Just got off the highway and was driving on city streets.started hearing some creaking noise, and then a few clunks and a bang/pop as I was going around a corner at about 3-5mph I pulled into the driveway in front of me. I see my right rear tire has caved in and is rubbing against the inside of the wheel well. After jacking up the car and taking the tire off I see the entire brake assembly is rotated in, and the bolts holding it to the rear suspension are bent out of place. Perhaps this is the result of the band-aid epoxy fix for the toyota rear suspension recall. This is a major safety issue!
2007 Toyota RAV4 brakes complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 47, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power brake booster leaks and leaves brakes very hard to operate. My wife almost ran into a building while at parking lot speed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal several times, yet the vehicle kept accelerating. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle and brake system were failing and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred on several occasions. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, the approximate failure mileage was 2,000. The VIN was not available.
The dealer said that the sensors behind my breaks were defective. My ABS and cruise control does not work. This has been an ongoing problem since I purchased the car. Can you help. The deal said it is not a safety issue because I can use my brakes the old fashion way by pumping them. Abs does not work. What can I do. Toyota said this is a common problem with the rave4.
First noticed the problem on 11/10/2014 when approaching a stop light. The rav4 took longer than normal to come to a stop with greater force required to stop. Once fully stopped, the vehicle was idling with low RPM's (~500) and the check engine light turned on along with vsc and trac lights. Was able to drive the vehicle home, but experienced the same symptoms at every stop light / stop sign. Contacted toyota dealership in tucson immediately and scheduled emergency service for the next morning. The toyota dealership diagnosed the problem with two error codes (p0171 and p0174 - lean air/fuel mix). Was told they suspected a bad tank of gas. Toyota addressed one open recall (service campaign bst - reflash brake control computer) on my vehicle but did not investigate the error codes, only cleared them. The following day while driving home, the same issue occurred. Almost no brake pressure and barely able to stop. Check engine light, vsc, and trac lights all illuminated again. Low idle speed as well. Contacted a different local mechanic for a second opinion. Was informed the brake booster needed to be replaced due to damage in the diaphragm causing loss of vacuum pressure (which helped explain the two error codes related to lean air/fuel mix). Total repair bill over $1000. Just lucky nobody was injured due to failing brake system on toyota's part.
The brake makes hissing noises and the driver is required to press it down very hard for it to work, therefore the car has to go into park mode at the stop light in order for the vehicle to remain at a complete stop.
The gas pedal and brake can easily be stepped on at the same time with one foot. I have done this on several occasions, it's just been luck that has prevented me from causing injury damage to myself or others. It does give me a good scare.
On march 21st the ABS, vsc, traction and brake warning lights came on while driving at 35 MPH in dry weather condition. When the lights were on, the ABS system was triggered making difficult to brake to stop. Since then the warning lights have been on and off and so I've been having difficulties when slowing down at a higher speed rate 60 MPH, slow speed 20 MPH, and even stopping. On tuesday, april 8 I brought the rav4 to the dealer and they said that there is nothing wrong with the car and that the breaks were ok. Dealer said: it is just the a rear sensor that needs to be reset. So dealer technician reset the sensor the same day. On wednesday, april 9, 2014 around 6:00 pm when turning left at a corner I heard a ticking noise then four warning lights appeared again and the breaks started to malfunction again. I'll bring the rav4 to the dealer on april 12, 2014 and see what they have to say. The codes the dealer have initially were c0210 and c1223. My spouse and I don't want to drive the rav4 without knowing that the sensor that the dealer talks about is either fixed or replaced. I don't want to be exposed nor expose my family to any possible accident due to the sensor/braking system failure.
