10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
66,641 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #13

Mar 252021

RAV4

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota rav-4. the contact stated while driving at 40 mph and approaching an exit ramp off the highway, the contact stated they were depressing on the brake pedal but the vehicle did not slow down and continued to accelerate which caused the vehicle to hit a fence. The vehicle came to a stop and the contact shifted to park, the contact was able to restart, and continued to drive the vehicle to their residence. The air bags did not deploy and no warning light illuminated. There were no injured reported. No police report was filed. The contact had the vehicle towed to local dealer automax car sales (9541 nw 27th ave, miami, fl 33147 phone: (305) 835-2222) who stated they repaired and replaced the brakes and control arms on the vehicle however the failure persisted with screeching noise coming from the brakes. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #12

May 232020

RAV4 4-cyl

  • 106,000 miles
I was backing up, turning around in a driveway. When I attempted to stop, something interfered with my ability to depress the brake pedal, resulting in a low-speed (less than 2 mph) collision with a shed, minor damage to the shed and damage to the rear bumper cover of the vehicle. This is the third or fourth time I have had this problem (once at high speed approaching a red traffic signal, I could not stop prior to the intersection even with the emergency brake), but the first involving a collision. I investigated this (not the first time I have tried) and found a bracket which appears to be part of the brake pedal mounting that contacts my toes when my foot is toward the left side of the brake pedal and my heel is greater than about 0.5 in. Off the floor (I wear a size 12 shoe). When this happens, I am unable to apply pressure to the brake pedal. The consumer provided photos of the vehicle.

- Lexington Park, MD, USA

problem #11

Mar 072019

RAV4

  • 56,482 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 20 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal and it traveled all the way down to the floorboard. The contact shifted into neutral and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that this was the third time the brake system was repaired by West herr Toyota of orchard park (4141 southwestern blvd, orchard park, NY 14127). The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 56,482.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #10

Nov 272018

RAV4

  • 74,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota rav 4. while driving 70 mph with the cruise control activated, the contact attempted to stop the vehicle, but it kept going. The contact depressed the brake pedal with force and was finally able to stop after a few attempts. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to brian easley Toyota (409 spartanburg hwy, hendersonville, nc 28792, (828) 693-7261) where it was diagnosed that the cruise control was damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 74,000. The VIN was invalid.

- Ellenborow, NC, USA

problem #9

Mar 212017

RAV4

  • 92,500 miles
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.

- Skaneateles, NY, USA

problem #8

Feb 132017

RAV4 6-cyl

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Rav4. While driving 10 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck and the vehicle would not stop when the brake pedal was depressed. The front two tires continued to spin even after the vehicle was placed in the park position. As a result, the contact rear ended another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the scene. The manufacturer was not made aware of the crash. The failure mileage was 70,000. Updated 05/10/17

- Chandler, AZ, USA

problem #7

Nov 052016

RAV4 6-cyl

  • 27,900 miles
At some time between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm on November 5, 2016 my wife and I were driving my 2010 Rav4 South on county route 561 in voorhees township, NJ on the inside lane of this 4 lane highway when I lightly pressed the brake pedal to slow from 45 mph to the lowered speed limit. Suddenly, and without warning, the left rear wheel locked up tight, causing the vehicle to swerve abruptly into and across two lanes of oncoming traffic, hitting the curb smartly, followed by a similar action by the light trailer we were towing. No one was injured but if this had happened during rush hour, serious injuries or fatalities might have occurred. The left rear wheel remained locked as the vehicle was winched up onto the bed of the flat bed Transport truck. More pieces of the brake fell out during this operation. When an attempt was made to unload the car at the dealership the locked wheel prevented it from rolling off the truck, so after unhooking the winch cable, the tow truck driver started the car and attempted to back it off. During this attempt more pieces of the brake fell out, there occurred a loud 'bang, ' and the left rear wheel assumed an angle that was non-parallel with the car, indicating to me that this last action had seriously damaged the suspension system. I requested of the dealership that a corporate investigation of this failure be made. They found the brakes to be in working order? NHTSA is not interested in investigation beyond taking my complaint. Our tow truck driver told me that his father-in-law had experienced the exact same type of failure in his 2013 Rav4 but didn't report it to the NHTSA, settling instead for a reduced price for the repair. No such offer made to me from Toyota. Car has been at dealer for over 3 months. Can't find independent forensic investigation to look at it. Afraid to drive car without know what caused failure.

