2010 TOYOTA RAV4 Complaints

THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE WHEEL STUDS THAT APPEARS TO BE QUITE COMMON ON RAV4'S OF SEVERAL YEARS. THE WHEEL STUDS BREAK QUITE OFTEN AND THE TOYOTA AND THE TOYOTA DEALERS BLAME IT ON THE TORQUE OF THE LUG NUTS. THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE SINCE I'VE HAD TWO BREAK OFF SINCE I PURCHASED THE CARD NEW IN SEPTEMBER, 2009. THE FIRST BROKE OFF AT APPROXIMATELY 8,000 MILE AND SECOND BROKE OF AT 24,000 MILES WHILE I WAS DRIVE ON AN INTERSTATE. THE 24,000 MILE ONE BROKE AND THE IT WAS 41/2 MONTHS AFTER THE TIRES WERE ROTATED. IN SEARCHING THE INTERNET, THERE ARE MULTIPLE PROBLEMS AND I BELIEVE THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THESE STUD WHERE THEY ARE USING INFERIOR PRODUCT TO MANUFACTURE THEM. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION ESPECIALLY IF THE CAR OWNER IS NOT FREQUENTLY CHECKING THEIR WHEELS TO SEE IF THIS IS HAPPENING. *TR

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT DISENGAGE, EITHER WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED OR THE LEVER PULLED. IT HAS ACCELERATED AT LEAST TWICE WHILE APPROACHING SLOWED TRAFFIC, AHEAD. *TR

I WAS STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT AT ABOUT 4:00 PM WITH MY FOOT FULLY ON THE BRAKE. WHILE WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE, THE CAR WENT INTO A HIGH IDLE. I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL FIRMLY, BUT THE CAR WAS LURCHING, TRYING TO ACCELERATE. I PUT THE CAR INTO PARK AND IT MADE A HORRIBLE NOISE. IT STAYED IN HIGH IDLE FOR SEVERAL MORE SECONDS, BUT THEN SEEMED TO KICK ITSELF OUT OF THAT IDLE. I THOUGHT THE CAR MAY HAVE DIED. THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, SO I GENTLY PUT IT INTO DRIVE (AGAIN THINKING THAT IT MAY HAVE DIED), BUT IT WAS STILL RUNNING, SO I DROVE ACROSS THE INTERSECTION, WENT TO A PARKING LOT, AND CALLED THE DEALER. THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID THAT I SHOULD HAVE THE CAR TOWED IN (AT MY EXPENSE), WHICH WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ME. I CALLED THE TOYOTA 800 NUMBER AND THEY ALSO SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT PAY FOR ANY OF THE EXPENSES. THEY SAID THAT IF SOMETHING WAS FOUND WRONG WITH THE CAR, THEY WOULD REIMBURSE ME. I DROVE THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT NIGHT. THE ADVISOR TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD NEED TO KEEP THE CAR UNTIL THE REGIONAL MANAGER COULD COME, WHICH WOULD BE SEVERAL DAYS. THEY CALLED ME THE NEXT AFTERNOON TO SAY THAT THE DEALERSHIP HAD RUN ALL TESTS, AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, AND THAT THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE RAV 4 HAVING THIS ISSUE. THEY SAID THEY COULD KEEP THE CAR UNTIL THE REGIONAL MANAGER COULD COME, WHICH WAS NOW ESTIMATED TO BE 2-3 WEEKS. THEY SAID HE WOULD RUN THE EXACT SAME TESTS ON THE VEHICLE AS THEY HAD RUN. I WENT AND PICKED UP THE VEHICLE. I WENT INTO THE DEALERSHIP YESTERDAY AND MET WITH THE SERVICE AND SALES MANAGERS. THEY ADVISED ME THAT THOUGH THEY WERE NOT SAYING THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME ABOUT THE INCIDENT, THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, SO THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE THEY COULD DO, EXCEPT TO HELP ME GET OUT OF MY LEASE AND INTO ANOTHER TOYOTA VEHICLE. I OPTED TO TRADE MY RAV 4 IN AND AM NOW LEASING A CAMRY. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 18:30 ON DECEMBER 27, 2011, I EXPERIENCED AN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION EVENT IN MY 2010 TOYOTA RAV4. I WAS STOPPING FOR A RED LIGHT ON PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY IN SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA AT THE CORNER OF FIRST STREET WHEN I NOTICED IT WAS DIFFICULT TO APPLY THE BRAKE, AND THE CAR DID NOT APPEAR TO WANT TO STOP. I APPLIED THE BRAKE MORE FORCEFULLY AND WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO STOP IN THE LEFT HAND TURN LANE, HOWEVER THE CAR KEPT LURCHING FORWARD AS IF IT WANTED TO BREAK FREE OF THE BRAKE. HAVING HEARD THE WIDESPREAD PUBLICITY REGARDING THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM IN TOYOTA VEHICLES, AND HAVING PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM ON ONE OCCASION OVER A YEAR EARLIER, I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE THE ISSUE. I PUT THE CAR INTO PARK AND THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY REVVED UP TO AN ALARMING RATE. I TURNED OFF THE IGNITION IN PANIC BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE TACHOMETER. HOWEVER, JUDGING BY THE SOUND AND LATER EXPERIMENTATION WITH REVVING WHILE PARKED, I BELIEVE THE RPM MUST HAVE BEEN IN THE 4000-5000 RANGE AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. I WAS PARTICULARLY SHAKEN BY THIS EVENT BECAUSE I HAD ALREADY HAD THE RECALL SERVICE PERFORMED THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY INTENDED TO ADDRESS THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION ISSUE. THIS RECALL SERVICE WAS PERFORMED MAY 10, 2011 AT DESERT TOYOTA IN TUCSON, ARIZONA. I HAD EXPERIENCE THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION ISSUE ONCE BEFORE, BUT IT WAS NOT NEARLY AS DRAMATIC. I DO NOT RECALL THE DETAILS, BUT IT WAS IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA IN EARLY 2011 AND MY MEMORY IS THAT TAPPING THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS RESTORED THE CAR'S OPERATION TO NORMAL FAIRLY QUICKLY. I WAS LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT IT HAPPENING AGAIN SINCE THE RECALL SERVICE HAD BEEN PERFORMED. *TR