The car unexpectedly accelerated as I was approaching a red traffic light. My foot was on the brake to slow down when the car's engine revved up and the car kept moving forward with my foot on the brake pedal as far as it could go. The car finally stopped about 6 feet into the intersection. The next morning the car repeated the unexpected acceleration while I was trying to slow down prior to stopping for a stop sign. The driver's side floor mat was removed two or three years ago and was not present that evening or the next morning. I reported this episode to the toyota dealer and I told him I was afraid to drive the car. The dealer told me the car was out of warranty, but if I wanted have to car towed to the dealership, he would have to technicians check it for historical record of the episode. I was also told I was responsible for towing charges and the cost of the diagnostic analysis. The computerized diagnostic check showed nothing had happened and nothing was wrong with the car. I told the dealer the I was not impressed with the diagnostic test device, as the acceleration did happen and the test set was obviously not checking the source of the problem. I called toyota customer service telephone number is torrance california, told them my story and asked if toyota had received any other such complaints. I was told that toyota could not release that information. I asked what toyota did with my report of the problem. I was told it went into a toyota data base. I asked for a copy of rav4 episodes in the data base. I was told toyota could not furnish that to me. I then asked for a copy of my report that toyota entered into the data base. Toyota told me it could not furnish that to me. Toyota seems to discredit reports of this acceleration/safety issue as if it could not possibly happen.
2007 toyota rav4 rear speed sensors can abruptly fail during poor climate, causing failure to the vehicle stability control, ABS, and traction control systems. Toyota has refused to acknowledge that failure of this part is common, which is especially dangerous when driving conditions are poor.
I was stopped at a stop sign here in town. All of a sudden, without warning, the vehicle started to experience a high degree of acceleration. My foot was firmly planted on the brake pedal only. I could not stop the vehicle till I put it in neutral. The engine then started to rev itself up uncontrollably, until I turned it off with the ignition key. I was a good 15 feet into oncoming traffic when I had stopped. I then started it up again and drove home without incident. This was a total failure of the cars expectation to remain stationary while the brake is applied and the vehicle was not moving prior to the acceleration surge.
With the engine on, while stopped at traffic congestion or red light, pedal brakes goes almost to the floor. It is at the mechanic for a week now, trying to repair it. Brake pump was replaced, still the same problem.
As I was driving home, the check engine, the trac and vsc lights all came on at the same time. I also heard a hissing noise when I pressed down on the brakes. I went to a mechanic to see what the problem might be, but it was late in the day and everyone was closing. He told me it sounded like a vacuum leak in the brake booster and to bring it back first thing monday (he seemed to think it'd be okay to drive over the weekend). On the drive home the brake light came on and there were a few times where I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop the car at all. It was quite scary! I was pressing the brake pedal as hard as I could and then it finally grabbed, the car jerked, and the seat belts tightened up around me. I worked today (saturday) and the same thing happened to and from work, only now I am using the emergency brake to slow the car and I put it in park at stop lights. My next trip will be straight to a mechanic! It seems it is not common for brake boosters to fail and I am learning that other toyota rav4 owners have had the same problem, several ending in accidents. This should definitely be addressed by toyota, as it is a huge safely issue, and possibly be cause for a recall.
Brake booster failure, replace by toyota dealer.
I was traveling at approximately 45 MPH and applied the brakes. A hissing sound could be heard and there was a significant loss of stopping power. I had to apply an excessive amount of pressure to the pedal to stop the vehicle. And it also took an excessive distance to get it stopped.. The check engine light illuminated along with the stability control and other dashboard warning lights. I continued to drive cautiously to get home. The lights then went away. And the car performed somewhat normally. They came back on, a day later. And so did the symptoms, but only sporadically. The brake booster has a leak. There are many others with the same problem all over the internet. Specifically, here: http://www.rav4world.com/forums/99-4-3-mechanical/91243-what-causes-brake-booster-failure.html I think given the history of sudden acceleration and other issues with this model of vehicle a recall should be done. This is a $900+ repair, and for a car with a little over 50k miles is unacceptable and above all, dangerous.
Traveling approximately 45 MPH on dry pavement. Went to apply brakes prior to approaching turn lane and could not stop. Brakes were there (pedal was firm and did not go to floor) but accelerator seem to override the braking system. Proceeded to stand on brakes to attempt to stop as there were three lanes of stopped traffic and no where else to go. Shifted car into park to come to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting 8+ cars and pushing them into a very large intersection. Car had approximately 46000 miles on it and had new brakes installed 8 months prior. Car had been serviced 1 month prior for general service point checks. Took car to dealership same day of this incident - they could not find nothing wrong with the car. Offered to service based on a previous recall to remove the current floormat and adjust accelerator. One month prior to this incident the radio stopped working for a couple of days then started working intermittently sometimes displaying garbled text on the radio display.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. The contact was traveling 30 MPH when a gray smoke and burning smell emitted from the drivers side window panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed the master cylinder switch needed to be replaced after a fire burned a hole through the switch. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 95,329.
