2009 Toyota RAV4: sudden unintended acceleration

Filed Aug 16, 2023 · Acceleration, Engine · TX

Four incidents of unintended acceleration , in all instances foot was on break petal NOT on gas petal, 3 instances vehicle was stopped at traffic light, last incident was pulling into a parking space foot on brake, in all instances braked hard and shifted vehicle into neutral and turned vehicle off to avoid collisions, personal injury and property damage

Filed Jan 7, 2020 · Acceleration · 104,300 miles · OH · crash

This complaint is the same type of problem identified in complaint #11297696. On 5 jan 2020 I was parking the rav 4 in a lot at the greene town center in beavercreek ohio. I pulled into a space which was head -to-head parking. I then backed up to straighten the car out between the designated white lined parking space. With my foot on the brake and the gear shift in one/low the car was edging forward when it all of a sudden accelerated and hit the front bumper of the car in front of it. Since that car was unoccupied a police call was made in an attempt to find the driver which was unsuccessful. A police report was filed. The damage to the honda odyssey (the car in front) was scrapes on the bumper. The responding officer left his card on the windshield of the honda. The damage to the rav 4 consists of a tear in the front bumper and some scrapes and repair costs have not been estimated. Toyota has not been contacted about this latest incident.

Filed Jan 7, 2020 · Acceleration · 104,300 miles · OH · crash

This complaint is related to and the same type of complaint as complaint #11297696. It also is a duplicate of complaint # 11297717 which I noticed when I printed it out deleted all but the first ten words of what happened. On 5 january 2020 I was parking the rav 4 in a large parking lot at the green town center in beavercreek, ohio. The parking lot was set up with head-to-head parking. I pulled into the space and backed-up to even the car out between the designated white lones. With my foot on the brake and the gear shift in the lowest gear I was edging forward when the rav 4 suddenly accelerated and hit the honda odyssey van in front of us.I was able t back the car up and since the honda was unoccupied we called the police who filed a report in beavercreek and left a crd on the honda's windshield. The damage to the van was bumper scrapes and the damage to the rav was bumper scrapes and a tear in the bumper. An estimate has not been made on repair costs and toyota has not been contacted.

Filed Dec 10, 2019 · Acceleration · 137,000 miles · CA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav4. While pulling into a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a brick wall. There were no injuries. A police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was not notified. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,000. The VIN was invalid.

Filed Aug 27, 2018 · Acceleration · 32,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 10 MPH and making a left turn, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and the engine rpms suddenly increased. The driver quickly switched the transmission into the neutral position in order to slow down the vehicle. The contact indicated that the failure occurred on three separate occasions. The failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The local dealer (page toyota, 21262 telegraph rd, southfield, mi) was notified of the failure, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 32,000.

Filed Aug 1, 2017 · Acceleration, Brakes · 77,000 miles · OH · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav4. While pulling into a parking space with the brake pedal depressed, the engine revved and caused the vehicle to accelerate. The vehicle lunged forward and landed into a nearby pool. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed and taken to the c&c dodge toyota dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealership stated that they were instructed by the manufacturer not to tend to the vehicle involving unintentional acceleration. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided case number: 1707311582. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000.

Filed Jan 8, 2017 · Fuel system · 100,600 miles · CT · crash

The car suddenly accelerated while turning, right, into a parking spot. I applied the brakes fully, but it wasn't enough to stop the car. The car hit another parked car then I was able to turn it off.

Filed Jun 1, 2016 · Acceleration · 47,000 miles · MA · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while reversing at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle was able to be stopped. On another occasion, the contact stated that after switching into the drive position, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. The contact sustained neck and back injuries that required medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed however, the body damage was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,000.

Filed Nov 24, 2014 · Acceleration · 37,000 miles · NJ

Coming to a red light I applied my brakes to slow the car and the brake felt a little hard and were very slow to react. Because I had allowed enough distance to the light I was able after a moment or to feel the car begin to stop. Very frightening because it felt like I was not going to be able to stop the car before the reaching the traffic light at the intersection. I reported the incident to my toyota dealer and they thought they needed to reset the computer. After checking it out they could not find any problem. Over the next two years this anomaly occurred several times and each time I had them check but no resolve was found. On 8-17-14 the dealership had me complete their survey of these occurrences and performed a series of diagnostics. Their conclusion was that my foot may have been hitting both the accelerator and brake simultaneously on those occasions plus they ask me to remove a rubber mat which had been over the car's accessory carpet mat. That rubber mat has remained out of the car ever since. I felt that both of those remedies could not have been the cause as if that were the case these incidents would have happened more frequently. My suspicion is that it is either electrical or mechanical anomalies that only occur rarely. I believe I have been fortunate to date that when these prior episodes have taken place the conditions were manageable. My primary concern is what if conditions were not so.. I.e. Highway travel at greater speed, heavier traffic, and wet or icy road conditions...a scenario that begs very serious, if not tragic, results...very frightening circumstances to ponder indeed. This unintended acceleration mystery needs to be more deeply addressed.

Filed Apr 2, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 33,960 miles · CA

While stopped at red light with right foot on brake, engine suddenly accelerated to very high RPM. Shifted to neutral and engine revved even higher. Turned off ignition. Signal turned green and since I was in traffic, decided to try to start engine again. Engine started and performed normally. Immediately drove to toyota dealer who said they could find nothing wrong. We are now afraid to drive this vehicle! Things could have been much worse had we been moving in traffic!

Filed Jul 6, 2012 · Engine · 33,870 miles · OH

While driving 25 MPH, I started to brake for a light. The car suddenly accelerated and it took both feet applied to the brakes to stop and avoid hitting the car in front of me. Ten minutes later, another sudden acceleration occurred, followed in rapid succession by a third acceleration.

Filed Oct 27, 2011 · Acceleration · 19,750 miles · SD

On sunday, august 28, 2011 at approximately 12 in the afternoon, I was driving my family's 2009 toyota rav4 with my wife and infant son, eastbound on highway 44 between winner, sd and platte, sd. With the vehicle's cruise control set at the speed limit of 65 MPH, I changed lanes and began to pass the truck ahead of our vehicle on this two-lane country road. Increasing the vehicle's speed to 70 MPH to complete the pass of the other vehicle and return to the eastbound lane, the toyota rav4 unintentionally accelerated to speeds in excess of 85 MPH. At the time of the sudden unintended acceleration, the pedal area was checked and confirmed to be clear of any obstructions, including the vehicle's driver-side floor mat. With the cruise control off and the brakes cautiously applied, the toyota rav4 would not slow down from its state of sudden unintended acceleration. It was determined that the only way to take back control of the vehicle was by completely pressing the brakes to the floor; however, the decrease in speed was gradual at best, and the engine continued to rev out of control. The vehicle's brakes were fully engaged in this way until the vehicle stalled out, partially onto the shoulder of the road at a speed just under 10 MPH. Again at this time, the pedal area was checked and confirmed to be clear of any obstructions, including the vehicle's driver-side floor mat. Over the last two years, the vehicle has had three accelerator pedal recall repairs and one floor mat recall repair completed and is not reprogrammable for the brake override system that is being installed in the newest toyota models. With no crash resulting from the aug. 28 incident, the vehicle was rejected for an inspection or any further services. As this was a very scary and traumatic situation for my family, the toyota rav4 has not been operated under the same driving conditions since the incident.