Check a VIN

2011 Toyota RAV4 acceleration complaints

Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 69, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2011 Toyota RAV4 acceleration problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Jan 7, 2019 · Acceleration · 12,639 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 10 MPH and slowing down, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle independently accelerated. The vehicle was taken to umansky toyota (located at 1357 richmond rd, charlottesville, va 22911, (434) 509-4870) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due to driver error. The contact was informed that he may have accidentally depressed the brake and accelerator pedals simultaneously. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred twice. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 12,639.

Filed Jun 28, 2018 · Acceleration · 90,608 miles · CA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While the contact's spouse was parking the vehicle, it inadvertently accelerated. The driver attempted to stop the vehicle, but it crashed into a wall. There were no warning indicators illuminated. A police report was not filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was towed to puente hills toyota (17070 gale ave, hacienda heights, ca 91745, 877) 692-4047) where it was awaiting diagnostic testing and repairs. The contact stated that the front bumper was damaged. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 90,608.

Filed Jun 11, 2018 · Acceleration, Brakes · 123,000 miles · MA · crash · 1 injury

When backing up,my 2011 toyota rav4 accelerated hitting another vehicle causing the man behind his vehicle to be thrown and almost ran him over. He was taken away in an ambulance. My car was totaled and license suspended.there was no way I could have stopped my vehicle. Websites I have looked at for that year seems to confirm braking and unintended brake and acceleration accidents.

Filed Nov 28, 2017 · Acceleration, Transmission · 54,000 miles · KY · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While driving 2-3 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The contact was able to stop the vehicle. The contact accelerated independently again. The contact stated that the engine revved excessively. The contact also noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle, excessive leaking underneath the vehicle, and an abnormal noise coming from the engine. The contact was able to place the vehicle in drive and turned the vehicle off. The vehicle was towed to toyota of nicholasville (2100 lexington rd, nicholasville, ky 40356, (859) 887-4200) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000.

Filed Sep 15, 2017 · Acceleration, Brakes · 65,000 miles · ME

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While driving 10 MPH, the brakes failed to work and the vehicle accelerated. The contact shifted the gear into park and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer (berlin city toyota of portland, 191 riverside st #a, portland, me 04103; (207) 835-3452), but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

Filed Aug 14, 2017 · Acceleration · 83,000 miles · MA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While parking the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle surged forward independently. The vehicle crashed into the front of another vehicle. The failure was persistent. A police report was not filed and no injuries were sustained. The local dealer (benardi toyota 1626 worcester road, framingham, ma, 01702) was contacted and a diagnostic appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000. Updated 10/18/17*lj

Filed May 30, 2017 · Acceleration · 83,000 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While attempting to stop the vehicle at 30 MPH, the engine began to rev while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact also stated that the vehicle began to accelerate forward without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure recurred randomly. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Mar 3, 2017 · Acceleration · 28,559 miles · ID

Car sitting in parking lot. Started engine in park, engine suddenly accelerated had to turn ignition key off to stop engine from running at high speed. When restarted engine ran at normal idle speed. Checked floor mat and hoses on engine, all ok. Scheduled appointment with toyota dealer for 3/6/2017. Car has 28,563 miles on odometer and I am the original owner. Car is garaged, no accidents and is regularly serviced by toyota dealer. Outside temperature outside was 41 degrees. I checked the foot pedal (throttle) for free travel it was ok.

Filed Feb 7, 2017 · Acceleration · 76,000 miles · IL · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While in a parking area applying the brakes, the vehicle independently surged at a high rate of speed. The rpms raced and the contact's vehicle crashed into two other vehicles. A police report was filed. The driver sustained whiplash due to the failure, which required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a repair center to repair the damages and further inspect the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was waiting for a response to determine if they may be able to investigate the unintended acceleration failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.

Filed Nov 29, 2016 · Acceleration · 30,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While approaching a red light at 5 MPH, the vehicle began to accelerate independently although the brake pedal was being depressed. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was shifted into park to stop the vehicle from accelerating. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

Filed May 27, 2016 · Acceleration, Brakes · 64,000 miles · WA

I recently had the charcoal canister that filters gas fuels fail. This caused teh check engine light to come on. In addition though, this fault took out 2 safety systems due to this code. After the light came on my brake anti skid system and cruise control were inoperable. I complained to the dealer about this issue and was told this was normal. In my opinion, just because a check engine light comes on should not cause 2 safety systems to become inoperable! Why no disable the airbags too. The anti skid system helps you maintain stability on wet road. I live in the pacific northwest where the roads are wet a lot. I see failure of the cruise control is also a safety issue. I use cruise habitually so keep me under the speed limit. I had to drive without these 2 systems for a month till parts were available.

