10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
28 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,646 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.

2009 Toyota RAV4 engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Toyota RAV4 Owner Comments (Page 5 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #10

Nov 102009

RAV4

  • 3,500 miles

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

While driving on interstate with cruise control set @ 70mph. And entering a reduced speed area, I disable cruise by tapping brakes. After traveling a few miles the car would accelerate at a fast rate on its own. I would then either tap the brakes again or turn off the cruise to stop the acceleration. This has happened at least 6 to 8 separate occasions. Last use of cruise was in November.

- Blue Springs, MO, USA

problem #9

Jan 112010

RAV4

  • 6,000 miles
Gas pedal stuck on my 2009 Rav4 and I hit the rear of the car in front of me at a 4 way stop. I was able to engage the brakes but the distance/time was too short for the brakes to over come the acceleration. In front of the car that I hit was a pedestrian crossing--if it were not for the car in front of me I would have struck pedestrians. Before the accident I did not detect any evidence of a problem. The pedal failure was a one time incident. After the accident (before the recall) it never occurred to me that there was a mechanical problem--I assumed somehow that I had my foot on both accelerator and brake. However after spending much time in my driveway I could not replicate having my foot push both the gas pedal and brake pedal. My wife and I agreed that she would drive the Rav4--and I would not. Soon after my accident the 2009 rav 4 recall for sticking gas pedal was announced. I am absolutely sure that the sticking gas pedal caused the accident. Since the date of the recall (January 21) we parked the car in our driveway. We will not drive our Rav4 I contacted my dealer (lombard Toyota, lombard il)--they replied that as a dealer they could only recommend that I call Toyota's customer experience number after a couple days I was able to get through to the "Toyota experience" line--over the next several days I was passed up the line until I was able to speak to a case manager. On January 27the a Toyota field technician came to my house and inspected my car. Since then I have heard nothing from Toyota.

- Glen Ellyn, IL, USA

problem #8

Feb 032010

RAV4

  • 9,850 miles
At about noon on 2/3/10- our 2009 Toyota rav 4 sudden acceleration (or stuck gas pedal) caused me to rear end another car that was stopped at a red light. I was moving very slowly about 5-10mph, just gliding because the car in front of me had been stopped by the light and it was just starting to slowly move as the light turned green. I had my foot on the brake, and the rav 4 seemed to accelerate, causing me to press as hard as I could on the brakes, but I could not stop before hitting the car in front of me. It seemed as if the Rav4 just accelerated by itself. The rav 4 has been towed to a repair facility. 4 hours before this happened, we had the rav 4 at our Toyota dealer for inspection of the gas pedal and it was confirmed that it had one of the suspect assemblies. But they said they could not do anything, as they had no instructions or parts yet from Toyota and said we would be notified when the time came.

- Carbondale, IL, USA

problem #7

Oct 142009

RAV4

  • 5,000 miles

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

Given the news about Toyota accelerator pedal issues and now 2010 prius ABS issues, I feel it's important to report the following: In October 2009, my 2009 Toyota Rav4 experienced the following issue (this is taken directly from Toyota dealer's service invoice): "customer states brake pedal goes to the floor and doesn't feel like the vehicle is stopping properly. Please advise. Depresses all the way happens intermittently. Tech verified customer concern poor brake pedal case # TA092880189. Replaced master cylinder/replace ABS actuator. Replace ABS actuator per tech assist rec opn # 44050-42330." In other words, we had observed that when applying the brake pedal, it often depressed quickly and nearly all the way to the floor before providing normal brake pedal resistance and braking action sufficient to slow and stop the car's forward progress, and at that point with very little brake pedal physical depression space left before reaching the pedal's limit. After I originally brought the issue to my local Toyota dealership (lexington Toyota, lexington, MA, 781.861.7400), they informed me they had not previously seen this issue and had to consult with Toyota's U.S. headquarters for troubleshooting aid. Then for several days the dealership provided me with ongoing updates, explaining that Toyota was actively investigating the matter and did not have an immediate recommended solution. This went on for nearly a week, and so it seemed to me that this was a problem Toyota hq had not prevously encountered. Finally the dealership reported that Toyota hq had provided a resolultion, the repair work was done, and we got our Rav4 back and have had no brake pedal problems since. According to our local dealer, our Rav4 was manufactured in Japan and therefore isn't subject to the current accelerator pedal recall but does require the floormat-related recall fix.

- Arlington, MA, USA

problem #6

Jan 272010

RAV4

  • 6,615 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota rav 4.the contact stated that while driving at 5 mph when pulling into a parking space and while having her foot on the brake, the vehicle accelerated on its own. It went over a parking block and a curb and then hit a building wall. The vehicle was towed to a body shop, then it was picked up by her insurance company.the whole front end and the passenger side door were damaged due to the crash. There were minor injuries, the contact was transported to the hospital. There was a police report filed. The contact also stated that this has only occurred once. The dealer was contacted and they stated that they will investigate the failure and let her know the outcome of this investigation. There have been no repairs done to the vehicle to date.the failure and current mileage was 6615.

- Cameron Park , CA, USA

problem #5

Mar 282009

RAV4

  • 1,800 miles
Intermittent sudden acceleration in a 2009 Toyota Rav4 without further depression of the gas pedal which causes the vehicle to lurch forward. The gas pedal is not jammed or slow to raise nor does it stick. This has happened on numerous occasions since March 2009 with no common denominator such as speed, road conditions, etc. This has even happened when the vehicle was in park and without the gas pedal being depressed at all, the vehicle will race suddenly and just as quickly go back to idle. The date of the first incident and the mileage listed below are approximations.

- Monroeville, PA, USA

problem #4

Dec 262009

RAV4

  • 5,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph into a parking space and when pressure was applied to the brake pedal the vehicle accelerated excessively. The vehicle failed to slow down and crashed into a vehicle. The emergency brake was engaged during the failure. There were no personal injuries. The police were called to the scene. A police report was filed. The vehicle was operable; however, it was taken to a body collision center for repair. The cause of failure has not been determined at this time. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number 10V017000 (vehicle speed control;accelerator pedal). However, the VIN was excluded from the recall defect since the manufacturer was located in Japan. The failure mileage was 5,000.

- Boonton Township , NJ, USA

problem #3

Nov 142009

RAV4 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,083 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph on wet road conditions; proceeding to a traffic signal. There was an unintended increase in acceleration. The driver applied an aggressive force to the brake pedal. The vehicle failed to slow down and immediately, the gear shifter was placed into the "neutral" position. The vehicle stopped and engine turned off. The vehicle was able to resume normal operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The throttle body was cleaned. On a separate occasion the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for the identical failure which there were no resolutions. The failure mileage was 2,083. Updated 02/17/10. Updated 02/19/10.

- Bristol, PA, USA

problem #2

Jun 202009

RAV4

  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. While driving 70 mph, there was unintended vehicle acceleration. After brake application he was able to decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but the technician was unable to identify the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,000.

- Childress, TX, USA

problem #1

Oct 042009

RAV4

  • 10,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Rav4. While driving down a hill she experienced unintended vehicle acceleration. She had to shift the vehicle into the neutral gear in order to stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and a technician concluded that floor mat interference caused the failure. An engineer sent from the manufacturer will re-inspect the vehicle. The failure and current mileages were 10,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.

- Oxford, NC, USA

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