2008 Toyota RAV4: jerking or lurching

Filed Dec 1, 2015 · Steering · 89,000 miles · PA

Having just exited I-95, I was turning the steering wheel to the right to pull up to the curb at the philadelphia airport to pick up a passenger. Upon doing so, the steering column made a loud pop or clunk sound, and the steering wheel immediately lurched approximately 6-8" to the left - and nearly out of my hands - almost causing me to crash into the crowd at the curb. After this sound occurred, the steering wheel (as in a previous complaint in 2013) was still operational, however was able to move approximately 6 - 9" up, down, right, or left while still remaining operable. Upon taking the vehicle to the toyota dealership, I was asked if I had been in a front-end collision (answer, "never"), as a factory weld had failed that keeps the steering column attached to a safety rod in the dash. Repairs are expected to run approximately $3,700. Matter has been sent to toyota corporate, however no word has come back. It appears as if I will be responsible for the full repair cost, despite failure in factory weld. Apparently no fail-safes are in place should this weld fail, such that a very dangerous situation arises, especially if this had happened three minutes earlier when I was in very heavy interstate traffic, instead of just having exited, and moving at 10 MPH or less.

Filed Apr 12, 2015 · Acceleration · 70,733 miles · VA

While stopped at a light waiting to turn left the rav4 engine began to rev and lurched forward with driver's foot still on the brake. Driver put car into neutral while holding down the brake pedal to prevent the car hurtling into the intersection. Driver then turned off the car and put gear shift to park. After 30 seconds restarted the car with foot on brake and the engine began to rev again with car in park. The engine noise was very loud. Car was again turned off. Car was restarted after about 2-3 minutes and engine behaved normally. Owners took car to toyota dealer within an hour of the incident. Toyota dealership ran diagnostic and manager said driver had foot on the accelerator when it happened which is certainly not true. Dealer would not release a copy of the diagnostic report. Owners have had all recall work done on the vehicle and have done regular maintenance as required in the owner manual.

Filed Mar 22, 2015 · Engine, Transmission · 70,733 miles · VA

While stopped at a light waiting to turn left the rav4 engine began to rev and lurched forward with driver's foot still on the brake. Driver put car into neutral while holding down the brake pedal to prevent the car hurtling into the intersection. Driver then turned off the car and put gear shift to park. After 30 seconds restarted the car with foot on brake and the engine began to rev again with car in park. The engine noise was very loud. Car was again turned off. Car was restarted after about 2-3 minutes and engine behaved normally. Owners took car to toyota dealer within an hour of the incident. Toyota dealership ran diagnostic and manager said driver had foot on the accelerator when it happened which is certainly not true. Dealer would not release a copy of the diagnostic report. Owners have had all recall work done on the vehicle and have done regular maintenance as required in the owner manual.

Filed May 22, 2014 · Acceleration, Body · 7,048 miles · OH · crash

I was pulling into my garage. I took my foot off the accelerator and went for the brake and the car suddenly lurched forward and struck a folded deck chair which was pushed through the garage wall.

Filed Apr 10, 2014 · Engine · 95,000 miles · CA

At around 80k miles my mechanic noticed the engine was burning up oil too quickly and advised I bring it in more often for him to check the oil and to add if needed. He did this for me until one day all the dashboard lights came on and he told me my engine was shot. I purchased a 100k warranty and when I took it into toyota they said they would run a test and to come back in 1200 miles. The parts manager even admitted that this was a very common problem with the 2008 fleet of 4 cylinder engines! As soon as I left the engine cut out while I was on the freeway. Towed the car back to toyota, they kept it there a month waiting for the warranty tech to come inspect the engine. He claimed I did not maintain my engine and that the warranty would not cover any costs. I ended up selling the car to a mechanic at the shop for 800$ this covered the bill toyota sent me for having the vehicles engine taken apart, they were going to charge me to put it back together but was offered the money from an employee to take it off my hands. I bought this car brand new in 2008 with the 100k warranty, I hate toyota and will never purchase a vehicle from them ever again and I tell everyone I know to stay clear from these jerks.