A car pulled out of driveway and I touched the brake pedal and my engine increased acceleration when it should have slowed acceleration and I pushed my car into neutral and I pulled cruise control lever towards me and the engine slowed down-my car had been set to cruise at 52 MPH. After the incident I shut the cruise control off as I was heading into town. I then pulled into big scoop(canton,il business) parking lot going less than 5 MPH-a lady walked in front of my car and I touched the brake and again I experienced unwanted acceleration and again I was quick in shoving car into neutral preventing a serious injury. I went home and called fort toyota in pekin, il and I took car in feb, 17, 2012 at noon. They had their top mechanic check it out-he said he could find nothing wrong. They called toyota's headquarters and they told them it was a floormat issue. They told me that and I told them it had nothing to do with the floormats but rather after touching the brake pedal is when I received unwanted acceleration in both incidents. They asked me several questions about that and they gave me toyota's headquarters number and gave me a rental car to use. When I called their headquarters they said it was a floormat issue and that was their final statement on the matter. I told them it was a brake issue but they stuck to floormats as the cause and that is why I'm reporting this matter to you as I feel for the safety of all drivers; this issue needs to be resolved by any automaker with unwanted acceleration problems. A first step is to admit that they have the problem then good(safe) things will result. Thank you for hearing me out. It is appreciated very much,[xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I have had my rav4 since oct. 2007, bought it new and 2 1/2 years after owning it I had to replace the front brakes in june 2010. I just purchased new tires for my rav4 and had them put on in nov. 2011 and I was told that I need brakes again. Now from june 2010 to nov. 2011 I should still have a lot of brake left instead of having to replace them. If this is going to be an ongoing problem with my rav4 I will trade it in and buy a nissan SUV instead. I don't have money to change my brakes every 1 1/2 years on my vehicle. If I had known this was going to be a problem I wouldn't have purchased this vehicle. I would've bought something different. Don't get me wrong I love my car but I feel that I should get more wear and tear from my brakes than a 1 1/2 years. Maybe the toyota company should check the material the brakes was made from to make sure that it's not defective.
2007 rav 4 had 3 lights turned on (check engine light, stability control light and 4 wheel drive light), shortly after the lights came on, the brakes failed. Rav4 was taken to toyota delearship for repair and after the technicians being confused by the lights, they determined that the brake booster had failed. This issue is similar to the recent highlinder recall and I feel people's safety is at stake with the brakes failing.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the posterior oxygen sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. Two days later, the check engine light was illuminated again and the contact experienced brake failure. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the brake booster needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 27,000. Updated 11/03/11 *bf updated 05/12/2012
Brake booster broke down and repair will cost about $1,120 dollars. My car is 2007. I need to do the monthly payments for the car, and I can not pay, at the same time, I cannot afford to be without car, I will lost my job. I need help. Right now the car is been repair at wonders toyota dealer alhambra ca.
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the brakes failed as the brake pedal extended to the floorboard. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that there was a leak in the brake booster and gasket. The manufacturer was contacted but they did not respond to any voice mail. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 87,110 and current mileage was 87,400.
Last night, my rav4 battery died due presumably to the rear door light getting accidentally turned on. Upon jump starting the car, everything seemed fine. I drove it home without incident. Then, this morning, the battery was not quite up high enough to start the car, so I jump started it again. It started, but a few hundred feet away, I lost power steering and power brake assist. It required every ounce of force I could muster to turn the vehicle around and get it back to my house. Thankfully, this happened on city streets near my house and not on the highway last night or the chp would have been scraping me off a bridge post. The rav4 cannot realistically be steered by an average person without the power steering assist because of the gearing ratio, making this a very serious design defect. If a vehicle cannot safely operate, the vehicle should not operate. The problem is that, because the battery plays an integral role in power smoothing, and because the power steering and power brake pumps are electrically operated, a low battery can result in failure of the power steering and brake pumps while the engine is still functional. This can easily result in an uncontrollable vehicle barreling down the highway at 80 MPH. I believe that fixing this problem requires a fundamental redesign of the electrically operated pumps to add additional capacitors so that the battery is not playing such a crucial role in smoothing out the pulsating dc from the alternator along with the addition of sensor hardware to detect a low battery condition and activate an indicator light until the vehicle is safe to drive. Ideally, the steering gearbox should also be redesigned with a lower gear ratio so that it does not become undriveable. Without these fixes, the 2007 rav4 is fundamentally unsafe. This design flaw probably also affects most other late models of toyota.
