Vehicle hesitated when shifting into gear. No power and then a surge causing the car to jerk. Happens when accelerating from stop into first and second gear. The ECM is defective and Toyota was forced to address this after class action suit see rav4ecmsettlement.com, although this resulted in an extended warranty rather than a recall. My car is 4 months passed the 10 year warranty although it has low mileage. The faulty ECM can cause the transmission to fail. This is a dangerous and unfair situation for thousands of owners. Toyota did not notify me of this issue.

- Belmont, MA, USA

I have brand new 2013 Toyota Rav4. While I was driving the vehicle, vehicle suddenly stopped without any kind of indication or warning. The car behind me was about to hit my vehicle. Some how, he could manage to divert the vehicle. After that engine starts, but it was unable to move any further. I had stand in the middle of road, blocking the traffic. Finally I had to tow the vehicle from that place to service center. Luckily it happened in the city limits. If the same thing happens on the highway, I am sure, I might not be living anymore. I checked with Toyota service department, they said it is an axle failure. I am surprised to hear that, how come a brand new car (4 months old) could have mechanical failure without anykind of warning and in the middle of the road suddenly stops. I could not even pull out the car from the road.

- Melbourne, FL, USA

On local road, accelerating from stop. Vehicle suddenly "shut-off" going into neutral and unable to put back into drive. Steering went "limp". vehicle drifted right, power steering was effected, steering difficult. Vehicle coasted into parking lot to the right, fortunately no vehicles happened to be passing on the right at that precise moment, therefore no accidents. But there could have easily been one. Attempts at restarting vehicle resulted in "take ev to nearest dealership" message and several warning indicators on dash. Vehicle was towed to originating dealership which it continues to be diagnosed and unresolved. Vehicle was purchased on 9/3/2013 < 6 days prior.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

While accelerating from approximately 20 mph, a jerk was felt and a noise was heard as the vehicle was shifting gears. (this vehicle is an automatic.) this same incident occurred again later the same day. However, after the second incident, the "check engine" light and the "traction control" light came on. This occurred on the first day of ownership of the vehicle with only 15 miles on the odometer. This vehicle was brought back to the dealer for a replacement.

- Blackshear, GA, USA

While driving on highway at 55mph, my new 2013 Toyota Rav4 limited suddenly slowed down and would not shift into gear properly when I accelerated. I pulled off the road asap and had vehicle towed to dealership. They have diagnosed transmission failure. There is less than 600 miles on the odometer.

- Lucasville, OH, USA