WITH THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND THE BRAKE PEDAL DEPRESSED, THE ENGINE REVED IMMEDIATELY TO AROUND 6000 RPM WHEN STARTED. I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE WITHOUT SHIFTING OUT OF PARK, GOT OUT OF THE CAR, AND VISUALLY CHECKED THE FLOORMAT. IT WAS NOT TOUCHING THE THROTTLE PEDAL AND THE THROTTLE PEDAL DID NOT APPEAR TO BE DEPRESSED. AFTER APPROXIMATELY 1 MINUTE I STARTED THE ENGINE A SECOND TIME AND THE SAME THING OCCURRED. I THEN WAITED APPROXIMATELY 5 MINUTES, PUMPED THE THROTTLE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES, THEN STARTED THE VEHICLE A THIRD TIME. THIS TIME THE VEHICLE STARTED NORMALLY (ENGINE IDLING). I THEN DROVE HOME WITHOUT FURTHER REVING ISSUES AND HAVE NOT HAD ANY REOCCURENCE SINCE THE INCIDENT DATE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE THE NEXT DAY AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS A FLOORMAT ISSUE, AND MY DRIVERSIDE FLOORMAT WAS REMOVED BY THE DEALERSHIP. I DISAGREE WITH THIS ASSESSMENT. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT BEFORE I HAD THE REVING ISSUE UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE, MY LAST INTERACTION WITH THE VEHICLE WAS TO HAVE MY FOOT COMPLETELY OFF THE GAS PEDAL AS I WAS STEERING THE CAR INTO A PARKING SPACE, WHEN I WAS USING ONLY THE BRAKE PEDAL TO MODERATE MY SPEED, WITH NO THROTTLE PEDAL PRESSURE BEING APPLIED BY ME, AND WITH THE ENGINE IDLING, AS IS NORMAL. DO NOT SEE HOW THIS COULD BE A RESIDUAL STUCK THROTTLE PEDAL ISSUE WHEN I RETURNED TO MY AUTOMOBLE AND STARTED THE ENGINE TO DRIVE AWAY. THE ONLY OTHER FACTOR WHICH MAY (OR MAY NOT) BE RELEVENT WAS THAT WHEN I TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AFTER PARKING, I DID NOT FIRST TURN THE RADIO OFF, WHICH I USUALLY DO. I BELIEVE I WAS TUNED TO A SATELLITE STATION AT THAT TIME (XM). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DEPRESSING THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL WOULD DEPRESS INTO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PEDAL WAS SO LOW THAT HE WAS ABLE TO SIMULTANEOUSLY DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE DEALER TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE AND ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT BRAKE PEDAL WAS SOFT DESIGNED AND WAS OPERATING AS NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 6,000.

