Car Accelerates On Its Own problems of the 2007 Toyota RAV4

I have owned a 2007 Toyota rav 4 for 10 years. I was leaving a delaware, ohio, hospital parking lot, backing out slowly, my foot on the brake, while turning the wheel to the left. Suddenly the engine roared and I shot backward, smashing into the car parked behind where my car had been. The car I hit was somewhat damaged in the rear driver's side fender. The impact shoved it out of its space and almost into a small truck to the right. My car's rear windshield shattered and the right back bumper and side were crumpled. This was the second time this happened to me. The first time, I again was backing from a tight spot, this time turning the wheel to the right, when the engine roared and the car lurched backward. That time, I hit nothing. It happened another time when my husband was backing, again from a tight spot while turning the wheel. Back at the hospital lot. I informed the front desk employee, who informed the ohiohealth hospital police. Two officers reported, took my information and began searching for the other car's owner. I also called the city police; an officer came but left after conferring with ohiohealth's police. I then took the car directly to my local insurance agent, who connected me with a claims adjuster. At first I theorized that my foot on the brake must have pivoted slightly as I turned in my seat to ensure I could back safely. My foot must have pressed the gas pedal. Pressed with considerable power, given the car's backward leap. Nov. 8 I tested this theory on my driveway, and saw immediately it was impossible. I would have had to lift my foot from the brake deliberately to press the gas firmly. This car's regular maintenance has been done at the local Toyota dealer. My car was not among those recalled for sudden acceleration problems, but I believe it should have been. The car is registered in my husband's name, (xxxxx). Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While stopped, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning and crashed into a fence. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained neck injuries that required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The failure mileage was 88,000.

I have just experienced sudden acceleration while pulling into a parking spot. I slammed on the brake and it didn't want to stop. I ended up bumping the car in front of me as I continued to brake. The engine was still surging and wouldn't go into reverse. I called mountain states Toyota here in denver and explained the problems to the service manager. He told me that he had never heard of such a thing. There are numerous complaints with the same issue on the internet. The service manager, of course, is telling me that if they cannot reproduce it and it is not showing error codes(which it isn't) there isn't anything they can do. I told him I wanted the acceleration system thoroughly inspected. . . Which he wants to charge me for unless they do find an issue. By what I have seen on the internet, it is useless to take it in as Toyota is ignoring the issue, thinking they fixed it with the floor mats. I had the floor mats replaced on that recall well before this issue came up. I have also had many experiences with the engine surging and hesitating with the tach showing the surge. It is intermittent and cannot be reproduced, but it is getting worse over time. I now believe that this is related to the acceleration issue I described above. I am afraid to drive it now as it could happen on a busy street and really hurt someone and me.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle erroneously accelerated. The contact was able to stop the vehicle by turning off the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be replicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was not available. Updated 5/9/13 updated 05/24/2013.

Unintended acceleration. My husband was driving our 2007 Toyota rav 4 out of a tollbooth area and accelerating normally, when the car started rapidly accelerating on its own. He stepped hard on the brakes but could not get the car below 40 mph. He shifted into neutral and gradually the car slowed and he moved to the breakdown lane. He removed the keys from the ignition, and the vehicle finally stopped. The entire incident from start to finish happened over the course of about 3 miles of highway. He gave a full account of this to our local Toyota dealer. They did not identify the cause of the problem, but acknowledged that it was not due to floor mats. The car's brakes--both pads and rotors--were destroyed during the incident. We were not comfortable driving it again. The dealership brought back the car back from us at kelly blue book value.

I was waiting at a stop with my foot on the brake, and the transmission in drive. Suddenly, with no input from me, the engine accelerated. Adding more pressure to the brake I was unable to keep it from moving forward. With full pressure on the brake, the vehicle slowly moved into the rear panel of a car in front of me, doing fender damage to both vehicles. This is the third time in the 5 years that I have owned this vehicle, that it has suddenly accelerated. I've had it to the Toyota dealer twice, and both times they inferred that it was my error. I know that each time this has happened, I was not moving, and had my foot on the brake when the car's engine began to rev up with no action taken my me. Something is dangerously wrong with this vehicle.

