Alternator/generator/regulator problems of the 2007 Toyota RAV4

Whether I'm driving or parked with the engine running, the car shuts down completely. I cant turn on the hazard lights or roll down the power windows. I have no lights whatsoever, so no one can see me at night. I had the car towed to the dealership after a bus almost rear-ended me. Previously they replaced the alternator. That did not fix the problem. They cannot fix my car.

I was traveling down arrow hwy in the rain when my electrical system failed. I lost power from both my alternator and battery intermittently. I was coasting down to an approaching intersection when I made the descision to turn right at the intersection. The steering was so hard that I nearing hit the center divide. My windshield wipers were barely working and many of my dash icons were coming on randomly. Through it all, my engine continued to run and I made to the next street that turned into condos that had parking spaces. I shut my engine off and tried a restart. The engine,of course,did not start. After being hauled to the nearest Toyota dealer they diagnosed the problem as an alternator that shorted the battery. Having a little experience in this electrical area, I understand how this can happen but with proper design it could have been avoided. The battery was saved after recharging. Here is my point; I don't want any one that I know and love to go through what I had to. Those that drive this car should be made aware that this could happen with a car equipped with electrical steering. This problem could have been more severe if the engine would have stalled; which, by the way would have happened in a short time.

Drove for over an hour in dry, stable weather conditions. Upon slowing to make a left turn into a parking garage on surface streets the steering completely stalled with multiple alarm lights flashing, including battery. Vehicle was still on and able to drive but with very poor acceleration. This caused me to block traffic oncoming traffic for over 10 minutes as I labored (with a lot of strength) with the stalled power steering back and forth until inline with the garage. Called triple a immediately and had battery changed. Despite the car working again with stable steering, still concerned about stalling again, particularly in city streets (including the sf hills) and freeways. There needs to be some fix for power-steering being the first thing to fail with the battery/alternators.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While driving at unknown speeds, the battery light illuminated and the power steering malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 88,000.

All dash lights turned on and steering wheel was hard to turn. Drove home. Restart the vehicle, no issues, left it running, it happened again and smelled a burning smell. Had it towed to Toyota dealership. They replaced battery. Yesterday 11-18-14, same issue going about 40 mph. Had it towed to same dealership. Alternator needs to be replaced. Toyota also informed that water pump is failing. Through internet research, these are extremely common issues that should be resolved by Toyota and people should be reimbursed for such an extensive problem.

My 2007 Toyota Rav4 was being driven by my wife and she noticed indicator lights suddenly coming on the dashboard and the vehicle sputtering and starting to stall. Prior to the vehicle stalling, she noticed the power steering inoperable and she was having difficulty steering to bring the vehicle to the shoulder lane and to a stop. She called me and I called for emergency roadside assistance. The vehicle was restarted. At this time, as the engine ran, the power steering was still inoperable and the vehicle was undrivable. It was then towed home. My mechanic checked and found the battery to be undercharged due to a defective alternator not properly charging the battery. The battery and the alternator was replaced and the power steering and all other functions resumed back to normal. My safety concern is that the power steering unit should not have stopped functioning as long as the engine was in operation. If the braking system continued to operate normally as the engine ran, the power steering unit should also continue to operate so that the driver can stay in complete control of the vehicle. If my wife was traveling at a higher rate of speed and on a busy interstate freeway, the outcome could have been disastrous. Please look into getting Toyota to recall and correcting this safety issue on mine and other 2007 Rav4s. Thank you for your assistance. A reply would be greatly appreciated.

Alternator fails at 45000.

Last night, my Rav4 battery died due presumably to the rear door light getting accidentally turned on. Upon jump starting the car, everything seemed fine. I drove it home without incident. Then, this morning, the battery was not quite up high enough to start the car, so I jump started it again. It started, but a few hundred feet away, I lost power steering and power brake assist. It required every ounce of force I could muster to turn the vehicle around and get it back to my house. Thankfully, this happened on city streets near my house and not on the highway last night or the chp would have been scraping me off a bridge post. The Rav4 cannot realistically be steered by an average person without the power steering assist because of the gearing ratio, making this a very serious design defect. If a vehicle cannot safely operate, the vehicle should not operate. The problem is that, because the battery plays an integral role in power smoothing, and because the power steering and power brake pumps are electrically operated, a low battery can result in failure of the power steering and brake pumps while the engine is still functional. This can easily result in an uncontrollable vehicle barreling down the highway at 80 mph. I believe that fixing this problem requires a fundamental redesign of the electrically operated pumps to add additional capacitors so that the battery is not playing such a crucial role in smoothing out the pulsating DC from the alternator along with the addition of sensor hardware to detect a low battery condition and activate an indicator light until the vehicle is safe to drive. Ideally, the steering gearbox should also be redesigned with a lower gear ratio so that it does not become undriveable. Without these fixes, the 2007 Rav4 is fundamentally unsafe. This design flaw probably also affects most other late models of Toyota.

I purchased a new 2007 Rav4 from Toyota of braintree in 2007. 1. In 2009 I could hear wind in the driver's window; I took the vehicle to be checked, Toyota service department said I was hearing things. 2. The driver's door caught fire (I had the keys with me) I had to spend $606. 01 to fix it, Toyota said there was water intrusion (I thought, it probably was, because of the air leak previously reported in 2009) 3. The steering wheel felt strange when I drove, I took it back for service, the diagnosis was steering shaft internal failure which needed to be replaced; I fought to get that fixed out of warranty. 5. On November 25, 2011 I was driving, the window fell in on me and on November 26, 2011, I had to have the driver's side window regulator replaced for $338. 30 7. Now, oil is leaking into the muffler. (I purchase oil frequently) this vehicle is only 4. 5 years old and should not have any of these major problems, when I purchased this Rav4, it was going to be my last vehicle purchase because Toyota advertises longevity of their products. I also know people who drive 1990 and 1995 Toyota products who have never had any of these problems. I was also treated very poorly during some of my repair visits. After the door caught on fire, I had a meeting with the owner of Toyota of braintree, [xxx] but his resolution was giving me $13,000. 00 for my vehicle (which I own) and me purchasing a brand new vehicle, which meant I would have a monthly payment. I did contact Toyota headquarters in California and filed a complaint and never received any resolution. Since then I received a letter from the national center for dispute settlement stating they can't help me. Thank you for any assistance, sincerely, Toyota Rav4 owner. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).