general problems of the 2008 Toyota RAV4 - part 2

I have a 2008 Toyota Rav4. I had an incident in the fall of 2009 where, as I was braking and slowing down, my engine revved up without my touching the gas pedal, and I stepped on the brake and put my car in neutral. Didn't understand what had just happened but thought it was maybe my fault somehow. In early Dec. I pulled into a parking space, front end forward, and there was another parked car opposite my car, facing mine. As I was slowing down and braking, the engine revved and I had to slam my foot on the brake to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I called my dealership immediately from my cell phone, right there in my car, and told them what happened. They asked me if I was wearing "heels", did I step on the accelerator by mistake, did the floor mat get caught?. . . And I said no to all of that. I went in the next day to service, and they spent several hours looking at my car, checking things out. When they were finished, they said they "couldn't make my car do what I told them it did". Could not find a problem. Asked again about shoes, wrong pedal, etc. Since then, I had one more experience with acceleration at the top of a hill where took my foot off the gas and the motor continued to accelerate. Right about that time the news of the Toyota problems was beginning. I called my dealership and asked why I had not received a letter about a recall. I was told that my Toyota had been built in japan and therefore it does not have the accelerator problem and is not on the recall list. What do I do now??.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Rav4. The contact was driving approximately 35 mph when the accelerator pedal was engaged the speed failed to increase; however, the vehicle hesitated and lunged forward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The failure occurred on several occasions. The failure mileage was 1,100. The current mileage was 1,500.

Mother was driving home from work when her 2008 Toyota Rav4 suddenly veered left and accelerated head on into a tree. Witness statement that she was driving normally previous to accident. No health issues to explain events.

When coming to a stop at the end of a highway exit ramp, I was braking at approximately 5 - 10 mph. As I approached the car in front of me I noticed the car was not responding as it normally does to a slight depression of the brake pedal. My car seemed to keep moving and not slow down in it's normal braking characteristic. I depressed the brake pedal much firmer and the car slowed but the engine began to increase in rpms (as noted by the engine sound and visually by tachometer indication). My foot was off the accelerator at this time. I pushed the break pedal down a hard as I could and the car still moved forward. Finally, I put the transmission (automatic) in neutral and the engine raced away. I finally placed the transmission in reverse and the engine slowed down to normal and then the car stalled. After restarting the engine everything worked as it should. I drove it the two miles to work with no further problem and after being parked for 10 hours drove it 7 miles to my home with no further problem.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota rav 4. While driving 10 mph the vehicle began to accelerate without intention. The brake pedal was depressed to the floor, but the vehicle would not decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions, but they could not identify the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 5,200. Updated 1/11/09 updated 01/13/10.

2008 Toyota rav-4 surges. Since purchasing the vehicle in November 2008, my vehicle has sporadically surged when coming to a stop and also when driving with foot on accelerator. I will have my foot on the brake and the car will surge as if I am pressing on the accelerator. When I am driving, it surges as if I am pressing the gas pedal up and down, although my foot remains steady. I complained about this the first time that I took my vehicle in and each time I have an oil change. I have been told that there is not a problem. I think that there must be more to the Toyota recall because my vehicle that is not subject to the recall appears to be having similar issues. I complained about this long before this recall was announced.

Lost braking power and there was a crunching sound, had both feet on breaking pedal & truck wouldn't stop. It was still accelerating and abs/anti skid light came on.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Rav4. The contact started the ingition. The vehicle was positioned into the selected gear, followed by an unexpected increase of acceleration. The contact was able to stop the vehicle. The identical failure occurred on three separate occasions. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction. The failure mileage was 6,963. The current mileage was 29,000.

Was going through a drive through carwash, auto in neutral. Reached the end, put foot on brake, put auto into drive. The vehicle accelerated on it's own, going straight out of the end of the carwash. Had the brakes on but they didn't stop the vehicle. Turned the car to miss a telephone pole and went out into 4-lane hwy. , crashing into another vehicle, stopping my vehicle finally. Vehicle would not stop at all. The vehicle was towed to our ins. Co. Repair/estimate shop. Do not have a cause for the problem as yet, still under investigation.

The contact owns 2008 Toyota rav 4. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle came to a halt. Suddenly, the vehicle abnormally accelerated and crashed into a preceding vehicle. The vehicle did not halt and proceeded to crash into the preceding vehicle 2 additional times. The brake pedal was depressed with such force in an attempt to stop the accelerating vehicle that the actual brake pedal fractured. The police and ambulance arrived to the scene and occupants from the foregoing vehicle suffered unknown injuries. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where they could not duplicate the failure. The dealer advised the cause of the crash was due to floor mat interference. All repairs were covered by her insurance company. The manufacturer was contacted and currently, she was awaiting a response. A police report was available. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000 and the current mileage was 14,500.

My 2008 Rav4 SUV suddenly goes to full throttle on its own. I have to put both feet on brake pedal while trying to get the car out of gear. This has happened intermittently since purchasing this SUV new. I have been back to the dealership several times and they can't find a problem. They said that they need to see the car while it is racing up, but I don't know when it will happen and I can't make it happen on will.

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Rav4. Whenever he drove the vehicle at various speeds and removed his foot from the accelerator pedal, the speed and the rpms would not decrease for 10 seconds. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 19,754.

I purchased a new Toyota Rav4 (2008 LS) in the summer of 2008. I quickly realized that there seemed to be a problem with acceleration. I reported it then and the first several times it went in for scheduled maintenance. The response has been the same - that's just what Toyotas do. The problem - when accelerating from a stop when the car has been idling, the car hesitates. There is a second or 2 during which there is no power. Then, the power kicks in and the car jumps forward, not because the pedal is sticking but because the car suddenly "catches up" with the gas pedal. The explanation given by two dealers is this: in the Toyota, there is a delay between when the pedal is pressed down and when the car's computer sends the information to the carburetor, or whatever passes for it in new engines. That causes the sequence - press the gas pedal, hesitation, then surge. This is most dangerous when trying to merge into heavy, fast moving traffic. Openings in the traffic are usually small but adequate if the car responds. However, when the car hesitates, then surges, the opening can be missed and the car and driver are at risk for a significant accident. The problem is also intermittent so that the driver can be caught off guard, even when experienced with the car. I'm filing this because I see that your department has gone past the sticking pedal to look at possible problems with the electronics and computer systems in the cars. So I thought this might be helpful. Ps-I have been fortunate that the problem has not caused an accident. However, there have been situations where a little luck and a quick foot to the brake pedal was all that prevented one. Psps-I will gladly provide the VIN # but I do not have it available now.