2010 Toyota RAV4: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 30, 2017 · Transmission · 93,000 miles · OH

The vehicle jerks visciously when shifting. This occurs when driving up a hill and the transmission down shifts from 3rd to 2nd or when accelerating from 1st to 2nd when turning a corner or when going in reverse while traversing up any type of in line. This is a sporadic problem that began occurring at around 93,000 miles. The vehicle now has 128,000. I initially thought that the transmission was failing but I thought the mileage was way too low for that type of problem to occur. I had the transmission fluid changed at 94,000 miles. This action made no difference. Recently I began researching on the web and have found information pointing to the ECM (electronic control module). Either solution is an extremely costly repair. I am interested to know if there are other people who are experiencing similar problems and if toyota has any responsibility for repairs?

Filed Mar 24, 2017 · Brakes, Engine · 92,500 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2010 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 3 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle's rpms increased, causing the vehicle to jerk forward. The contact applied more brake pressure than normal, which caused the vehicle to stop and the rpms to decrease. The vehicle functioned normally. The contact informed the dealer who stated that, due to the age of the vehicle, the fuel injectors may need cleaning or replacing. The vehicle was not officially diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 92,500.

Filed Jan 29, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 48,320 miles · CA

After completing a 5 block downhill drive in second gear with little use of either the accelerator or the brake, I then braked as I turned into my garage in order to park my vehicle. As I entered my garage and while still braking and at slowing speed the vehicle's engine suddenly accelerated and the vehicle lurched forward violently. I immediately applied heavy brake pressure and up shifted in an attempt to take the vehicle out of gear. My braking may have slowed, but did not stop, the vehicle's forward acceleration. When I put the vehicle into park, the wheels locked, forward progress stopped (just in front of the back wall of my garage), and I shut the engine off using the ignition switch. I did not think of trying to turn off the ignition switch first and I did not have time for different options; I had only a few seconds to get the vehicle under control or it would have hit the back wall of my garage. Once the engine was stopped, I waited a few seconds, restarted the vehicle (which started normally), and then backed into my parking space. I have not used the vehicle since. The consumer stated he experienced sudden acceleration twice in 4 years. Updated 04/08/14

Filed Jan 1, 2012 · Acceleration · VA

I was stopped at a stoplight at about 4:00 pm with my foot fully on the brake. While waiting for the light to change, the car went into a high idle. I pressed the brake pedal firmly, but the car was lurching, trying to accelerate. I put the car into park and it made a horrible noise. It stayed in high idle for several more seconds, but then seemed to kick itself out of that idle. I thought the car may have died. The light turned green, so I gently put it into drive (again thinking that it may have died), but it was still running, so I drove across the intersection, went to a parking lot, and called the dealer. The service advisor said that I should have the car towed in (at my expense), which was not acceptable to me. I called the toyota 800 number and they also said that they would not pay for any of the expenses. They said that if something was found wrong with the car, they would reimburse me. I drove the car to the dealership that night. The advisor told me that they would need to keep the car until the regional manager could come, which would be several days. They called me the next afternoon to say that the dealership had run all tests, and found nothing wrong with the car, and that they had never heard of the rav 4 having this issue. They said they could keep the car until the regional manager could come, which was now estimated to be 2-3 weeks. They said he would run the exact same tests on the vehicle as they had run. I went and picked up the vehicle. I went into the dealership yesterday and met with the service and sales managers. They advised me that though they were not saying they didn't believe me about the incident, they could not duplicate the problem, so there was nothing else they could do, except to help me get out of my lease and into another toyota vehicle. I opted to trade my rav 4 in and am now leasing a camry.

