5.3

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,717 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2007 Toyota RAV4 transmission problems

transmission problem

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2007 Toyota RAV4 Owner Comments

problem #11

Apr 232010

RAV4 6-cyl

  • 28,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2007 6 cyl Rav4 has under 30K miles on it. Was fine and after sitting un-driven in my garage for 3 weeks, now the check engine light, vsc, and 4 wheel drive lights stay on. The transmission no longer shifts into overdrive (stays in 4th gear) at highway speeds. Random delayed acceleration when making slow speed turns (usually at intersections or passing in slow moving rush-hour traffic) resulting in sudden acceleration. No accident - yet. Have appointment to have the dealer look at it.

- Blue Bell, PA, USA

problem #10

Mar 222010

RAV4

  • 20,750 miles
Toyota 2007 Rav4 with 20,000 miles, since I purchased has had some issues with the acceleration lurching forwrd both while barely touching the gas pedal or turning corners, and going up a small hill or a large hill. Ive still got the warranty till may2010, they checked it out and couldnt find anything wrong. Hello Toyota ! now im reading about all these transmission problems that Rav4 isnt disclosing to the public! the service knows about the problem so why wont they fix I " im on a disability and need safe reliable transportation. Where do I stand ? what do I do next? it may be the transmission or cps? im sitting here with the proof that it was looked at. As I drove it home from school yesterday and turning a corner going on an incline it lurched forward, that isnt good for me or the car and they wont fix it it only happens once and awhile wwhat do I do "

- Concord, NH, USA

problem #9

Feb 012010

RAV4

  • 24,000 miles
I have an automatic, 6-cylinder 2007 Toyota Rav4 limited AWD, that suffers from throttle/transmission lag of 1-2 seconds. I experience it most commonly when merging into traffic or changing lanes, when I depress the accelerator to speed up, there is an uncomfortably long delay before the transmission changes gears. The result is I am left hanging out in a lane with no power or speed. When the transmission or throttle finally kicks in, the car lurches violently, almost causing me to lose control. I and many owners have complained but have been told that this is normal operation. By the way, I also own a 2008 Honda Accord automatic and have never experienced anything like this in the Honda. I would like this to be looked at and fixed.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #8

Jun 172009

RAV4

  • 11,491 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At low RPM the accelerator and/or the transmission has a noticeable lag. This occurs approx 50 % of the time. Several times it has put me into a dangerous situation when trying to blend into traffic. Most recently I was taking my son to college and was almost hit by a truck on the penn turnpike. I have brought it in twice to the dealer only to be told that a road test showed "normal operation of the accelerator". I recently did a web search and found that Toyota has stopped selling rav 4 with V6 engines in australia for just this problem. In June, while also driving my son to college I had the air conditioner on for about 4 hours of a 11 hour drive. The driver side floor, and to a lesser extent the passenger side floor, flooded. Upon my arrival I dried it out the best I could using hotel towels. A musty smell lasted about a day or two then subsided. Driving back home several days later it rained for most of the trip and again the car flooded. I brought it to the dealer since it was under warranty. They told me that weep vents under the vehicle for the air conditioner and moon roof were clogged thereby directing the water into the vehicle. The cleaned it up as best they could but that the musty smell was stronger now. To get rid of that would require pulling the seats and rugs to properly clean the vehicle and that would cost approx $250. I opted not to do that and drove for the next week with the air conditioner on to dehumidify the car. I checked to owners manual and found no mention of cleaning these weep holes/vents, and it is not part of the dealers maintenance policy to clean them. The owners manual did mention that if the floor was to get wet then there was a safety issue with the side airbag and curtain shield airbag activating correctly (page 379 of owners manual). Water may also get into audio components or other electrical components above or under the floor carpet and cause malfunction and it may cause body corrosion.

- Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

problem #7

Nov 072009

RAV4 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20,520 miles
2007 Rav4 w/4cyl engine and automatic transmission. While accelerating into traffic, throttle became stuck. The pedal did not respond to my foot. It was stuck in "down" position. I managed to shift the transmission into neutral and with engine revving widely shut the motor off. I am very lucky there was light traffic at the time. Note that I immediately checked for floor mat interference with pedal and the mat was not near the pedal. This throttle stuck as if mechanical linkage or throttle-related device had held it in place.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #6

Feb 282009

RAV4

  • miles
When I turn my car off, but leave the key in the ignition to keep the radio on for my passenger while I am out of the car, sometimes I forget to take the car out of drive and put it into park. I do not use the emergency brake. Several times when I have done this, the car has rolled backwards. Usually, I notice it before I step out of the car, and I put on the brakes and put the car in park. Last week, however, I got out of the car. Luckily, the passenger was able to put the car in park before the car rolled into something. If I had left a child in the car, there might have been terrible consequences.

- Bear, DE, USA

problem #5

Aug 152007

RAV4 4WD 6-cyl

  • 20 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I own a 2007 Toyota Rav4 limited 4WD V6 and the transmission does not shift correctly at low speeds. A typical example of the problem is seen after slowing down to make a turn onto another street. The transmission does not shift out of overdrive, so when attempting to accelerate, the engine speed increases and the vehicle does not move. The computer then realizes that the car is trying to accelerate and "slams" into gear. This condition also occurs in traffic and making lane changes is very dangerous at low speeds. I have complained to Toyota's technical service hotline and had the lead service technician at my local dealer ride with me to see the problem I have been experiencing. I have been told that the car is "within normal operating parameters", but after looking at several web sites, I have seen that this a worldwide issue with every Camry, sienna, avalon, Rav4 and Tundra built in the past several model years. The local service tech told me that in his 28 years of repairing Toyota vehicles, he has never seen problems like this and the cars are being designed in such a way that a mechanic cannot fix the car. I complained about this problem within the first 5000 miles of ownership, and after 18 months, there still isn't a fix or admission from Toyota that there is a problem that needs to be addressed with the Rav4, although they have released tcm updates for some Camry and avalon vehicles to correct this very issue.

- Williston, VT, USA

problem #4

Dec 012006

RAV4

  • miles
I am also experiencing a consistent problem with my 2007 Toyota Rav4 with a lag in acceleration. I notice it the most when slowing down to about 10 mph to make a turn. As I come out of the turn and press the accelerator, the car does nothing for a couple of seconds. Then the engine revs up and finally lurches forward. I started noticing this problem just a couple of days after purchasing my vehicle. It is very annoying and totally screws with the gas mileage. It's also one of the reasons why I hate automatic engines and wished that Toyota offered these vehicles with manual transmissions. The "automatic" transmission isn't all that automatic and seems to take some time to catch up with how you're driving and what you need the car to do.

- Vienna, VA, USA

problem #3

Aug 102007

RAV4 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 89,079 miles
Transmission has gone up. No excessively hard driving in the past. Apparently transaxle shift not shifting into gear.

- Salisbury, MD, USA

problem #2

Feb 132007

RAV4 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 530 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While driving at a speed of 45 mph and trying to accelerate to pass a vehicle the transmission shifts to a passing gear but the vehicle will swerve to the right within 100 feet. A representative of Toyota and a regional manager drove the vehicle and experienced the exact problem. After two suspension alignments, the problem had not been corrected. The manufacturer still says that this is normal. The failure mileage was 530. The current mileage was 3000.

- Sequim, WA, USA

problem #1

Nov 012006

RAV4 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The loud sound appeared clearly like a flute sound when I pressed the gas pedal, especially when going 30 to 45 mph. When I released gas pedal the sound goes away, but when I press the gas pedal again, the loud flute sound appears again.

- Rosemead, CA, USA

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