Filed Apr 26, 2016 · Acceleration, Engine · 45,000 miles · MN

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. When the contact depressed the brake pedal, the engine roared and the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who was unable to replicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall; therefore, they declined to help unless the dealer replicated the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Filed Apr 5, 2016 · Acceleration · 51,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While driving 3 MPH, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The vehicle was taken to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that there was no failure. The contact stated that the failure occurred twice. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.

Filed Apr 5, 2016 · Acceleration · 51,000 miles · CA

Car suddenly accelerated when slowing for a traffic light. Foot securely on the brake. Speed under 5 MPH. No floor mats or interference with the throttle of any kind.

Filed Feb 24, 2016 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 119,000 miles · MI

While driving 55-60 on a highway, my anti-skid warning light came on, the 4wheel drive light a half hour later, followed by the engine light aprx 1 hr later. The following morning, while driving, the cruise control went out on me, the car unexpectedly slowed and I noticed the cruise light flashing on and off. The remote start did not work on day #3, as I traveled to have the car repaired at serra toyota, traverse city, mi. The service tech told me that "the mechanic literally poured water out of the evap canister, we have seen other rav's w this problem and we have a bulletin on it, so toyota is aware. The canister is faulty, which allowed road water, (very wet, slushy roads at time), to get in and damage the wiring." the service tech also told me that the new canister/hose replacement system addresses this issue. I emailed toyota japan, they had "henry kerry of toyota executive headquarters, torrence, calif call me. Mr. Kerry stated that the problem was related to overfilling the gas tank. I told him that the tech said "(they) literally poured water out and they had seen this problem previously." mr. Kerry advised that "I should have talked to the service manager to get the factual info." bottom line: I feel that I should have been notified that electrical failure could occur, due to canister/hose failure and that a new part had been developed which, once installed, would prevent (road) water from shorting out the wiring. (the work order receipt states: ("water intrusion into evap system") thanks much,[xxx] 'information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).'

Filed Jan 27, 2016 · Acceleration, Engine · 67,259 miles · NJ

When braking, sudden acceleration occurred- seems to reset by letting up on brake and reapplying. Has happened on various locations and types of roads. While out of state dealership replace purge valve- seemed ok, but then on 1/25/16 was backing out of driveway had foot on brake and felt engine racing, put into park with racing engine, turned key off restarted and seemed ok had garage check could not find anything no codes showing currently back at dealership to put on their computer. This is an on-going issue for several months, but does not happen on any regular basis so it has not been identified by any garage yet. Please help

Filed Oct 11, 2015 · Acceleration, Engine · 55,500 miles · MD

Four unintended acceleration incidents has occurred with my toyota rav4. Recent incidents on 9/1415 (college park, md when brake applied at a red light with vehicle ahead; passenger/witness in car). High RPM and engine rev occurred; both feet on brake in attempt to keep car from advancing; put car in neutral and then park and engine stopped revving. And on 10/5/15 (damascus, md when brake applied at stop sign with vehicle ahead). Both feet on brake, car to neutral then to park. Actions did not stop engine rps. Turned key to turn off vehicle. Rubber mat (on top of toyota carpet mats) was removed before leaving the toyota service center on 9/15/15. Proving on 10-5-15 that the unintended acceleration problem is not a result of floor mats which toyota would like everyone to believe. Vehicle will be taken to darcar frederick md to filed second incident report on monday, 10/12/15 (delay because I left on travel 10/5/15). Intent will be to determine trade-in value of car and most likely purchase another vehicle. It's time that toyota recognize unintended accceleration problems with their rav4s.

Filed Apr 29, 2015 · Acceleration · 23,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. At a stop light with the brake pedal depressed, the engine suddenly began to rev very high and the RPM's increased. The contact quickly shut the engine off. After restarting the engine, the vehicle operated as normal. The contact indicated that the failure had recurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the failure was not able to be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 23,000.