SHORTLY AFTER DEALER MAINTENANCE, THREE LUG BOLTS BROKE OFF WHILE TORQUING THE LUG NUTS TO 80 FOOT POUNDS. THE LUG BOLTS APPEAR TO MADE FROM A LOW GRADE OF STEEL. THE DEALER WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO REPLACE BROKEN BOLTS, BUT REFUSED TO REPLACE ALL THE LUG BOLTS. I MAINTAIN THAT ALL MY LUG BOLTS COULD BE DAMAGED TO THE POINT OF NEAR FAILURE AND THAT TOYOTA SHOULD BE USING A HIGHER GRADE STEEL IN THESE BOLTS. *TR

ON A PUBLIC MAIN STREET TRAVELING 35-45 MPH, STARTED TO BRAKE TO STOP FOR A LIGHT CHANGING FROM YELLOW TO RED. AS THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO REV TO 5000 RPM. THE BRAKES WERE HOLDING BACK THE CAR, BUT THE ACCELERATION WAS PERSISTENT. THE CAR BARELY STOPPED BEFORE ENTERING THE INTERSECTION, BUT THE ENGINE REMAINED AT WHAT APPEARED TO BE FULL THROTTLE. I SHIFTED THE STOPPED VEHICLE INTO PARK ON THIS AUTOMATIC TRANSAXLE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE/TRANSAXLE MADE A SIGNIFICANT "BANG" AS IT WAS SHIFTED, THE ENGINE STOPPED REVVING AND THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL SHOT BACK TOWARD MY LEG HITTING MY ANKLE. AT NO TIME DID MY RIGHT FOOT LEAVE THE BRAKE PEDAL. IN FACT, I WAS PRESSING THE BRAKE WITH ALL MY STRENGTH TO COMPLETE THE STOP. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED BY FAMILY MEMBERS. IT WAS MY FIRST DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH IT AND THE VEHICLE IS JUST OVER A YEAR OLD. IT HAS BEEN INTO THE DEALER FOR THIS REASON AND RECEIVED A RECALL UPGRADE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO DURING A ROUTINE FREE MAINTENANCE VISIT. I HAVE CONTACTED TOYOTA DIRECTLY TO TERMINATE MY LEASE ON THIS AND ANOTHER EXACT SAME MAKE/MODEL/YEAR LEASED THE SAME DAY. I FEEL THAT TOYOTA HAS NOT FIXED THE ISSUES FROM 2010 AND THAT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FLOOR MATS AND ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARE NOT ADDRESSING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG. THE FACT THAT BOTH VEHICLES WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE RECEIVED "REPROGRAMMING" TO SOLVE THIS ISSUE LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THERE IS A SOFTWARE PROBLEM THAT REMAINS UNDISCOVERED. UPDATED 10/03/11 *TR

AS I APPLIED THE BRAKES TO STOP FROM 45 MPH, THE CAR CONTINUED TO MOVE AT THE SAME SPEED. I INCREASED PRESSURE ON THE THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT THE CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN. FINALLY, AFTER ABOUT THREE SECONDS, THE CAR SEEMED TO DOWNSHIFT, AND THE BRAKES ENGAGED. I ENDED UP HALFWAY THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. THE CONDITIONS WERE WARM AND DRY, AND THE TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT. THIS IS A STOCK CAR WITH NO MODIFICATIONS. WE HAD ALREADY TAKEN THE CAR IN FOR THE RECALL ADJUSTMENTS TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE FLOOR MATS AS DIRECTED BY TOYOTA IN 2010 AND 2011. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THE LACK OF BRAKING WAS NOT MECHANICAL, BUT ELECTRONIC. IT SEEMED THAT THE BRAKES WERE LOCKED OUT WHILE THE CAR CONTINUED TO DRIVE FORWARD AT THE SAME SPEED. WHEN THE CAR DOWNSHIFTED AND REVVED A LITTLE, THE BRAKES SUDDENLY CAME BACK ONLINE, AND WE CAME TO A STOP. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE HAD A PROBLEM LIKE THIS. WE WILL CONTACT TOYOTA AND SEE WHAT THEY ADVISE. *TT

I WAS AT A REST STOP AND IN THE PROCESS OF UNLOADING FROM THE BACK OF A TOYOTA RAV4 2010 MODEL. THE BACK DOOR WAS FULLY OPEN. WITH A VERY LIGHT WIND, THE DOOR CLOSED AND I HAD MY HAND ON THE UPPER LEFT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND I WAS LOOKING THE OTHER WAY. THE DOOR CAUGHT MY HAND IN THE DOOR. I HAD TO USE MY OTHER HAND TO GET THE DOOR OPEN. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. THE DOOR SHOULD EITHER HAVE A WARNING OR THE HINGE SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE DOOR TO CLOSE LIKE THAT. IF IT HAD BEEN A CHILD, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN DAMAGE TO THE HAND. *TR