general problems of the 2012 Toyota RAV4

Over the last several years, I have experienced a minimum of four, possibly one or two more, incidents of this vehicle accelerating at a high rate while I have had my foot on the brake. In all of these cases, I was braking to come to a stop - braking quickly and hard in a couple cases. While braking and slowing, my engine revved/accelerated at a very high rate. In all of these incidents, I changed gears to neutral, and the acceleration stopped. These incidents were random and very far apart from one another in terms of time. In all cases, my foot was firmly (and only) on the brake pedal, and my floor mat was in the proper position and secure. There was nothing in contact with the acceleration pedal. On Monday, March 10, 2025, I got into my car in our garage to go to work. The car started normally. When I put my car into reverse, the engine started revving/accelerating at a very high rate and it was lurching, like it was trying to move. Luckily, my foot was firmly on the brake, and the brake held. I quickly put the car back into park, and the engine began revving/accelerating at an even higher rate. I then turned the car off. Again, I checked my floor mat, and it was in place and secured, my foot was only on the brake pedal, and there was nothing touching the acceleration pedal. This was a frightening experience, and at that point I decided that I would never drive this car again. If I did not have my brake firmly engaged, my car would have shot out of my garage when I put it in reverse. Upon researching the problem, my husband and I read about the unintended acceleration that many people have experienced with Toyotas, causing numerous deaths and injuries, and about the class action law suit with Toyota. Although the investigation seemed to chalk the incidents up to "user error" - foot being on the wrong pedal, floor mats affecting the acceleration pedal, etc. - I know with 100% confidence that none of these were the case. I will be notifying Toyota, as well.

On june10th. I had a majoir accident in which both my wife & myself suffered fractured sternums & fractured ribs. What happened was that I pulled into a lot in princeton, n. J. & after stopping to set my gps, I just tapped the accelerator & the car shot forward, as if shot out of a cannon. While stopped I put the car in reverse & the car shot backwards in the same manner, thereby striking a wall. Now I went forward like a rocket, with no time to hit the brake, thereby going headfirst into a parked construction truck.

When pulling my 2012 Toyota Rav4 into a parking space at very low rate of speed, I tapped the brake pedal and the engine immediately started roaring and accelerating out of control. The car jumped the curb that was directly in front of the parking spot, crossed the road, jumped another curb, and landed in a muddy ravine. The car was towed to the Toyota dealership to be repaired and the tech couldn't find anything wrong with the brakes. I reported the incident to Toyota. They sent an investigator. They claim the edr detected no defects in the vehicle and blamed it on either me mistaking the accelerator for the brakes or my custom fitted, lock-in weathertech floor mat which has been in place since day one of owning this vehicle since 2012. I had never had any problems with the vehicle before this and I have always loved my car but am now terrified that it will accelerate on it's own again.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. On several occasions, while driving various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to ball Toyota of charleston (1905 patrick st plaza, charleston, wv 25387, (304) 513-3777) to be diagnosed, but the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact stated that Toyota corporation sent an engineer to retrieve data from the vehicle data recorder, but was unsuccessful. The approximate failure mileage was 33,450.

3 weeks after the 50,000 mile service, on October 22 2019, I was driving 35 mph on soquel avenue, when the car became unresponsive, I lost all power and control of the vehicle, and "check ev system" came onto the instrument cluster. I was able to coast to the side of the road into a bus stop, turned the car off, and had the car towed into the dealership. The dealership was unable to replicate the symptom and informed me that it was due to the 12v battery. They replaced it and assured me the issue would not happen again. On Nov 11, 2019, the issue happened again while I was on the highway this time. I had the car towed in again to Toyota, who informed me that "some Rav4 evs have been in the shop for months, unable to be diagnosed". I researched the symptom online and found that it related to a 2015 recall that related to the electric traction motor. Toyota's description of the f01 recall: in the involved Rav4 ev�s, components in the electric vehicle traction motor assembly, which is part of the propulsion system, may cause the vehicle to shift to �neutral� due to a software issue. This condition will also trigger a �check ev system� warning message on the instrument panel and turn on a malfunction indicator lamp. If the vehicle shifts to �neutral�, this will result in a complete loss of drive power, which can increase the risk of a crash. I informed the dealership that my symptoms matched up with recall exactly, and then was told that it had nothing to do with this as this recall had been performed on April 18 2016 when I had my car in. Upon further questioning, I was also told that some of the Rav4 evs had had their motors replaced as part of this recall, in addition to the software change, but mine had not. Toyota failed to recognize this flaw not once but twice and I am seeking compensation for failure to properly recognize and address a known issue. ## #vpic# 4 - VIN corrected, error in one position onl. . .