Tl-the contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while parking the vehicle with the brakes engaged, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle crashed into a wall. The contact mentioned that the brakes did not fail and there were extensive damages to the front of the vehicle. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The police was not notified. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who sent a representative to inspect the vehicle. The engineer was unable to diagnose the failure and stated that the vehicle was working as design. The failure mileage was 80,000. Pmb.

After coming to a complete stop, engine accelerated on its own without pushing on the gas pedal. This was after the recall for the floor mats. The acceleration had enough "g" force to pin the occupants back in their seats. Driver was fortunate that no traffic was ahead. Rapid acceleration appeared to stop after pushing on the gas pedal. Toyota appears to attribute all these incidents to the floor mats. An acceleration that pins you back in the seat --floor mat does not have enough density to accomplish this. This has happened numerous times in the 2 years we have owned this vehicle. Most occurrences have been more subtle than the one described here.

2007 Toyota Rav4, sudden acceleration while waiting at a stop light. Without any warning the vehicle started to accelerate, even though foot was firmly on the brake pedal the vehicle began pulling forward and through a stop light. As vehicle was pulling forward shifted to neutral, only then did the vehicle's motion stop. Engine continued to rev to very high rpms for about 30 seconds, the rpms then came back down to normal. Drove vehicle 10 miles to get home terrified that it would happen again.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota rav 4. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated. He applied the brakes in order to stop at traffic light but instead the speed increased. The contact was able to stop the vehicle by applying the emergency brake. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was not able to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 72,000 and the current mileage was 72,900. Updated 3/21/11.

My 2007 6 cyl Rav4 has under 30k miles on it. Was fine and after sitting un-driven in my garage for 3 weeks, now the check engine light, vsc, and 4 wheel drive lights stay on. The transmission no longer shifts into overdrive (stays in 4th gear) at highway speeds. Random delayed acceleration when making slow speed turns (usually at intersections or passing in slow moving rush-hour traffic) resulting in sudden acceleration. No accident - yet. Have appointment to have the dealer look at it.

I turned on the ignition of my 2007 Toyota rav 4 and began to drive into my garage and the vehicle suddenly accelerated and did not slow down upon application of the brake pedal. I pumped the brake fiercely several times to the floor board over the approximately 12-15 feet of garage depth and the Rav4 stopped just as it pushed the wheelbarrel into the wall. . Aside from damage to the wall of the garage, the vehicle's bumper was dented and slightly cracked. Airbags did not deploy and there was no bodily trauma or personal injury.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 5 mph and attempting to slow down at a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal with force to avoid a crash. The vehicle had not been inspected when the complaint was filed. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 16,400.

In March of 2008 I had two occurrences of unintended acceleration with my 2007 six cylinder Toyota Rav4. The first was very frightening as I was stopped at a red light. The car suddenly accelerated and pulled me through the intersection while my foot was on the brake. If there had been a car in front of me or one coming through the intersection I would have crashed. Shortly after that incident a milder less powerful acceleration event happened. I brought the car to the dealer on March 26 08 and they could not duplicate the problem or give a reason for it. The told me to bring it back if the problem recurred. It did not happen again until 2/19/2010. As in the first two incidents, the event happened while stopped at a red light with my foot off the gas pedal. In this case I quickly shut off the motor, or I would have hit the car in front of me. As in the other cases after I restarted the car the problem was over. Our other car is a camry and I have never have never had this problem with that car or any other car. I brought the car back to the dealer and again no reason for the event was found and there was no remedy offered except possibly a gas pedal over ride if one becomes available. After the long gap in time between the first two events I thought maybe they were a fluke. Now I worry that I may be in an accident or hit a pedestrian. I am no mechanic but I really think that it is some sort of electronic problem. The car was stopped and my foot was off the gas pedal each time the sudden acceleration happened.

