I was driving down forest ave in brockton, ma, the driver side door stated smoking, I quickly turned the engine off, got me and my son out of the car and called the fire department who disconnected the battery and suggested that I got it towed to a repair shop. So I did, to copland toyoyta where it was troubleshoot to a master switch ass. It was repaired and I had to pay $580.70 because they said its not covered by warranty.
2007 Toyota RAV4 electrical complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 76, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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.
My wife left home to drive to the store - a 3-mile trip, all in-town driving. After traveling about 1/2 mile, smoke started coming into the car from behind the panel on the inside of the driver's door. She stopped the car. The volume of smoke accumulating in the car increased. A passer-by stopped, called 911, reported the fire, and assisted my wife, who climbed into the front passenger seat and exited the car out the front, right passenger door. By the time the firemen and police arrived, approximately 3-5 minutes later, smoke was dense and flames were surrounding the edges of the door panel. Firemen sprayed water on the panel, pulled the panel off the door, and continued to apply water until the fire was extinguished. Thankfully, my wife was able to stop and exit the car quickly. Had she been in heavy, fast-moving traffic, it could have been a life-threatening situation. Also, the non-availability of firemen would have resulted in much more fire- damage to the car and possibly an explosion.
I was driving the rav4 in april 2011 and again on september 14, 2012 when the same incident occurred.the first time there was no warning, the battery light did not come on, first the radio quit playing and then the car went dead as I was moving in traffic. Needless to say it was very stressful being struck in traffic. Thanks to some kind ladies, the car was pushed out of the way. We suspected it was a battery malfunction, although the battery was only 8 months old. We took the battery to place of purchase and they tried to charge it, it would not charge so they replaced the battery for free because it was still under warranty. On friday, september 14 I was driving in heavy traffic and this time the battery light came on for a few minutes, then the radio went out and the car died. This was extremely stressful as traffic was speeding behind me and I was afraid I would get rear ended. Once again there were two females that helped me push the car out of traffic. Once again the battery was replaced as it was still under warranty, however this time the battery light will not go out. After doing some investigating, I believe the problem stems from the rav 4 's electrical steering and the fact that it pulls to much power. There is not reason why the car should just quit while your driving in traffic. It is hard to trust the vehicle when it suddenly stops in traffic and will not start again.
The car filled with the smell ,and smoke of burning wire.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH burning fumes were emitted into the vehicle and smoke started to come out from the door. The contact mentioned that right before he was able to stop the vehicle it engulf into flames. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 55,000.
Was driving normal - only a few minutes after ignition - strange scent of plastic burning. Looked down to find a thick white smoke coming from window switches, flame seen through cracks. Had to pull over immediately @ gas/service station to extinguish the flame - I had no liquid to extinguish at time of incident. Went directly to toyota dealership and dropped off vehicle. They are saying there is no recall - so they would not purchase me a rental had to pay for it myself. I found these links right away once I got in front of a computer: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/toyota-recalling-778000-rav4-suvs/np8cr/ this is the latest issue for the popular rav4, which is currently involved in a government investigation of door fires that have been linked to power window switches. Http://wot.motortrend.com/burning-toyota-camryrav4-window-switches-prompt-the federal safety agency-investigation-168895.html end of report.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, there was smoke and a burning smell coming from the driver side electrical panel. The vehicle was pulled into a tire shop and the fire was extinguished. The vehicle was later taken to the dealer who advised that they would need to replace the control panel because all of the wires were melted. The manufacturer was notified who sent out a representative to inspect the failure, advising the contact that they would respond within thirty days. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 74,120.   ..updated 09/12/12 *bf updated 09/12/2012
I was driving when suddenly I saw smoke coming out of the power window switch on the driver's-side door. When I stop to check I saw fire inside the door. I immediate ask for assistance. When he uncover the switch it has a nickel side hole. There is no major damage to my vehicle other than the switch not working or my windows. I really think I was lucky that I was near my brothers home when this happen. If I was somewhere (like the freeway) I really taught my whole car would of caught on fire and lucky my child was not in the vehicle with me.