Filed Dec 28, 2011 · Acceleration, Brakes · 35,200 miles · CA

At approximately 18:30 on december 27, 2011, I experienced an unintended acceleration event in my 2010 toyota rav4. I was stopping for a red light on pacific coast highway in seal beach, california at the corner of first street when I noticed it was difficult to apply the brake, and the car did not appear to want to stop. I applied the brake more forcefully and was eventually able to stop in the left hand turn lane, however the car kept lurching forward as if it wanted to break free of the brake. Having heard the widespread publicity regarding the unintended acceleration problem in toyota vehicles, and having previously experienced the problem on one occasion over a year earlier, I thought this might be the issue. I put the car into park and the engine immediately revved up to an alarming rate. I turned off the ignition in panic before I was able to look at the tachometer. However, judging by the sound and later experimentation with revving while parked, I believe the RPM must have been in the 4000-5000 range at the time of the incident. I was particularly shaken by this event because I had already had the recall service performed that was supposedly intended to address the unintended acceleration issue. This recall service was performed may 10, 2011 at desert toyota in tucson, arizona. I had experience the unintended acceleration issue once before, but it was not nearly as dramatic. I do not recall the details, but it was in southern arizona in early 2011 and my memory is that tapping the accelerator and brake pedals restored the car's operation to normal fairly quickly. I was little concerned about it happening again since the recall service had been performed.

Filed Jan 9, 2011 · Acceleration · 1 miles · NJ · crash

I have a toyota rav 4 2010. Several times when I have come to a stop and then shifted into park, the car starts to accelerate on its own as if it were racing top speed.I slammed on the brakes. I tried to shift into neutral . The car lurched forward and crashed into the snow bank in front of me as I turned the car off. This happened two other times as I was trying to park today. I tried calling the dealership but they were closed. Don't know what they will do. I need the car for work tomorrow, but am hesitant to drive it anywhere of course.

Filed Sep 24, 2010 · Transmission · 7,500 miles · VA

My vehicle is a 2010 toyota rav4-v6 with automatic transmission. While coasting or maintain a low speed of approximately 5mph, I press the accelerator and the vehicle hesitates about 3-5 seconds. During the hesitation, the engine revs high and the car does not accelerate. At the end of the hesitation, the transmission goes into gear with a thud and a jerk to the car. I was involved in three near-miss accidents while trying to merge into traffic since the vehicle would not move for the 3-5 seconds of hesitation. I searched the problem on the internet and found similar problems with other rav4 owners.

Filed Sep 7, 2010 · Acceleration, Engine · 3,100 miles · OH

On september 1 I was driving in a congested area approaching an intersection with stopped traffic. As I was applying my brakes I suddenly felt my 2010 toyota rav4 lurch forward - at first I thought I had been hit from behind, but a quick glance in my rearview mirror indicated the car behind me was still at a safe distance. I quickly turned off my radio to hear my engine roaring as I was continuing to apply the brakes. I then put the rav4 in neutral while the engine continued to roar. Once in neutral, the rav4 came to a stop. I then depressed the accelerator several times and the engine settled down. As I approached the intersection I was traveling at a slow rate of speed. When I applied the brakes the rav 4 was slowly coming to a stop until I felt the car lurch forward. Once I began applying the brakes I did not take my foot off the brake pedal, nor did I apply any pressure to the accelerator. In addition, my carpet mat was several inches away from the accelerator pedal at all times. In my mind, this is clearly an acceleration issue that easily could have resulted in an accident if I had not put the transmission into neutral. I also filed a complaint with toyota. The toyota case number is [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jul 2, 2010 · Acceleration · 9,752 miles · UT

On sunday, june 27 2010, we were traveling down a crowded canyon in our 2010 toyota rav4. (we previously brought the vehicle in to our local dealership pursuant to the safety recall.) my husband was driving while I was seated beside our toddler in the back seat. All of a sudden it sounded like somebody floored the accelerator. My husband became alarmed as he noticed the rpms immediately ramped up. We lurched forward. My husband's foot was not even on the accelerator. Fortunately, since my husband was about to brake, we were able to narrowly avoid a collision with the vehicle ahead of us. We contacted our local dealership to inspect the new toyota. They couldn't identify the cause of the incident, but they did indicate that it may have been a floor mat problem. We explained that the accelerator did not seem stuck and that we were traveling at an extremely slow rate of speed and then unintentionally accelerated. We continued to be concerned and so we contacted toyota. They explained that the device installed pursuant to the safety recall was intended to assist the accelerator in returning to an idle position. However, as we explained, the accelerator was in an idle position when this incident occurred. We continue to be scared to death to drive our new toyota rav4. This matter has recently been referred to arbitration.