Front Suspension Control Arm problems of the 2007 Toyota RAV4

This vehicle has had the rear control arm recall that seals the part in epoxy, making rear toe adjustment impossible. This vehicle is out of tolerance on rear toe and will cost $685 to repair. Toyota should be paying for this since they rendered the suspension part non adjustable.

Toyota refused to have the rear tires of my car be aligned. Since I submitted this car for that rear lower control arm recall, I always have issues with rear tire misalignment which Toyota offered no remedy. I believe driving a misaligned wheels is a safety issue.

Nhtsa #16v-596: received notification sept. Or oct 2016 and have been checking w/ dealer since. Still waiting for parts. 4/18/17 called Toyota and was told June 3017. Not holding my breath. Meantime rear alignment is incorrect following previous lower control arm encasement in epoxy and can't be corrected. Tires wearing improperly while waiting for Toyota.

On July 31st, 2015, the Toyota dealership performed a suspension recall work to replace both "rear #1 lower suspension arms". That work included a 4 wheel alignment and a permanent sealant that prevented future rear alignment of the rear wheels. On August 3rd, 2016, (approx. 13k miles later) the vehicle was taken to a les schwab tire center to have the brakes inspected. During the brake inspection, the technician noted severe abnormal tire tread wear on the inside shoulders of both rear tires. The inside shoulder of the right rear tire was so severe that it was showing steel belts and was near failure (immanent tire blowout condition). Les schwab noted that the front tires had normal even wear. Note: the 4 wheel alignment performed on 7/31/2015 was the only alignment performed prior to 8/3/2016, the alignment check on 8/3/2016 indicated the front wheel alignment was very close and within tolerant range of the 7/31/2015 alignment, and the vehicle has not involved in any accidents since before 7/31/2015. I believe the safety recall work performed by Toyota on 7/31/2015 did not fix the stated problem in the safety recall (Toyota recall ¿operation 77toz-csj¿ ref: NHTSA campaign number: 13v383000). Either the recall work was not performed correctly or the parts or method of the recall failed to correct the issue leaving my car with an unsafe wheel alignment causing severe abnormal wear on the inside shoulders of the rear tires leaving my car at risk of rear tire blow out. The les schwab tire center replaced the tires and the rear #1 control arms with ¿approved after-market parts¿ to allow for a safe rear alignment of the vehicle.

I was driving on a city street in west haven CT (near 195 w spring st) when I heard a metalic noise from the rear of the vehicle and lost control of the car, veering into the incoming traffic lane. I was driving < 25 mph and the pavement was dry, and managed to park the car on the side of the road. Fortunately there were no cars in the incoming lane, and there was no injury. My wife was in the passenger seat next to me. Upon inspecting the car, I discovered that the rear right wheel was tilted at an angle relative to the body of the car. I called aaa (time was around 7:45 a. M. ) and a towing truck arrived , and towed my car to a nearby garage (robert's service center, inc. , 216 buckingham Ave, milford, CT). I did not call police or take a picture. The service supervisor informed me that after inspecting the car, they foud that the rear forward control arm had failed (come apart at the middle). This control arm was the subject of a safety recall by Toyota in 2013, and my vehicle was repaired at girard Toyota in new london, CT, at the time of the recall. The failed arm still had the repair sticker on it. The shop removed and replaced the failed control arm and the one that was still intact on the left rear wheel. The car is now drivable. I believe that the outcome is likely to have been catastrophic if it had happened on the highway. I reported the incident to Toyota and was given the case number 1604300620. I spoke to a case manager, mr. Thorn. My intentions were to; 1) alert Toyota that a recall fix has failed on my car; 2) I wanted a Toyota dealer to inspect my car for an independent evaluation and to assure safety of the vehicle; 3) reimburse me for the cost of repairs. He acknowledged receiving the information, but indicated that a Toyota dealer cannot guarantee a third party work. He asked me to file my expenses, but with no assurance that it will be honored.

The car was recalled in 2014 for the rear control arms. They were replaced in 2014. 2 years later and the part broke again. Had just pulled out of a side street when it broke, so was able to pull to the side of the road. Had car towed to mechanic. Cost $560 to have it replaced. Could have been deadly if I had been on the interstate.

Reference Toyota recall: tis designation c2j found https://techinfo. Toyota. Com/techinfoportal/staticcontent/en/techinfo/html/prelogin/docs/cp/c2jtofaq. Pdf reference question q1a and answer a1a: ". . . . Alignment will be set and the arms will be sealed with epoxy. " reference question qua and answer a1c: "if the rear wheel alignment shifts out of specification, rear suspension arms or other components may need to be replaced. " reference my phone conversation with Toyota @ 888-270-9371 on 11 February 2014 @ 0800 and their assigned case # 1402110228: my question to Toyota to the answer a1c above: who pays for the required replacement of suspension arms or other components? their answer was: the owner. My complaint deals with fairness. Due to a Toyota design defect, rear control arms must be encased in epoxy thus rendering rear wheel alignments impossible. If an owner hits a pothole, and rear wheel(s) are knocked out of alignment, the control arm and/or associates components might need to be replace - at considerable expense to the owner. This could generate large profits to Toyota due to a remedy for one of their design defects. Without the (epoxy encapsulation), a mere rear wheel alignment might rectify the misalignment. A possible $50 versus $500 repair. Additionally, if the control arms must be replaced to align the back wheel(s), Toyota is the only entity that has the know how and parts to re-encapsulate the new control arm(s): more profits for Toyota. Owners need to be made aware of the consequences this remedy will have on their vehicle so they can decide if they want a vehicle in which the rear wheels cannot be aligned without considerable expense. My question to nhsta: why should the owner pay for repairs to one of their remedies? is this fair?.