would eventually end and there would be an open area approx. 50 yards long in the middle of the 2 merging highways. I was praying that my car would coast to it without getting in an accident. When the grass came up after the barriers and I knew the open cement area was coming, I went ahead and started going in the grass as I did not know how much more forward motion was left in the car. I drove 1/2 on the grass and 1/2 still in the right lane of traffic when the open area finally came up. I barely had enough speed to stop right off of the shoulder. I was approx. 12'' off of the interstate. Cars kept flying by with no regard to safety. I called my mom and told her where I was and she came and sat for 4 hours with me while waiting for tow service. While waiting, I was sitting in my passenger's seat with my knees out, the door open and my keys around my neck when my car started on it's own. I've read other electrical complaints where this has happened, also (the most recent complaint from Oct 2015). When the tow truck finally came and took the car to the dealership I bought it from the 'Toyota Master Technician' immediately said the problem was the after market remote start that was installed not even 6 months ago. I asked the dealership to take it out and they said they could but it would cost me +$200. So, naturally upset, I called the company who installed my remote start. That company (I was talking to the manager) was extremely baffled as to why they were being blamed because they do the after market install for everything for that particular dealership. After freaking out and telling the manager of the store I wanted it removed for my safety and that I WAS NOT paying Toyota to do it, the store manager was kind enough to send a technician to do it. When the technician finally showed up (by now it was 4:57pm) he looked at the bypass, found nothing wrong, then thought maybe it was the remote start itself, but that wasn't it either. The after market girl from Toyota at the dealership was talking to me when it was brought up that it might be the ignition. At this point I'm starting to come out of shock, hear that it wasn't the remote start, and IN FACT it WAS the car itself so I start to cry. This is my 5th Toyota that I've owned. I was saved by my first one and now this one tried to kill me. After confirming it was NOT the remote start, again, the remote control tech came in again with a tiny little fuse thing (again, a Toyota part) and said it was a Toyota issue. We could not confirm this as it was a Saturday and all the service people had left right at 5pm. No one cared about my issue or the fact that I was freaking out because I, HONESTLY, could have actually died in a car accident on the interstate losing power and steering control at 65 mph. At that time I was told that the dealership would look at it on Monday and give me a call advising me of what the diagnosis is. It is now 6:30pm CST 8/15/16 and I have had no call from the dealership/service department. I contacted Toyota corporate earlier and opened a case. I am ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED to drive this car. I know what they will do, they will change the fuse or say 'Everything is OK now' and then hand me the keys and expect me to TRUST them with my life. They had already lied once and said it was the remote start when it clearly was not, then they said they would keep me updated, which they did not do also. I told corporate I DO NOT want that car back. It is on a lease, I have only had it for a little over a year, there is NO WAY this should have happened. I do NOT trust that car and after Toyota blaming their OWN after market company for installs I do not trust them. I told Corporate that I wanted a different car. I will be ok with finishing out my remaining months on my lease but who is to say this same thing would not happen again? Again, I had read complaints on here about other peoples' 2015 Rav4s have had the exact same thing happen to them, except several times. Once is enough for me. I am absolutely TERRIFIED. I hope I get a proper resolution from both Toyota Corporate as well as an answer/diagnosis from the Toyota dealership in Bellevue, NE. I'll keep this updated if I can.
Update from Aug 16, 2016: 8/16/16 10:45am CST
The dealership called. As expected they said that the issue was the remote start. They said something about the wires being spliced and if "I wanted the problem fixed correctly" (why would I want it fixed incorrectly?) that I should have them do it, they would have to re-cut the wires and re-solder them together for $369.00. They also stated that "this will help and prevent the fuse from blowing again".... Again. When I told Travis the service worker for the dealership that the remote start installer stated it was not the start or the bypass he literally said "I don't give a crap. I don't give a crap what they said!" Unacceptable. I contacted Toyota corporate to update my case with the new information including the way I was treated by the service worker. After I got off the phone with them I called the GM of the dealership, Brian, to let him know the way I was treated. He was more interested in knowing the issue and immediately blaming the remote start company (again, whom they use to do their after market installation) than addressing the rudeness of the service worker. He was more intent on turning the issue around on me stating that "he can't be held liable for anything that I do to the car after it is purchased and taken from the dealership". I understand that. I would be ok with that --IF the issue WAS THE REMOTE START. He stated he was going to look in to the issue and call me back. I told him I already know what is going to be said. The service workers are going to tell him that it is the remote start and I will owe $369 to fix it. I'm just a P-on. I have no pull. But NO ONE should be treated this way. NO ONE. I am waiting for a call back from Toyota Corporate for an update on my case. I will update this again when I have more information.
- Joylynne T., Glenwood, IA, US