general problems of the 2006 Toyota RAV4

Tamara recall engine failure almost caused a major accident. Dealership tells me the it's an recall but, it has now expired. I don't understand how a safety recall can expire. I need help from an attorney on this matter. Because this isn't right. Can you recommend an attorney? they said they could only do new rings and new pistons back then but now Toyota will not even do that. So now I just have a 5,000 bill for a new engine.

Losing oil engine making noise no power.

When trying to back up a hill, the transmission pops out of gear and then back into gear. When it pops back into gear the car lunges in an uncontrollable manner. This is very dangerous! I have read that this is cause by premature wear-out of the reverse clutches and the fix is a new $4000 transmission. This is a safety issue that Toyota should at least provide an assistance program to repair. The problem is continuous, it was always occur when trying to back up a hill.

Bought used 2006 rav 4 from what I thought was a reputable Toyota dealer in lake city florida. Within 2 weeks of buying this car checked oil and it was 2 quarts low. Now about every 1000 miles or less this vehicle is using nearly 2 quarts of oil. Please help in this matter. This was supposed to be my daughters going off into the world vehicle but its turning out to be a piece of crap. And a waste of money. I know Toyota is aware of the problem and will do nothing to fix it. Lake city Toyota are rude and have done nothing to help in this problem. And in hindsight buying this car they were very sketchy in the way they got us there to buy it in the first place. Now I know why. I just want this vehicle repaired. We like everything else about it. But engine failure and or catalytic converter issues down the road is saddening for a vehicle we just paid 7000 dollars for. Toyota we will never buy again.

Loud grinding sound at approx 40mph, easily replicated and sounds as if something is stuck underneath car. Dealer refuses to acknowledge faulty parts or cover any repairs.

Saturday, October 12, 2013 when my wife and two young daughters (ages 2 & 4) were coming home from shopping. Our vehicle experience catastrophic failure, endangering the lives my wife and my two young children. She heard a loud bang from the rear of the vehicle and she lost control. Luckily, she was not moving very fast and was able to stop quickly and pull to the side of the road. The failure occurred on the on-ramp to an interstate 71 with a posted speed limit of 70 mph and the car was not drivable. Had the failure occurred 20 seconds later, my family would have been traveling at a high speed in a rav 4 with absolutely no control. We cannot even fathom the potential outcome if that failure had occurred on a busy highway with trucks etc. We took the rav into the local Toyota dealership and they deemed the accident to be caused by the rear lower suspension arm. The rear lower suspension arm was recalled in the fall/winter of 2012, where we took it to the dealership to be fixed in Nov. 2012 with the so called "clip".

While driving on a suburban NJ road at around 30-40mph, the vehicle lost steering control out of the blue. The car veered into the left lane, I attempted to right the car and simultaneously hit the breaks. The abs response kicked in, and the car veered drastically to the right, going off the road, across the sidewalk, and finally coming to a stop in the woods. The repair shop discovered that the cause of accident was a broken tie rod of the back right wheel, that had been broken for a while because the sleeve encasing had rusted over. The damage to the car totalled $10,000, and the shop would have totaled the car if the milage hadnt been so low.

My power steering p/s warning light came on as I was backing out of a parking space. I noticed my power steering suddenly wasn't working. I drove home and then took it back out of my garage, in which the light then turned off and I had my power steering back. Is this a known defect of my car? I did receive one about the rear lower suspension arm #1 and a floor mat recall, but that's all.

My truck has had 4 incidents of dangerously low oil levels. Toyota has service bulletins out regarding oil consumption and my model of the 2006 Toyota Rav4 regarding faulty pistons and rings. I have brought my truck to Toyota 4 times for this issue and Toyota refuses to fix the problem under my warranty stating that I am out of warranty even though my first complaint was 10/13/13 and my warranty expired Jan 2013 t-sb-0094-11 is the Toyota service bulletin.

At approximately 81000 miles, rav-4 started to burn oil at a rate of two quarts per every 3000 miles. Now at 120,000 miles, it burns one quart every 1000 miles. By comparison, my 1987 Toyota camry does not burn a drop.

The power steering in my 2006 Toyota Rav4 went out suddenly when I was driving this month. I pulled over and turned off the motor. When the car started again the power steering was working. The Toyota dealer had reports of this problem on this car from Toyota. The power steering goes out suddenly. Toyota would not reimburse me the cost of fixing this safety defect. It costs about $1000. Had I been on a highway, I could have been in a serious accident. Toyota should recall these cars and fix this safety defect.

2006 Toyota Rav4 v-6 engine. Sudden and massive loss of all engine oil. Dealer is aware that this is caused by a defective oil hose. No recall issued yet. Dealer states "we're just fixing them as they come in". I was fortunate I was close to home. Engine was bone dry of oil in less than 3 miles. Should this have happened further away; 1. Engine would have seized. 2. Potential fire - the underside of vehicle was covered in oil and could have easily ignited. Toyota needed to recall this defective part. Not "just repair as they come in. ".

2006 Toyota rav 4 rubber oil hose (part no. 15707-31010) rupture spewed oil all over engine and road. Vehicle has 61000 miles. The 2008 and later model rav 4's now use a different metal part (part no. 15772-31030). Luckily I was able to get to the breakdown after noticing engine smoking from excess oil. The dealership will only install original part number for the 2006 and 2007 rav 4 models, even though apparently the 2008 metal part is superior.