I was coming to a stoplight and press the brakes the car came to stop then the engine revved up very fast. My foot was on the brakes but the engine was revving very fast that I had to use the parking brake to stop the vehicle from moving forward. I put the car in park then the engine stop revving.

I was coming to a stoplight and I put my foot in the brake pedal. The car slowed down, came to a stop but then with my foot on the brake pedal, the engine reved up to 3000 rpm. The brakes were barely able to keep the car stopped so I had to put the emergency brake on. I was in drive the whole time. Once the light changed, I took my foot off the brake pedal and onto to gas pedal and the rpm's dropped back to 1000. It hasn't happened since then. Took it to my mechanic and said they couldn't replicate the problem so they couldn't fix anything.

I was in a parking area looking for a parking spot. I had just driven up a slight incline and crested the top when I spotted an open space on the left. I braked slightly to turn into the spot, lifted my foot off the brake but kept it covered and made the left turn intending to coast into the spot. In the middle of the turn the vehicle inexplicably accelerated at which point I slammed my foot on the brake ending up cross ways in the parking spot and just short of a parking sign in front on the curb. The engine immediately returned to idle speed. The throttle pedal, which is top mounted, was examined and found to be clear and free. No idea what might be the cause, most likely electronically related. Frightening situation.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While driving at a low speed and depressing the brake pedal to stop, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle was taken to central maine Toyota (15 airport rd, waterville, me 04901, phone number: (207) 872-5444) where the technician diagnosed that the failure was due to driver error. The failure recurred three times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact back to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 66,500.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While attempting to park, the vehicle surged forward, went over the curb, and slammed into a brick wall. The front air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired and was under evaluation by the insurance company. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 105,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While at a completed stop, the vehicle accelerated independently. The emergency brake was engaged to stop the vehicle. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred on three occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000.

While stopped in a left turn lane at a major city intersection behind a line of about 6 stopped cars, the engine suddenly began to race at high speed. The car moved forward and hit the rear of the car in front before I could depress the brake hard. I did that, put the car into neutral, applied the emergency brake, and turned the engine off at the ignition key before checking on the condition of the folks in the car in front. There was no way that I could have mistaken which pedal was which, as I was already depressing the brake pedal to keep from moving.

I was driving in heavy traffic at appx: 35-40mph. On us interstate #66. The weather was clear, and the road was relatively level. As the other cars slowed, I took my foot off the accelerator but the car surged forward. I --literally--had to stand on the brake as the engine surged. I managed to push the shifter into park. The engine continued to race but, when I pumped the accelerator several times, the engine speed dropped back to idle. I did not hit any other vehicle or object. I have had two (2) similar incidents in the last 5-6 months-- but this is the first time that I reported it--to both nhsa and Toyota. I took it to the Toyota dealership, expecting a quick fix but instead, the dealership personnel became defensive, claimed that the well known history of Toyota acceleration problems was a fraud. Nevertheless, they had a preprinted" unexpected acceleration" report form which they filled out with my "verbatim" accounts.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While attempting to engage the brakes, the vehicle accelerated withouty warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the technician was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000.

12/21/15 - my vehicle was stationary. I just finished refueling and started the car. I had my right foot on the brake, and switched from park to drive. My left foot stayed on the floor, to the left of the brake pedal. Without removing my right foot from the brake, the engine revved and the car lurched forward. I pressed extremely hard on the brake to keep the car from moving forward, and could hear and feel the engine and brake fighting each other. This lasted approximately 3 seconds and the engine returned to idle. The brake and accelerator pedals are not that close, it would be impossible to press both at the same time.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While driving 5 mph, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The contact was able to stop the vehicle by shutting it off. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred on multiple occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,800.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While stopped at a red light or stop sign, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The failure recurred randomly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while making a right turn, the vehicle accelerated. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