After running errands, my wife and I were returning home Friday afternoon January 22, 2010 in my 2007 Toyota Rav4 (v6 engine - 30,815 miles on the odometer) when we experienced sudden acceleration while driving in our subdivision. I was traveling at a speed of 20-22 miles per hour when I applied the brake with no response and the vehicle gathered speed (estimated 35 mph) in spite of my efforts to brake hard. As the residential street was to end at a "t" within about 100 yards and there was a car ahead of me, I had to use any means possible to stop my runaway vehicle or a collision was sure to follow. Only after shifting, while continuing to brake, through "park", "reverse", to "neutral" to the unbelievable roaring sound of the racing engine did the vehicle finally stop and a collision was avoided by a few car lengths. I had never experienced this before, and was especially surprised in that I had just had my 30,000 mile maintenance performed at my Toyota dealership on December 18, 2009. Badly shaken, my wife and I drove the three blocks to our house and I immediately called my Toyota dealership for help. I was told that, as my vehicle was not on the recall list, there was nothing he could do for me and he told me to call the Toyota customer care experience center. So I hung up the phone and then called Toyota as instructed. When finally getting through, I related my experience and was told that "Toyota takes this very seriously" and that my information would be passed along immediately. I was assigned a case number and was told that I would hear back from a case worker on Monday, January 25. I did get a call back on Monday, but not from a case worker, but from the same individual I had talked to on Friday. I was told that my issue was no longer a priority since my vehicle was not on the recall list and I should call my dealership and get my car inspected at my expense. I instead left my car parked in my driveway, afraid to chance an accident.

Sudden acceleration of a 2007 Toyota rav-4; has happened three times, this is the latest incident; has happened after going over a very small bump in the road at less than 10 miles per hour.

Unintended rapid acceleration.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. While attempting to park the vehicle, it suddenly accelerated over a curb and crashed into a wire fence. The vehicle was inspected by her local dealer and was advised that there were no related recalls. The manufacturer would not offer any assistance. The failure and current mileages were under 9,563. Updated 04/09/10.

I own a 2007 Rav4. In fall 2008, my husband and I pulled up to a red light behind a pickup truck and stopped the vehicle. My husband had his foot on the brake but, just as he stopped, the car suddenly accelerated. Even though he immediately put both feet on the brake, we ended up hitting the truck in front of us. The accident caused about $1,500 damage to the front end of our car. The truck in front sustained no visible damage, and the driver said don't worry about it and we did not file a police report. After the accident, the vehicle was thoroughly inspected by dowling Toyota of litchfield CT. They did not find anything mechanically or electronically wrong with the car that would cause the unexpected and unstoppable acceleration. They did find some acorns under the hood, and given the lack of any other identifiable cause, they suggested that the sudden acceleration might have been due to the ingestion of a nut into the engine which held the accelerator open. At the time I reluctantly accepted this explanation because our accident was an isolated incident. However, in light of recent events concerning Toyota vehicles, I cant help but wonder if our experience with our Rav4 was part of a larger problem. My experience with our 2007 vehicle was eerily similar to those of the affected models that have been recalled. I am hearing on the news that it has taken several years for Toyota to acknowledge the accelerator problem, and I cant help but wonder if our accident was related to a similar problem. Please add my vehicle to the list of consumer complaints about accidents involving sudden acceleration.

Sudden acceleration while parking my 2007 rav 4 caused me to go off a four foot retaining wall and the vehile was totaled.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that three people who regularly drove the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration while driving. After approaching a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly accelerated after she took her foot off of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle slowed down when the brake pedal was engaged. The failure occurred five times between the contact and the other three drivers. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who could not duplicate the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. The current mileage was approximately 37,000.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph the fwd, engine and stability control warning indicators illuminated continuously. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and the oxygen sensor was replaced. On a separate occasion while driving in reverse the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and the rpms increased. The gear lever was shifted into park and the engine was turned off. The vehicle was previously repaired under a recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 11v113000 (vehicle speed control). The problem existed before the recall and persisted after the recall remedy repair was performed. The vehicle was repaired five times due to the unintended acceleration. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable.

When driving there is a delayed throttle response which has led to a sudden acceleration when not expecting it. This happened on different occasions intermittently almost leading to an accident. I called my Toyota dealer on August 22/07, sept 2007 and then called Toyota on November 1, 2007. I was advised that this sudden delayed acceleration was normal for Toyota as it was because the computer system sends a delayed message and I had to adjust my driving to accommodate it. It has not happened nearly as often as the first few months but does occasionally. It is sudden and frightening when it happens.