2011 TOYOTA RAV4 Complaints

THERE IS IN ADEQUATE SPACING BETWEEN THE ACCELRATOR AND THE BRAKES ON THIS VEHICLE. I DRIVE 80 MILES A DAY, AND I HAVE TO ANGLE SO THAT I DON'T HIT THE TOP OF THE BREAK WHEN LIFTING IT OFF THE ACCELERATOR. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. ALSO, THE BRAKES DON'T WORK THAT WELL, THEY'RE NOT STABLE. *TR

I WAS AT A STOP SIGN IN A PARKING LOT ATTEMPTING TO TURN LEFT TO POSITION MY CAR BEHIND A PICK-UP TRUCK (TOWING A TRAILER) WAITING TO TURN RIGHT. MY CAR SHOT AHEAD AND CRASHED INTO THE TRAILER. APPLYING THE BRAKE DID NOTHING. I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE AND IT SHOT BACKWARDS AT THE SAME HIGH SPEED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TACH READ--IT WASN'T A PRIORITY AT THE TIME. HAD THE TRUCK AND TRAILER NOT BEEN AHEAD OF ME, I WOULD HAVE SHOT ACROSS A HEAVILY TRAVELED HIGHWAY. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. LAST MARCH I WAS PULLING INTO MY GARAGE WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD INTO MY FREEZER AND THE BACK WALL OF THE GARAGE. I LIKE THE CAR BUT, FRANKLY, I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE IT NOW. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DECELERATING FOR A TRAFFIC STOP, THE ENGINE RPMS BEGIN TO RACE, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT SHIFTED THE VEHICLE INTO NEUTRAL AND BEGAN TO SMELL SMOKE. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND TOWED TO A DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE FAILURE NOR FIND A PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NO HISTORY OF SUDDEN ACCELERATION WITH THE MODEL VEHICLE AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 10,500.

I WOULD LIKE TO NOTIFY THE INCIDENT, ON JULY 11TH 2012 I WAS DRIVING ON I-40 W HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH SPEED, THE RAVA 4 VEHICLE SIDE AIR BAG (DRIVER SIDE) COMPARTMENT OPENED BUT AIR BAGS NOT DEPLOYED, IT'S LOOK LIKE A MANUFACTURER ASSEMBLY ISSUE, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THIS INCIDENT WITH YOU, THIS MAY LEAD SERIOUS INJURY OR ACCIDENT ON ROAD WAYS. MY OBSERVATIONS : NO PATH HOLES, NO ACCIDENT, IT HAPPENED JUST LIKE THAT. I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO TOYOTA DEALER, THE DEALER REPLACED SIDE AIR BAG PANEL WITH NEW ONE. *TR

PROBLEM 1 - I HAVE BRAKE NOISE AND BRAKE DOES NOT STOP PROPERLY. SPOKE TO TOYOTA DEALER AND THEN CREATED A CASE NUMBER WITH TOYOTA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. TOYOTA VERIFIED AND THEY SAY NO PROBLEM IN BRAKE. WHAT TOYOTA SAYS AFTER INSPECTION - *INSPECT BRAKE LININGS AND CHECK PARKING BRAKE ADJUSTMENT ~|~*INSPECT BRAKE LININGS AND CHECK PARKING BRAKE ADJUSTMENT ~|~ ~|~COULD NOT VERIFY BRAKE NOISE.FRONT BRAKES HAVE 5 MM REMAINING AND REAR BRAKES STILL HAVE 7 MM.ALL GOOD AND NO TSB PERTAINING PROBLEM 2 - THE VEHICLE HAS A WIND LIKE NOISE WHEN DRIVING THE FREEWAY, WHICH TOYOTA SAYS THEY FIXED AND THE PROBLEM WAS "SECURE LOOSE ROOF RACK BAR". *TR

THERE IS A HESITATION AT LOW SPEEDS, CAUSING ENGINE TO INTERMITTENTLY LOOSE POWER FOR 1.5-2.5 SECONDS. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN ACCELERATING ONTO INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS WHERE CARS GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION ARE ALREADY TRAVELING 70-75 M.P.H. AND WHERE MAKING TURNS AT INTERSECTIONS WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE POWER IS NECESSARY TO AVOID A COLLISION. THIS CONDITION HAS ALREADY RESULTED IN SEVERAL NEAR MISS ACCIDENTS MAKING THE VEHICLE UNSAFE AND NOT SUITABLE FOR NORMAL DRIVING. THIS HESITATION ALSO SEEMS TO BE NOTED IN THE RELATED NHTSA REPORT EXAMINING THE TOYOTA ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL THAT MAY HAVE RESULTED IN UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION AND AT THE TOYOTA DEALER WHERE THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED, THEY HAVE ADVISED ME THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE ONE THAT DOES INVOLVE THE PROGRAMMING OF THE ETC AND SELECTION OF A FORWARD GEAR. *TR

ACCORDING TO OUR INSURED, THE INSURED HAD PULLED INTO HIS DRIVEWAY, AND THE VEHICLE HAD A SUDDEN ACCELERATION, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO RUN INTO THE HOUSE, DAMAGING THE WALL, THE SLIDING DOOR AND THE TYPHOON SHUTTERS. *TR