Rough engine, car speed up without feet on pedal,slow breaking I took the car into dealer the next day(3/19/2014) this am and they told me they have to duplicate what I had experienced. They stated they did not see anything on the computer data, but will test on next morning of 3/20/2014 to drive it. The complaints were that I was driving in a 70 mile zone and the the car acelerated to 90 miles the car shifted out of d drive to 3d on it's own while driving and also rough engine while acelerating higher than the speed limit, and while braking,isaw very little stoppage. Also same day near my home,I stopped at a stop sign,when taking off the car jerks forward to 22 miles. This was not the first time I had reported to them, was after I had the 2010 Toyota rava4 about similar problems, they offered to buy it back the 2010 model in return for the 2012 Toyota Rav4 that I got in 2012. My maintence is up to date also. It is scary when you experience a problem like this, thank god for no accident. Update as of last night no communication on findings or repairs,I received a call while reporting this information to you(safer car), a rep michcal,stated they cannot find anything wrong with car, they checked all data drove the car could not fine anything,I asked about engine and transmission, he stated that they checked the levels,data could not find anything, for me to could come pick the car up, I insist they do a more intensive look into this, the guy became aggressive, and stated he has to check with his manager to check again later today. Tony meyers manager of gainesville Toyota called stated could not duplicate what I was experiening,stated he drove the car to the mall of georgia , he found a down shift when going down a hill,car was safe, and that the shift was a normal thing,and there is nothing else they could do and for me to come and pick up the car.

Approaching stop light and slowing down to 35 mph. Stepped on brake with right foot and engine went from 2000 to 3000 rpm without anything against accelerator. Stepped on brake as hard as possible, but could not get vehicle to slow down until well past the stop light. This exact same thing happened again three days later on 2/14/14. Had walser Toyota run a diagnostic check on this vehicle on 2/14/14, but it did not show any errors.

I was slowly maneuvering into a parking space when the car revved up, jumped over the concrete barrier, over the curb and sidewalk. I was headed directly toward a building and a large plate glass window. The brakes did not stop the car, and felt squishy when I pushed them all the way to the floor. I swerved to the right, turned off the key and hit a parked car in order to stop. I also want to mention that the tire pressure gauge light would come on any time I was driving on the highway at speeds over 50 mph.

The latest incident was the 8th time this has occurred since purchased new in sept. 2012. After highway driving approached a traffic light and when brake applied car revved up and lurched forward. Since nothing stops this except turning off ignition this was done again and car restarted and no further incident. Contacted dealership and after having car there for 2 days was told no replication could be made. I contacted the Toyota office in California and after more delays have not been given a rental. Car is still at dealership and the service manager said he is doing nothing until he hears from California that may approve super tech to look at car. Very dissatisfied with Toyota dangerous situation and they are in deny mode until someone is seriously hurt or killed. Will never buy another Toyota after this poor run around service on both coasts.

Vehicle was slowing down from original speed of 45mph approaching a traffic light. After applying the brake the vehicle's engine started to rev up and accelerate with foot on the brake. The harder the brake pedal depressed the higher the rpms and foot was not touching the gas pedal. After a few seconds and brake pressed as hard as possible the engine quit running and the car was totally shut off after jolting forward. After getting car restarted it was running rough at 45 mph and short distance from home. This was a Friday night. Called Toyota dealer next morning and made appointment for them to check it out on Tuesday June 4. Had to use the rav on Sunday June 2 to pick up a part at the hardware. Ran fine for the 4 miles or so to the hardware. Upon starting the car, after leaving the hardware, it reved up to a very high rpm then droped back to normal. Drive back home was ok. On the way to the Toyota dealer on June 4 I could watch rpms fluctuate in an abnormal manner after hitting the brake for a stop at traffic light. While at the dealer I filed a case with Toyota. I sat there for about 4 hours before they told me they did not find anything. I said I was not going to take the vehicle home if they had not tried anything to fix the problem. They put a call in for the local Toyota rep and they are waiting for a response.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While driving various speeds or while idling at a traffic light, the vehicle would surge forward independently. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 4,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph and approaching a stop signal when there was an abnormal increase in acceleration. The engine rpms increased rapidly. The contact shifted into neutral and the engine was turned off. Once the vehicle was restarted, it resumed as normal. The failure recurred eight times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and they were unable to detect a failure code. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 190. The VIN was unavailable.