- Sicklerville, NJ, USA

problem #6

Aug 032016

RAV4

  • 97,000 miles
Car accelerated ahead while pulling up to a stop sign. The harder I applied the brakes.... the more it tried to surge ahead. Finally got it stopped. The same thing happened to my wife today. She was parking the car and when she touched the brake pedal, the car surged ahead on her. She finally also got it stopped but it scared her. When it happens, the brake pedal feels really hard and the motor accelerates even though the brake pedal is being pushed and not the gas pedal. I called my local dealer and they are going to get it in tomorrow to check it out.

- Findlay, OH, USA

problem #5

Nov 172015

RAV4

  • 47,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway. The traffic was stop and go. I was going 10mph when the truck in front of me stopped. I applied my brakes and nothing happened. I pushed the brakes to the floor with both feet and still nothing. I hit the back of the truck in front of me. No damage to the truck just my front end. I got over to the shoulder and the brakes worked fine. I noticed that when I was braking my ABS light was flashing. I took it to the dealership. They said that they had never heard of that happening. But was I aware of a service recall on the smart stop technology. I said no I haven't. I was told that the "recall came out in 2013" funny because my car had been to the dealership in 2014. Why was it not taken care of then. I have read that others have had this similar problem and where told that there is nothing wrong. I am very thankful I was only going 10 mph or it could of been alot worse.

- Longview, WA, USA

problem #4

Jun 282011

RAV4

  • 11,106 miles
I started complaining about the scrubbing noise that the brakes had started making, so they replaced the brakes and only charged forty dollars.so on July of the same year, the car started making the scrubbing noise again, so again they replaced them again, it lasted for about a year, and the scrubbing noise came back.the car was once again looked at and the mechanic said that there was a piece by the brake that had rusted together so for this car to be new, why were there parts rusting, maybe it was sitting in water I asked, so the general manager was bought out because I just could not see paying what they said the cost was but being a woman I think that they pulled a fast one on me and the repair was something like seven hundred dollars. I think that lasted for a couple of years so when it came back I took it to Goodyear and the mechanic said that the rotors were down and needed to be replaced. To make a long story short I just shelled out two-thousand- twenty two dollars for rotors and other repairs that the Toyota company said they had done and didn't do at all.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #3

Jan 312015

RAV4

  • 76,000 miles
I was on a test drive to buy the vehicle.. it was very cold out, teens, but no ice on road. Riding along 20-25mph slowing down for red light--applied break -- seemed car was still accelerating had to stand on breaks to stop a couple of feet from car in front. Returned to dealership and told them, they looked up VIN said there as no recall. I saw on this site there is a very similar issue that there was a recall for. Should Toyota take a closer look at this vehicle?

- Keene, NH, USA

problem #2

Jan 252015

RAV4

  • 29,900 miles
I had been driving app. 10 minutes in snow covered road conditions when I was approaching an intersection with traffic stopped for a red light. As I applied the brake to ease into a stop, the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. I was in the center lane with stopped vehicles in front of me. I had to exert hard force on the brake pedal to finally bring my vehicle to a stop. The engine was at least over 4000rpms on the tachometer. When traffic started moving again, I eased off the brake pedal and slowly applied gas and eased over in to the right(curb) lane. I stayed slow at about 15-20 mph and felt an acceleration again, but was able to brake successfully. I then turned right into the first available parking lot to gain composure before continuing on. I continued home at a safe rate of speed ( under 35mph). In the past 2 years there have been 3 other occurrences of acceleration when braking but never to this extreme.

- Independence, OH, USA

problem #1

Jan 022013

RAV4

  • 53,450 miles
I was driving up to traffic light to stop and I went to brake and my brake pedal seized up! it felt like it got stuck and would not engage, causing me to have no brakes and I hit car in front of me. I had no brakes and I could not stop! I have been cited for hitting someone from behind and there was nothing I could do to stop! I believe my ABS- antilock braking system some how caused my brakes to seize up and become inoperable.

- South Range, WI, USA