2003 Toyota RAV4: sudden unintended acceleration

Filed Sep 11, 2011 · Acceleration · 138,000 miles · TN

Pulling into parking space, vehicle suddenly accelerated. Had I not already had my foot on brake pedal to stop, damage to other vehicle would have been much worse. Witness' said vehicle lurched upward just before acceleration. I slammed it into park and cut engine to make it stop. Afterwards, trying to get it home, when I took foot off gas pedal, the car would shutter and almost die, causing me to have to put it into neutral and rev engine to keep it from dying.

Filed Oct 3, 2010 · Electrical, Engine · 84,898 miles · NY

My 2003 rav4 has always been very sluggish from a dead start and any kind of sudden acceleration but I knew that I would eventually reach the legal speed limit. Driving 1 1/2 weeks ago, however, brought my attention to another, far more serious acceleration problem, far worse than just sluggishness. The SUV was shifting out of gear automatically and I feared for my safety as I was in moving traffic and I was having trouble moving. I immediately decided to take it to the toyota dealer. Luckily, the dealership was close to where I was. They kept my car from approx. 3:30 pm that friday until the following monday. At first, they thought it was the transmission and said they needed until monday to know for sure. I was told by the service rep. To not worry, that it may be far less expensive than I think. That monday, I got a call from the serviced rep that he had both good news and bad news. They found the problem - an ecu problem but that I was out of warranty and I would have to buy a new one. I told them to go ahead and install it as I couldn't see any alternative. The work was done and the final cost for the unit and labor was $1,300.00. I told the service rep that I felt shafted because the warranty expired after 80,000 and I had 84,000 miles at the time. Further, I had the SUV for just 7 years, not the limit of 8 years under the original warranty for the ecu. I went on the internet and discovered the ny times july, 2010 letter announcing many problems like mine with transmission damage as well and toyota would now cover it all. According to the letter, toyota had extended its warranty for the transmission to 150,000 miles and 10 years for the ecu ! I called the service rep and he said toyota headquarters rep was there and said I had no extended warranty. The service manager never returned my call. I finally called toyota headquarters and filed a complaint with them. I received a letter from a toyota manager offering me $1,000 to buy a new toyota vehicle. 11/03/10

Filed Aug 10, 2010 · Acceleration · 160,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav4. While driving 45 MPH the contact noticed that the vehicle would occasionally surge forward without warning. The vehicle would also suddenly decrease in speed without the contact applying the brakes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the computer system needed to be replaced. There were no prior warnings. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 160000.

Filed Jul 26, 2010 · Acceleration · 75,000 miles · MA

My son was driving his car, a 2003 toyota rav4 -l when he experienced sudden unintended acceleration. There were no floor mats in the car at the time. He was able to get control of the car by slamming on the brakes and putting the car in neutral. The dealer was contacted and the car was scheduled to be brought in the next day after this event occurred.

Filed Apr 28, 2010 · Acceleration · 80,188 miles · CA

I own a 2003 rav 4 purchased used two years ago this april 2010. The car has 80,188 miles the VIN # is xxxxx my wife and I along with my 1 year old boy in the back seat (car seat) were driving into a parking lot of the local gym. When the car suddenly lunged forward almost causing her to run over a pedestrian. (I really mean run over, not just hit). I had a mechanic look at the car... He mentioned that this make and model are known for this issue... The engine control module (ECM) makes the car shift irregular in and out of 1st and 2nd gear ( my rav 4 is automatic). Better said... When the car is put into drive the car actually starts moving in second gear... Which makes it very sluggish.. When the driver presses the gas pedal to compensate, the car then unsuspectingly and suddenly downshifts into first gear causing the car to lunge forward out of control. This time we were very lucky that no one was injured but things could have easily been different... We haven't driven the car since. The repairs according to my mechanic can range from $1500 to $7000. Changing the ECM may fix the issue but there now may be damage done to the transmission itself. We will not know till I have the ECM changed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Filed Apr 7, 2010 · Transmission · 132,000 miles · MD

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav 4. The contact was driving approximately 25 MPH when the accelerator pedal was engaged without a power response. The vehicle began to accelerate normally after a few moments; however, when the gear was shifted into another gear position the vehicle surged forward. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic which stated that the transmission required replacement. The contact had concern of the safety issue. The failure mileage was 132,000.

Filed Mar 29, 2010 · Acceleration · NY · crash

2003 toyota rav4. Consumer states unexpected acceleration. *tgw the consumer stated as she was pulling into a parking space slowly, with her foot on the brake, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward and hit a brick wall. The consumer was informed her vehicle was not included in the recall. No police report was taken. According to the mechanic, he believed the carpet became stuck under the pedal. *jb updated 06/02/10

Filed Mar 17, 2010 · Fuel system · IL

S10 appropriate handling re sudden unintended acceleration incident fm owner of a 2003 toyota rav4. *kb the consumer stated on 3 separate occasions, when she tried to change lanes to get in front of another vehicle, it would not accelerate. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated nothing was wrong. After the third occurrence, the consumer went back to the dealer and they kept the vehicle. Upon inspection, the dealer discovered the sensor in the gas tank was not functioning properly and had to be replaced.

Filed Feb 2, 2010 · Acceleration · PA

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 toyota rav-4. While driving at 20 MPH, the vehicle began to accelerate on its own. The consumer was able to remove the floor mat thinking that was the problem, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The consumers wife went up hill and the vehicle stopped accelerating. The consumer stated he drove up the same hill about an hour later, and the vehicle accelerated on its own. 3/12/2010 update*cw updated 06/28/10

Filed Sep 29, 2009 · Transmission · 123,541 miles · GA

My 2003 toyota rav4 sometimes stalls in traffic, due to what seems like the transmission slipping. The engine races for a while, then the transmission will catch and the car will surge forward. There is no pattern to when this happens.