Filed Sep 9, 2013 · Suspension, Wheels · 64,504 miles · TN

Rear suspension arm broken while traveling approx. 70 MPH. There was a high probability of a rollover with this incident. Three separate times the vehicle made a very sharp jerks toward the ditch/median. The only reason we did not rollover was the driver at the time was very experienced and had to fight to gain control of the vehicle.

Filed Jul 1, 2013 · Steering · 65,000 miles · FL

While driving the steering becomes tight does not smoothly go into a curve as if the steering needs to be lubricated throws off the vehicle because I have to jerk the wheel.I am afraid I'm going to have a crash due to this.

Filed Dec 18, 2012 · Acceleration · 40,000 miles · NJ · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav-4. The contact stated that while sitting idle with the brakes depressed, the vehicle suddenly accelerated as the engine rpms abnormally increased. The contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle, causing that vehicle to crash into a third vehicle. The contact was not injured. The police were contacted and a report was filed. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer for diagnosis. The technicians were unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and advised her that they would send an investigator to inspect the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were approximately 40,000. The consumer stated there were numerous occassions when the vehicle would lurch into gear. The consumer discovered this was called jack rabbit starts. The consumer no longer owns the vehicle. Updated 03/29/2013

Filed Dec 30, 2011 · Acceleration, Transmission · PA · crash

The vehicle, a 2008 toyota rav 4, was sitting at a complete stop at a red light with operator's foot on the brake waiting for the light to change. Inexplicably and suddenly the engine revved to a high RPM and the vehicle lurched forward and struck the rear bumper of the vehicle in front. The collision was low speed and there were no injuries and no noticeable damage to either vehicle. We immediately drove the vehicle to the toyota dealership for evaluation.

Filed Mar 2, 2010 · Acceleration · 24,000 miles · NH

I am the owner of a 2008 rav4. I was traveling with cruise control at 50 MPH as I approached a down grade toward a traffic light I manually took the car out of cruise control expecting to slow some. I realized that I needed to slow more and applied the brake pedal. However, I could feel the car fighting the brakes. I put the car into neutral and was able to stop for the lights. When I did this the engine was racing while stopped. When the light changed I put the racing engine into drive. I jerked forward and has been ok since. I reported this to the dealer. I was told that another owner of the same year and model reported a similar event that day. This is different than the runaway cars reported in the news, as the car did not accelerate to max speed. Toyota seems not to be responding to cars made before 2009. I think this is a computer problem where the cruise control did not turn off and the stepping on the brakes did not take it out of cruise control either. On feb 19 I reported this to the toyota dealer and was told that another person had reported this same type of thing that same day. They look for error codes but found none.

Filed Feb 22, 2010 · Engine · 23,800 miles · NY

Idle speed kicked up unexpectedly at a stop light. The engine was close to full operating temperature, about 1.5 miles from home. The air conditioning was not on. The defroster was also not on, so there was no reason for the idle to kick up. Vehicle was stopped at a light behind another vehicle at an intersection. It lurched forward, but was easy to hold back with the brake. I then put my left foot on the brake and released my right foot to be sure that both brake and accelerator were not being pressed simultaneously. The high idle continued, about 1100 RPM in drive. I then put the vehicle in neutral and the tachometer read 1300-1400 initially, then slowly dropped to about 1000. Once back in drive it dropped to about 800 RPM, which is normal operation. It has never done this before or since. That particular intersection has power lines and/or transformers that have interfered with my am radio in other vehicles, but not this one.

Filed Feb 9, 2010 · Acceleration · 250,000 miles · CT

I have a toyota 2008 rav 4. In october of 2009 I had the first of several intermittent sudden acceleration incidents, almost taking out a parking garage gate. After accelerating, then removing my foot from the gas, the car will occasionally have a burst of sudden acceleration and lurch forward. I contacted the dealer in october of 2009- they said it must be user error or the floor mats. I removed floor mats, still had the problem. The dealer said there is no problem, but adjusted the electronics. Problem continues intermittently. I contacted the dealer again in january and february 2010, they said they acknowledge the problem but it isn't covered under the recall- they won't do anything to fix it. I received the same answer from the toyota hotline.