Filed Feb 13, 2015 · Acceleration · 25,000 miles · CA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. When attempting to stop the vehicle, it lunged forward and crashed into another vehicle. A police report was filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was able to be driven away and was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 5/19/15

Filed Dec 15, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 20,501 miles · MN

I had 3 incidents of unintended acceleration (ua) with my 2011 rav4 within 3 weeks of each other in mar/apr 2014, 1 resulting in a minor accident. A complaint was made with the federal safety agency at that time. I went thru toyota's complaint procedure, including inspection by their field technician. They found nothing wrong with the vehicle. On dec 4 & 12th, 2014, I experienced 2 more ua incidents. Each time I was coming to a stop at an intersection & I stepped on the brake, but my vehicle kept moving forward, and I could hear the motor revving up very loudly. I had learned from the previous 3 experiences last spring to keep a distance behind vehicles whenever possible when coming to a stop, so as to avoid ramming into the vehicles in front of me by veering to either side of the vehicle if possible. I should not have to be afraid every time I drive my rav4, but I am. My rav4 has only 20500 miles on it and is like new. It makes me livid that toyota can just ignore/deny that there is a problem, especially after seeing all of the other similar complaints regarding ua on the federal safety agency site...kind of like general motors covering up their little ignition problem for 10 years, while so many people were injured or died.

Filed Sep 30, 2014 · Acceleration · 80,000 miles · RI

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While driving downhill at an unknown speed, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact shifted into neutral in order to slow down the vehicle. The gear was shifted back into drive and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The failure occurred twice. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Sep 3, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 21,100 miles · TX

Car failed to decelerate while brakes were being applied. Car continued to push forward while I was braking. Car had to be turned off to come to a complete stop. This is the second time this phenomena occurred. Both times the vehicle was taken immediately to the local toyota dealership. They claimed they found no issues with the car or its computer systems. Since toyota inspected the car and claimed they found no ABS event in the car's systems and claimed they could detect no computer system malfunction, I elected to trade in the car. I am reporting this because I want any potential future owner of this vehicle to be aware of these events.

Filed Aug 28, 2014 · Acceleration, Airbags · 37,000 miles · MD · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 5 MPH, the brakes failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into a building. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries reported. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for repair. The front bumper, the passenger side headlight, and the front grill were replaced. The technician was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.

Filed Jul 18, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 45,000 miles · OR

While approaching an intersection on a busy thoroughfare, the light turned yellow and at the last minute I decided against running the yellow light and applied my brakes very hard. The vehicle started to slow down but as I approached the stop line my vehicle continued to slowly move forward no matter how hard I pressed on the brake pedal. At first I thought my brakes had failed, but then I heard the whine of the engine and I realized that I was fighting against an accelerating engine. I put the vehicle in neutral which I thought would kick the accelerator back to normal but the engine was still revving quite high, but I was no longer moving forward. I then shifted to reverse and the vehicle started to back up even though my foot was still on the brake. At that point I placed the vehicle back into neutral and turned the engine off. After about 10 seconds, I restarted the engine and it performed normally. I drove 6 blocks to my destination, parked the car, called the dealership and had the vehicle towed there. I did not feel safe driving the vehicle, as I thought toyota had solved the problem of unattended acceleration. Obviously not. The car is currently at the dealership and I am waiting to hear from them as to what they find. From the reports I have read, I'm not holding my breath. They mentioned that they might have to call for an independent engineer to assess the vehicle, and that might take up to a week. I have no grudge against toyota, as I also own a 2002 camry which has been a fantastic car with no problems. I just don't believe that all the reports out there are because of loose floor mats, sticky accelerators or con artist trying to get money out of a big corporation. Please look into the electronics of these cars as something is not communicating right. Thank you.