THE THIRD ROW SEAT HEADRESTS ONLY HAVE TWO POSITIONS.(ALL THE WAY UP OR ALL THE WAY DOWN) NEITHER COVERS THE HEAD OF A CHILD. IN THE DOWN POSITION MY CHILD'S HEAD IS ABOVE THE HEADREST. IN THE UP POSITION, HIS HEAD IS BETWEEN THE TWO METAL BARS. THE THIRD ROW SEATS ARE VERY TIGHT AND CERTAINLY NOT DESIGNED TO HOLD ADULTS COMFORTABLY. HOWEVER THE HEADRESTS ONLY FIT AN ADULT SIZE BODY. *JS

I HAVE A SERIOUS CONCERN OVER THE DESIGN OF THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDAL WIDTH ON MY 2011 TOYOTA RAV. MY PROBLEM IS THAT MY DRESS SHOES AND RECREATION BOOTS ARE GETTING CAUGHT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN I SWIVEL FROM THE GAS TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, I CAME CLOSE TO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. I AVOIDED THE ACCIDENTS BY QUICKLY SLIDING MY RIGHT FOOT TO THE RIGHT AND COMPLETELY LIFTING MY FOOT UP AND OVER TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. DURING ONE OF THESE MANEUVERS, MOVING MY RIGHT FOOT QUICKLY TO THE RIGHT RESULTED IN THE LIP OF THE SOLE ON THE RIGHT SIDE HITTING THE GAS PEDAL AND CAUSING ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN I WEAR SNEAKERS, AS THE SOLE OF THE SNEAKER DOES NOT HAVE AN APPROXIMATE HALF-INCH LIP ON THE SIDES. ALSO AND MOST IMPORTANT, I DRIVE A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND THIS PROBLEM DOES NOT HAPPEN. I ALSO DID NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH MY CAMRY, WHICH I TRADED IN FOR THE RAV. THE ABOVE VEHICLES HAS CLOSE TO A FIVE INCH WIDTH SEPARATION BETWEEN THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDALS. I'VE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF MY TOYOTA DEALER AND THE MAINTENANCE MANAGER. THEY HAVE BEEN RESPONSIVE OF MY CONCERN, FORWARDING MY COMPLAINT TO THE AREA MAINTENANCE MANAGER. I MET WITH THE AREA MANAGER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM. HE PROCEEDED TO TAKE PICTURES OF MY SHOES AND THE 3 INCH WIDTH BETWEEN THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDALS. THAT MEETING ENDED WITH THE AREA MANAGER OPENING A CASE AND THE PROMISE HE WOULD REFER MY PROBLEM TO HIS APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT. TO DATE, MY CASE IS STILL WITH TOYOTA. MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER MAINTENANCE MANAGER HAS CONTACTED ME ADVISING THAT THE CASE IS BEING HANDLED AT A HIGHER LEVEL. *JS

I EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN VEHICLE ACCELERATION EVENT ON APRIL 6TH. I FOLLOWED TOYOTA'S INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE AND EVEN MET WITH A TECHNICAL EXPERT AND WE AGREE ON THE FOLLOWING POINTS: THE EVENT WOULD HAVE SHOWN UP AS TWO SEPARATE EVENTS IN THE ABS HISTORY QUEUE. AN INITIAL VSC EVENT (SUDDEN ACCELERATION) CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY THE ABS EVENT (MY PRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL HARDER IN RESPONSE TO THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION) IF A CHECK OF THE ABS HISTORY QUEUE WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE IMMEDIATELY, BOTH EVENTS WOULD STILL HAVE BEEN STORED IN THE ABS HISTORY QUEUE. THE SMALL CAPACITY OF THE ABS HISTORY QUEUE, COUPLED WITH THE RECORDING OF MANY FREQUENT TRACTION CONTROL (TRAC) EVENTS PUSHED THE RECORD OF MY ABS- AND VSC EVENTS OUT OF THE ABS HISTORY QUEUE. THE ABS SYSTEM SHOULD NOT ENGAGE WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED OR MOVING SLOWLY AS IN MY INCIDENT. SO, THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION OF THE CONTROL SYSTEM THAT REMAINS UNRESOLVED. TOYOTA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROBLEM. BECAUSE THE ABS SYSTEM SHOULD NOT HAVE ENGAGED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS EITHER STOPPED OR MOVING SLOWLY, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE. I THINK TOYOTA IS ENGAGED IN A COVER-UP REGARDING THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEM. I REQUEST THAT THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORDER TOYOTA TO DO THE FOLLOWING SINCE THEY REFUSE TO DO IT VOLUNTARILY OR AT MY REQUEST: INCLUDE AN IMMEDIATE EXAMINATION OF THE ABS HISTORY QUEUE IN THE HEALTH CHECK. CREATE, AND INSTALL IN MY RAV4, A NEW VERSION OF ELECTRONIC CONTROL SOFTWARE THAT IMPLEMENTS THE FOLLOWING CHANGES: A.SEPARATE QUEUES FOR EACH FOR EACH OF THE THREE TYPES OF ABS HISTORY EVENTS: ABS, TRAC, AND VSC B.INCREASED ABS HISTORY QUEUE CAPACITY TO ENSURE THAT 90 DAYS OF EACH OF THE THREE TYPES OF EVENTS ARE STORED. C.ALL ABS HISTORY EVENTS ARE TIME-STAMPED AND DATE-STAMPED. *TT