On freeway, other motorist notified me my car was "on fire!" I saw excessive smoke in rearview mirror. I took the next exit which was dixon, CA off interstate 80 west in California. The side of the freeway there is grassy, did not think it was safe to stop. . . I stopped the car and smoke was everywhere, coming up through the hood & under the car. This was tues, 2/3/09. I has the car serviced the fri before, 1/30/09 at Toyota vallejo in vallejo, CA. I called the dealership after calling aaa for a tow. The service advisor, ryan said "it couldn't have been from anything they had done. But there is an 'oil hose' that had been coming off alot of the Rav4's. " I was already upset & that made me livid!! if it were a known problem the dealership should have checked during the scheduled maint. My car was towed to lithia Toyota of vacaville #47 at 500 orange drive, vacaville, CA. Work order 394212. As of yesterday, 2/12/09, the assistant service manager, megan, told me there was no TSB she was aware of, yet the part that came off (vvti oil pipe) was not found at any other dealership or supplier in the united states, and was on order from Toyota in japan. I am furious that it appears Toyota was well aware of this problem and has failed to initiate any steps to prevent risk to its consumers. I am asking for a full investigation which hopefully will lead to a recall of the 2006 Rav4's and any other year this affects. Megan, the assistant service manager at lithia Toyota confirmed with my insurance adjuster, jose lara (geico 707-688-3318) the cost is covered under the powertrain warranty. . . . What about the cost of my life, and the lives of the other motorist surrounding me??? the risk of fire is never to be taken lightly. Please investigate this matter to avoid any cost of life.

I bought the car back in August 2006 at Toyota dealer. There were clunky sounds from the steering wheel when after couple months of purchase. I brought the car back to dealer to request for a fix but I was told that the clunky sounds from the steering wheel should be considered as normal as the way the it came from Toyota factory. There was no fix to correct that clunky noises from steering wheel on that day. I had trusted to Toyota's advice on that day and kept driving the car until other mechanics and friends told me that my car needed to be fixed with the steering wheel since there had been clunky noises when they tested drive on my car. The sounds always came up when I moved the steering wheel. I called Toyota service around 06/2014 about the clunky noise since the condition got worse. I was told that my car is out of warranty so there is nothing from Toyota to help fixing the problem. Toyota told me that there would be recall if there had been numerous complaints with the same problem I had. I was advised to wait for a recall. For safety concern, I brought the car to Toyota dealership after my conversation with Toyota customer service on 06/2014. Toyota dealership had quoted with a fix for $600 for the part not including the labor. The clunky noise was came from the intermediate steering wheel shaft. I could not afford to fix because the price was too expensive so I had to keep the car condition as it was. Toyota should fix the problem when I brought it in. There have been so many complaints from 2006 Toyota Rav4 owners who have the same this intermediate steering shaft. I don't know if there has been any accident involved this issue or not but I am very sure that this is a serious matter since this intermediate shaft is relating to the controlling car's front wheels. For the safety concern, please help to look into this complaint.

I have a serious delay in the acceleration of my 06 Toyota Rav4. It is dangerous especially when pulling into traffic. I have gotten no help from the dealer or Toyota. It happens about 5-10 times per week.

My 2006 toytoa Rav4 has displayed non responsive throttle on many occasions where you give it gas and it does nothing, then it takes off like a rocket. I have nearly been in accidents because I pull out from a stop and the throttle is unresponsive while traffic is bearing down on me.

New 2006 rav 4 was purchased at grappone Toyota, concord nh, on 7-28-06. During he first 600 miles of operation per the manufacturer. Break in recommendations it became apparent that the vehicle had a serious malfunction regarding normal acceleration and throttle use. This condition leads in an intermittent fashion to failure to accelerate when merging on the highway, failure to resume steady throttle setting after rounding a corner, sudden and serious hesitation when attempting to accelerate normally and sudden and serious losses of power on the road. These symptom are accompanied by a full time throttle lag, which prevents normal use of the throttle and often, after a varied period of delay, is followed by a sudden downshift and rush of power and acceleration. I complained to the dealer on 8-22-06 and was deferred until 8-25-06 at which time the dealer checked the engine computer and told me that the degree of malfunctioning is "normal" and could not be addressed. I told them that was unacceptable and that since this uncertain and erratic performance compromised the safety of my wife and myself we would not be able to resume normal use of the car until the dealer or manufacturer chose to address the problem. After 43 years of safe driving, I'm not about to drive an uncontrollable car in traffic on public roads when it may suddenly fail to accelerate or fail to resume normal speed after braking. Any sudden erratic moves can be dangerous to ourselves and to surrounding traffic and I find it deeply disturbing that neither Toyota nor grappone Toyota will bother to return my calls nor address this matter. I have spoken with Toyota and they have not returned my calls, facilitated a repair or even bothered to try to fix the car. Please investigate this situation which I now believe is common to about 10% of rav 4s before it costs someone their life. Thank you.

When first driving my new 2006 Toyota Rav4, I noticed at slow speeds it would sometimes accelerate when I hit the brake. I attributed this to big feet and a new car where I did not yet master the relative positions of the pedals. I started driving with two feet, just as I was taught as a teenager in drivers ed. Occasionally, this has happened again in the ensuing 3 years. Until this unintended acceleration problem came to light in 2010, I thought it was just "operator error. " now, I am beginning to think there is some defect - maybe it's hardware linkages, but I suspect there is a software problem in the electronic computer of the car. I also had the steering mid-shaft problem after warranty and screamed until they fixed it under warranty for $50. There was also a "runaway" fuel pump service bulletin I made them cover as well. I have worked with Toyota quality engineers since the 1980s and am disgusted by their responses reported in this odi site. Toyota's claim to fame was there quality and customer focus. Looks like the current generation of Toyota people have lost this, and that points directly to top management there. Shame, shame, shame. As they say in japanese, they are "on shirazu" (do not understand their obligation to their customers).