Filed Jun 5, 2014 · Acceleration · NY · crash · 1 injury

2011 toyota rav 4. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle unintended acceleration. *smd the consumer stated she experienced sudden acceleration on august 15, 2013. She stated there was a car in front of her at a light, and she attempted to brake, but due to the unintended acceleration, she hit the vehicle in front of her. She suffered a fractured pelvis. Repairs to the vehicle exceeded $8,000 and thousands more in medical care. On feb 2, 2014, her husband attempted to park the vehicle, but when he applied the brake, the vehicle instead accelerated, and he crashed into a building. There were no injuries, but costly damage to the building and $2,000 damage to the vehicle. The consumer went to the dealer for help, and the service manager replicated the acceleration problem four separate times in the parking lot. He stated there was a software program called "smart stop" available for the 2006-2010 models and the same software was on the 2012-2014 models. An inspector was sent to examine the vehicle, and he stated there was nothing wrong with the vehicle, and the accidents, were simply their fault.

Filed Apr 13, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 25,900 miles · VA

While driving at speed the vehicle's stability, antilock brakes and traction control functions stop functioning and the indicator light for all turn on. The cruise control disengages which caused the car to decelerate rapidly. I was in traffic and was able to accelerate to avoid an accident. The accelerator and braking appear to work properly but I am unable to reengage the cruise control. This is exactly the same symptoms in the recall of the 2012 rav4 but the 2011 is not included.

Filed Apr 10, 2014 · Acceleration · 15,785 miles · MN · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stationary with the brake pedal being depressed, the engine rpms suddenly increased as the vehicle accelerated forward. The vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle. No injuries were reported and a police report was not filed. The contact also indicated that the failure was recurring. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 15,785.

Filed Mar 29, 2014 · Acceleration · 45,000 miles · MA · crash

On 2/17/14 I had an "unintended acceleration" event and hit a car. No one was hurt. I took my car to toyota and filed a report. On 2/22/14 toyota retrieved data from the vehicle chip and emailed me a copy. Data shows that I was braking during the entire 4.7 sec prior to collision. Upon braking, the motor RPM dropped to 800, then suddenly increased to 2000 while I continued braking, and stayed at 2000 until collision. A toyota case manager said that toyota had 30 days to respond. That has passed and I have received no response. My car may be unsafe. I cannot drive it for fear of harm to myself or others since nothing has been to correct the problem. My car is idle, causing me significant financial difficulty.

Filed Mar 25, 2014 · Acceleration · 10,710 miles · CA · crash

I was traveling down city street behind several cars & we were approaching a traffic light at intersection, my foot off the gas pedal letting car slow naturally. I heard the motor start revving up quickly, suddenly accelerating by itself. I pushed on the brakes, but car continued to rev up & lurched forward hitting the car in front of me. I pushed harder on the brakes, even trying to pump them but my car hit the car in front of me again & then my car finally stopped & I turned off the motor. What a scary situation!! Thank god no one was injured only damage to both vehicles! We filed a police report & I had the rav towed to the toyota dealer where it remains parked. I will not drive it again because I am scared to death of what could of or what might happen. A claim was filed with toyota headquarters, claim # [xxx]. A third party, engineer, came out to dealer's to inspect, check black box, etc. Of course, with an 18 page report & extensive checking he could not recreate problem, found nothing on black box, etc. & claims he feels safe to drive it. I am waiting to hear from toyota headquarters for their official word, which I doubt will be any different than the inspector's. Besides I could not get a copy of the report because he was hired by toyota! Not sure where to turn now. This was not the first time, the unintended sudden acceleration had occurred. On 3 or 4 other occasions, my rav did the same thing & luckily did not cause an accident. One time I threw the car into park as to stop it. The gas pedal & the brake were working fine, no sticking or no me putting my foot on the wrong pedal! The floor mats were original to vehicle & firmly attached to hooks. I had reported it to concord toyota on one occasion when I had an oil change, but they could not simulate the problem, so they stated there was no problem!! Obviously, there is a problem!! Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Feb 20, 2014 · Acceleration, Engine · 42,531 miles · SC

Came to stop sign and put my foot on the brakes - the engine began to accelerate and move the car forward. Had to put my foot hard on the brakes and put the car into neutral - and the engine stopped accelerating. This is the second time in a two week period that this has happened. Afterwards, the vehicle operated as expected with no problems. However, it is a very scary situation. I checked the floor mat and it was anchored correctly and away from the accelerator. And "no" my foot did not slip from the brake to the gas peddle. I had both feet hard on the brake to avoid jolting forward and hitting the vehicle in front of me.

VIN decoder

See the problems and recalls for an exact car

Buying a used 2011 Toyota RAV4?

Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.

Check its history