My 2007 rav4 driver side rear window wont go up and down. The driver side control switch for the rear driver side window does not move. The switch for the rear driver side window on the back door does not work all the time. When it does work just one tap and the rear window (driver side) goes down all the way by its self. The other three switches for the windows and the other three windows seem to work and respond how they should. Only problem is with the rear window and the switch on both the driver door and the rear window door (driver side). Also while driving to work driving aprox 10 MPH my rear passenger side wheel bent in toward the wheel well. The tie rod was broke and the tie rod was very rusted . The dealer said it was a freak occurrence and fixed it while under warranty. Problem is that the other side of the rear suspension (driver side) is also rusted but they did not fix it at the same time. This happened june 14th at about 6:10 am I was not told of the recall of this tie rod issue at the time of it getting fixed . They played it off as it were a freak occurrence.. Toyota/scion dealer of berlin city toyota.
This just happend to me on the morning of 07/26/2012. I was on a business trip and leaving the airport. As I was about to pay my parking fee the driver side door started smoking and I saw a small fire starting to flare up on the driver's seat door by the window switch. I turned off the car and within 3 minutes the whole door was up in flames.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the driver's side door caught on fire inside of the door panel. The vehicle had not been diagnosed by a dealer at the time. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 107,802.
The driver door's window/lock control panel spontaneously caught fire while I was operating the vehicle. I was not using the controls at the time. I could hear the sound of burning and feel heat behind the panel, however no actual flames came outside of the panel. Copious amounts of smoke began to billow from the openings in the control panel. I stopped the car and turned off the ignition. After several seconds the sound of burning ceased. The smoke continued to billow from the openings in the control panel for a couple of minutes. I called the toyota dealer where I purchased the car and was told by the service department to come in. I restarted the car and drove about one mile to the dealership. While I was driving small amounts of smoke continued to come out through the openings in the control panel. At the dealership they placed some kind of "lock" on the driver's side control for the front passenger window. I have since seen the actual control mechanism. A portion of the electrical component is charred, and where this char is there is a hole burned through the plastic enclosure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav-4. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, smoke started to emit out of the driver side door panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was not able to diagnose the problem. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 59,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. While parked, the front driver's side door ignited into flames. The fire department reported to the scene and a report was filed. The fire began in the front driver's side power master switch. There was an investigation open under the federal safety agency action number: pe12002 (electrical system) that may be related to the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
When I turned the car on a smell emanated and smoke came from the window switch area of the front driver door. The passenger side window would no longer work. The smell lingered but the smoke stopped.
Master window switch burned and emitted smoke with high concentration of irritating fumes throughout the SUV while enroute in maryland.
It was a sunny day, and I drove my 2007 rav4 at the speed of 40 miles per hour. Suddenly, I heard a noise ziiiii from the master window switch at the driver side. I saw an electrical fire at the master window switch at the driver side. The smoke came out from the master window switch. I pulled over my car, turned off the engine and left the car. When the flame went out, I saw a burned hole about quarter size in the switch. Note: there is no water leaked / coffee spilled inside the switch. I went to toyota dealer. The mechanics stated that the fuse did not blow out. Dealer denied to replacing the switch without charging.
Neutral start switch hidden within the confines of the engine management system can fail to work and thus not send a signal to start the engine. According to the head mechanic, the defect is uncertain why it happens other than the standard response that it is normal aspect of wear. I don't agree, since the component is under no stress like for example a spark plug. Thank you for looking in the matter. *tr
My wife started vehicle in garage to warm it up when she smelled smoke. She then noticed smoke and flames coming from the drivers side window/power lock switch area. She poured her cup of coffee on the flames to extinguish them. Vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who had to replace the drivers side master window switch which had burnt up.
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 purchased a new 2007 rav4 from toyota of braintree in 2007. 1. In 2009 I could hear wind in the driver's window; I took the vehicle to be checked, toyota service department said I was hearing things. 2.the driver's door caught fire (I had the keys with me) I had to spend $606.01 to fix it, toyota said there was water intrusion (I thought, it probably was, because of the air leak previously reported in 2009) 3. The steering wheel felt strange when I drove, I took it back for service, the diagnosis was steering shaft internal failure which needed to be replaced; I fought to get that fixed out of warranty. 5. On november 25, 2011 I was driving, the window fell in on me and on november 26, 2011, I had to have the driver's side window regulator replaced for $338.30 7. Now, oil is leaking into the muffler. (I purchase oil frequently) this vehicle is only 4.5 years old and should not have any of these major problems, when I purchased this rav4, it was going to be my last vehicle purchase because toyota advertises longevity of their products. I also know people who drive 1990 and 1995 toyota products who have never had any of these problems. I was also treated very poorly during some of my repair visits. After the door caught on fire, I had a meeting with the owner of toyota of braintree, [xxx] but his resolution was giving me $13,000.00 for my vehicle (which I own) and me purchasing a brand new vehicle, which meant I would have a monthly payment. I did contact toyota headquarters in california and filed a complaint and never received any resolution. Since then I received a letter from the national center for dispute settlement stating they can't help me. Thank you for any assistance, sincerely, toyota rav4 owner. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav-4. The contact stated that the front driver's door caught on fire. The vehicle had been inspected by the dealer and the contact removed all of the switchs and fuses from the door. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 80,000. The VIN was not available.
