Cruise Control problems of the 2009 Toyota RAV4

The contact owns a 2009 Toyota Rav4. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph with the cruise control activated. The contact approached a traffic stop and applied the brakes but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The gear was shifted into neutral in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The technician was unable to detect a trouble code. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.

On Sunday, August 28, 2011 at approximately 12 in the afternoon, I was driving my family's 2009 Toyota Rav4 with my wife and infant son, eastbound on highway 44 between winner, sd and platte, sd. With the vehicle's cruise control set at the speed limit of 65 mph, I changed lanes and began to pass the truck ahead of our vehicle on this two-lane country road. Increasing the vehicle's speed to 70 mph to complete the pass of the other vehicle and return to the eastbound lane, the Toyota Rav4 unintentionally accelerated to speeds in excess of 85 mph. At the time of the sudden unintended acceleration, the pedal area was checked and confirmed to be clear of any obstructions, including the vehicle's driver-side floor mat. With the cruise control off and the brakes cautiously applied, the Toyota Rav4 would not slow down from its state of sudden unintended acceleration. It was determined that the only way to take back control of the vehicle was by completely pressing the brakes to the floor; however, the decrease in speed was gradual at best, and the engine continued to rev out of control. The vehicle's brakes were fully engaged in this way until the vehicle stalled out, partially onto the shoulder of the road at a speed just under 10 mph. Again at this time, the pedal area was checked and confirmed to be clear of any obstructions, including the vehicle's driver-side floor mat. Over the last two years, the vehicle has had three accelerator pedal recall repairs and one floor mat recall repair completed and is not reprogrammable for the brake override system that is being installed in the newest Toyota models. With no crash resulting from the Aug. 28 incident, the vehicle was rejected for an inspection or any further services. As this was a very scary and traumatic situation for my family, the Toyota Rav4 has not been operated under the same driving conditions since the incident.

Sudden acceleration 2009 Toyota Rav4. Pulling out of a hotel parking lot towards stop sign, very low speed, took foot off gas pedal and placed on brake pedal. Rpm's increased dramatically. Slammed gear to neutral, kept foot hard on brake pedal, shut off engine. Situation repeated once following day in similar scenario. Both events during first long road trip in car (over 500 miles driving before incident). Second incident - foot released gas pedal but resting on gas pedal - could sense gas pedal pulled down like when vehicle accelerating after resume when using cruise control. I never use cruise control.

While driving on interstate with cruise control set @ 70mph. And entering a reduced speed area, I disable cruise by tapping brakes. After traveling a few miles the car would accelerate at a fast rate on its own. I would then either tap the brakes again or turn off the cruise to stop the acceleration. This has happened at least 6 to 8 separate occasions. Last use of cruise was in November.