2006 Toyota RAV4: sudden loss of power

Filed May 19, 2021 · Engine · TN

This 2006 Rav4 engine is known for its massive oil consumption due to the faulty piston rings. Always kept oil in it and had regular changes because of this issue. Checked the oil 2 days prior to the engine failure, and all was well. Driving down the hwy going around 70mph, the engine started to lose power and sound funny (high rpm sounds with no power), so I took my foot off the gas and coasted for a few seconds. Down to 50mph, I hit the gas pedal, and then a loud BOOM happened and car shook. Smoke from the engine, and then all the dash lights came on. Lost all power. Looked under the engine and a piston had blown a hole through the bottom of it. Needs new engine now. Mechanic inspected it and they documented with a picture. Thankfully I was not injured as that could have caused a serious wreck, especially if there was someone behind me. I've read about these engines being blown regularly online. Even some before 100k miles. No warnings before this happened.

Filed Apr 3, 2021 · Electrical, Lights · 180,000 miles · NJ

For some time there has been an intermittent problem with the dashboard lights coming on and loss of power steering. The car has been checked by mechanics, including one at a toyota dealership, but the problem was not found. I have experienced the problem with the car stationary, but I believe my son said it has happened to him while in motion.

Filed Sep 15, 2018 · Steering · 149,231 miles · NY

To whom it may concern, while driving on highway today the car did not stall but all the dash lights came on and there was a complete loss of power steering. Luckily I was in the right land and on a straight roads I glided to the shoulder and stopped. I could not start the car so I jumped started the car and proceeded to get off next exit and problem happened again!!!! I read about issues with the electronic steering on toyota vehicles. I am checking the charging system and battery but want to find out if there is a recall. There were other people with this issue while searching the internet. I understand that batteries and alternators do go bad but loss of steering while moving could have resulted in a serious accident had I been in a curve in the road. I had previous cargo in the car too.....my 22 month old granddaughter!!! Please advise if this is a known problem. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Mar 28, 2017 · Engine · 80,711 miles · NY

While driving east on I-490 from rochester to I-90, the check engine light came on and the engine was misfiring. We exited the freeway and the check engine light started to flash, the engine sputtered and died. I put the car in neutral and parked on the right curb. Fortunately this happened on a city street and not on the freeway. Power steering was of course lost, so the maneuver was difficult. Aaa towed the car to our repair shop, and they reported 24 engine codes were thrown, and recommended a complete engine tune-up, including replacement of the six ignition coil packs, spark plugs, and intake manifold gaskets. Much of the $1,000 expense was 4.5 hours of labor, to remove the intake manifold (necessary to reach the rear bank of cylinders 1,3,5). This was not the first time the ignition coils have failed on this vehicle. In october 2012 (around 50k miles) engine code p0354 was thrown, and I replaced the coil on cylinder 4. In january 2014 (around 58k miles) code p0356 was thrown, and I replaced the coil on cylinder 6. Since the dangerous incident of lost power and replacement of all six coils on 14 june 2016 (around 80k miles) only nine months and 7k miles later, code p0351 (bad coil on cylinder 1) was thrown on 24 march 2017, and now code p0355 (cylinder 5) was thrown on 28 march 2017. I have already spent around $1,200 to deal with this problem, and the car is today back in the repair shop to have two rear bank coils replaced, for $229. There is clearly something wrong when these coils are failing under normal operating conditions, especially after only 7k miles. This is not just a problem for us. Other repair shops have said this era of rav4 is known for this problem. See http://www.carproblemzoo.com/toyota/rav4/ignition-coils-failure-problems.php and you can find other similar records of this problem searching online.

Filed May 7, 2009 · Engine · 53,000 miles · WA

My wife was driving home from work and the engine started to lose power, and making a loud knocking noise. After arriving home, I started the engine and heard the same loud knocking noise. I checked the oil level, and saw that it was non-existent. After researching on the internet, I found many people with the same issue. It appears that the oil line is continuing to fail on the newer v-6 engines. I will be calling toyota tomorrow. The car is a 2006 toyota rav4 sport 4wd v-6. It has 53,000 miles on it. Toyota performs regular oil changes.