I was driving home from work last january 19 at 5pm I saw my window that it looks like so hot outside and when I tried to open it,I saw a flame coming out from the left power switch. I was so scared because it looks like it was getting big so I stop my car ,turn off my engine,get out of the car and call 911. When police and fire department arrived, the fire or flames gone. It was so strange and scary. Good thing I never got hurt and I turned off the engine right away. I file this complaint because I just want you to be aware so that you guys can do any solution for this matter and I don't want anybody to experience what happen to me. Police report # 12-024482.
Master window power switch caught a fire in august 2011. It had been giving me problems since july 2009. Toyota would not fix it because to many miles. How does a power window stop working on a 2007 rav4 when it only two years old. Faulty master power switch. It had a burn hole the size of a dime. I'm glad I took a picture of it. The first time I saw smoke was june 2011. I was so afraid to drive the fire trap I traded it in for a new car. The rav4 was paid off now I have a car loan at 19.9%.
After driving for approximately 15 minutes, I saw a small amount of smoke coming from the drivers door panel and it smelled like an electrical fire. Afterwards, the drivers side power window switch and the passenger side power window switch was not functional. The passenger window would only let down (very slowly) but wouldn't go back up. I took the vehicle to a toyota service center and they showed me that the main power window switch on the drivers side had a hole burned into it the size of a dime. The service manager said he had never seen anything like this before. Prior to this the passenger window switch was replaced twice between september 2010 and november 2010. However, the replacements still never took care of the problem of the passenger window switch intermittently working. In fact, a couple months ago I was just at the dealership complaining that I was still have the problem with the window switch on the passenger side intermittently working. I never guessed that my car could catch on fire! Now I'm a little worried about driving my vehicle! Updated 11/17/11 *bf updated 06/06/12
Electrical fire starting inside master window control switch. I was cleaning my car with the ignition on battery power (in order to listen to the radio). After approximately 30 minutes I noticed a burnt plastic smell, considerable smoke pouring out of the driver's door and a small tongue of flame from the same place. The source of the fire was (later found to be) the white electrical connector, for the front passenger window master control, where the physical window switch meets the circuit board. I was not touching any window or other controls at the time or within 15 minutes before the fire. The fire stopped rapidly after I took the keys out of the ignition, disconnected the battery cables, popped off the master switch assembly with a screwdriver and then smothered the controls with a wet towel. All the vehicle's windows were inoperable after that. I brought the vehicle to my local toyota dealership. They performed an inspection and reported that they were 'mystified' as to the cause. The service manager's words were: 'I've never seen anything like that in my 25 years working on cars.' the property damage was confined to the master switch assembly and cost $422 to replace. Toyota refused to pay for this.
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.
1. While driving a 2007 toyota rav4 at low speed, the steering wheel lock engaged, instrument cluster lights flashed and the radio silenced for about 5 seconds. The car was able to be safely stopped. Normal steering resumed radio came back on and cluster lights stopped flashing. The car was driven approximately 2-3 miles and parked for apprx. 1 hour. 2. The car would not start, again no radio, but lights were illuminated to full brightness. No warning/fault light was illuminated. The car was "jump-started". When pulling out of the parking stall, the steering wheel lock engaged again. A tow truck was called. The car engine remained running normally. 3. While loading the car, the tow truck driver had the steering wheel lock engage and disengage repeatedly 4 - 5 times. The toyota of walnut creek (california) technician states that the problem is a discharged battery, causing the electric power steering assist to not operate and stated that the steering wheel lock cannot engage while the car is in motion. The problem was that the steering wheel lock did engage, not a lack of steering assist. The technician stated he "cannot duplicate" the problem.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav-4. The contact stated the vehicle would not start and received a jump start. After receiving the jump start and driving 15 MPH, the power steering locked and the power steering warning light began to sporadically illuminate. The dealer advised the contact that the battery would need to be replaced to correct the failure. The battery was replaced. The contact was concerned with the safety of a recurring failure if driving on the highway and the potential of a crash. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 45,000.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2007 Toyota RAV4?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history