While attempting to roll the vehicle forward to clear a doorway, the vehicle jumped forward about 6 feet. At that time I pulled my foot off the gas and pushed the brake pedal to the floor. The vehicle stopped momentarily, then began to accelerate picking up speed rapidly as evidenced by the revving of the engine. I continued to pump the brake since holding it to the floor was doing nothing. By this time I had gone through a chain link fence, through a ditch over a curb and continued to pick up speed to pass through a concrete block wall and into the back of a parked r. ,the vehicle impaling itself on the steel pipes of a motorcycle carrier attached to the back of the r. V. The vehicle could not move any further but the engine was still revving. Needless to say the Rav4 was totaled and amazingly I suffered only minor bumps and bruises. At no time did any of the air bags deploy.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the rpms increased drastically. The contact decelerated and shifted into neutral. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The technician informed the contact that the vehicle was manufactured correctly and to place the vehicle in neutral whenever the failure occurred. The technician also informed the contact that the failure only occurred at low speeds. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 250.

11 oct 12 - I bought a 2012 Rav4. 24 oct 12 - I stopped at a stop sign. As I applied the brake the car accelerated. I pushed the brake hard and the car decelerated. A few minutes later I approached a stop sign at my house. When I applied the brake the car accelerated. Before I could push harder on the brake the car ran the stop sign and then decelerated. I called Toyota customer service. I explained what happened with the acceleration issues. I told the rep I looked at my foot position in between incidents and there was no way I could press the accelerator and brake pedals together. The rep told me there was no recalls on this year Rav4. He said take the car to the nearest Toyota dealer. I took the car to Toyota and explained everything to them. The service man told me that the floor mat being caught up underneath the brake was the issue. He told me that the rep from Toyota would look at it. 5 Nov 12 - Toyota called to say the Toyota rep couldn't duplicate the problem. 6 Nov 12 - I went to Toyota to pick up my car. I left the dealership and stopped the car to wait for traffic. After sitting with my foot on the brake for about 4-5 seconds, the car began accelerating on its own. I firmly pushed hard on the brake and looked at my foot to assure myself I wasn't near the gas pedal. I verified the floor mat wasn¿t on the gas pedal. I placed the car in neutral as it was revving up and noticed the tachometer went between 6500 to 7000 rpm¿s (in the red). When traffic cleared for me to turn, I made a turn, the car lunged forward and the acceleration decelerated. I drove the car directly to Toyota and explained what just happened. 7 Nov 12 I got a phone call from Toyota customer service corporate telling me that I could pick up the vehicle from the Toyota dealership. They could not duplicate the problem and they said the car was safe to drive.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota rav 4. The contact stated that the vehicle abnormally accelerated as the brakes were depressed. The contact applied the brakes harder and the vehicle stopped. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection but they could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified and sent someone to further inspect the vehicle but they could not determine the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 200. The VIN was unavailable.

I pulled into a left turn lane to make a turn. As I was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear the car suddenly surged forward. I slammed on the brakes. That stopped the car. Fortunately there wasn't a car in front of me, otherwise I would have had an accident. I was riding with my cousin and we were traveling about 25 miles an hour on a busy street. The car surged, my cousin asked if I had stepped on the gas, I hadn't. I immediately took the car to the Toyota dealership. I told the tech what had happened, he said that was impossible. Took the car for a short drive and said there was nothing wrong with the car. It continues to happen periodically. I have also noticed this week that the transmission seems to lug down when it shifts. I am concerned about the overall performance of this car, not to mention the defect in the paralyzed white paint. One trip through the car wash with normal dirt and the top layer of paint came off in one area. The dealership is to call me when the rep comes in to look at the paint that was weeks ago and no one has called.

Tl-the contact owns a 2012 Toyota rav-4. The contact stated that while stopped, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was unable to be determined. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that upon shifting into drive, there was a rapid increase in the engine rpms and the vehicle began to surge forward. The contact applied excessive pressure to the brake pedal, but the engine continued to rev. Another individual opened the doors and turned off the ignition. The vehicle was then towed to an authorized dealer and they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 1,009.