I bought a new 2007 toyota rav4 at the end of the model year. I had problems with the brakes and the car shook and made noises. I took it to the dealer who replaced the front brakes and said it scored the drum and they had to be turned at 33,000 approx miles, under warranty as it was defective parts. But the rear brakes were suppose to be fine. This is a little over a year later and at 47,000 miles and I have had the brakes inspected at the dealership with every 5000 mile oil change and told they were good. Last week I was going down a steep grade and the brakes were a major problem and I could hardly stop my car, the brakes grabbed, the car shook and was hard to steer and I had to pump the brakes, etc.. I took it to the dealer and they said the rear brakes are not only bad but scored the drums and had to be replaced. I am having to pay over $200.00 for defective parts and I could have been killed, plus I had a passenger and it was scary. I have had special driver training so I was able to control the car and there were no other vehicles around, thank god, but the car was unsafe and the dealer has so far taken no responsibility. Toyota is waiting for a reply???from the dealer. I feel this should all be reported for safety and consumer awareness reasons.
I turned on the ignition of my 2007 toyota rav 4 and began to drive into my garage and the vehicle suddenly accelerated and did not slow down upon application of the brake pedal. I pumped the brake fiercely several times to the floor board over the approximately 12-15 feet of garage depth and the rav4 stopped just as it pushed the wheelbarrel into the wall. . Aside from damage to the wall of the garage, the vehicle's bumper was dented and slightly cracked. Airbags did not deploy and there was no bodily trauma or personal injury.
Have had two accidents with toyota rav4 2007 before recall. In both incidents thought I was pressing brake with no response.
Hit garage with 2007 toyota rav 4 while moving it in driveway at low speed. Incident happened after a large snow storm and vehicle was being moved to clear area after snow was removed. It seemed like the gas pedal stuck or the brakes failed. No injuries just a dent in the front bumper. The failure has not occurred again. The vehicle was brought to toyota dealer (lia toyota in schenectady ny) and concern about possible brake failure was expressed. The dealer checked the brakes and did a diagnostic computer check. They told me " that the diagnostic indicated everything was fine" and gave me a $700 estimate to repair the front bumper damage. I drove the vehicle home and had the dent repaired at a local body shop.
I own a toyota 2007 rav4 which as been in the dealerships shop over 10 times for the same two issues brakes and grinding noise, per toyota each time it was different, but I know it was the same two things. It's like toyota is falsifying customer's car issues with their own words instead of making proper documentation. It started off with the brakes when I first purchased the car they were making a noise and when going over speed bumps the car would accelerate instead of stopping, but I thought this may be an added feature to the new car. The first real incident is when the car would not stop and I crashed into to a side rail. It didn't do much damage and it total about $400.00. The car is making a metallic noise in the suspension and this was reported, but each and every time toyota's techs drives with me and my husband while we driving the car to duplicate the noise toyota's techs said this noise was normal. We knew this noise wasn't normal behavior of a brand new car, I took it to another auto shop and they verified that the noise was in the suspension system, that toyota would need to address the issue because the car was still under warranty, and it would cost me money to locate the noise. When I told toyota they said they give a car until they could find the issue, by letting their field tech look at the car, and I asked when this tech would be available. I wanted to see this person look at the car, but they came up with a million and one reasons that I could meet with the tech? After talking to people from their corp office about the metallic noise and the brakes toyota said, 'since we can't find anything wrong with the car it's under warranty so if something happens it will be fixed'. What I don't understand is why should I have to wait for this car to kill me or my family for the company to look at their faults because all we did was purchased a car from the top of the line auto makers to get this kind of treatment?
Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. The contact stated her brakes locks whenever the road was slippery. While driving various speeds to include 20 MPH, she lightly tapped the brake pedal and the brake pedal extended to the floor. On several occasions when the brake pedal was engaged it responded as if there was no pedal. The dealer previously stated several times that there was nothing wrong with the brakes. The failure mileage was 80,000.
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