Table 1 shows one common vehicle speed control related problems of the 2017 Toyota RAV4.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control problems |
I am the driver's husband and the driver was the only one in the car. I assist her to file this report the accident happened around 6 pm on 12. 28. 2025 my wife was involved in a single car accident in a parking lot. She made a left turn at the intersection of 192nd Ave and 3rd st, and then entered into the parking lot from the north entrance. The car hit the curb as she entered the parking lot. Then the car (rav4) started accelerating by itself, and was out of control. She cannot stop the car. To avoid going straight and hit the shops at the other end of the parking lot, she turned the wheel to one side. She hit a light post and then hit something else. The vehicle flipped over and landed on its roof. The vehicle was totaled. She was trapped inside the car unable to free herself until the ambulance, tow truck and the police arrived. By god's grace, she did not hit any other car or person and she only suffered minor injury. She was taken to the emergency room at peace health, examined and released after 3 hours. If you look at the Rav4, you cannot believe that she only suffered minor injury. Praise the lord. She is still mentally shaken up by this traumatic event. Looking at the pictures of the damage to the vehicle, the car must have been traveling at a very high speed and there is no way that the driver stepped on the gas pedal intentionally. The insurance company is liberty mutual claim# [xxx] -xx the vehicle is considered total loss by the insurance company. Edr was inspected but data in the edr was not collected. I suspect this incident was not caused by the driver, the data in the edr will tell the true story. I asked liberty mutual to retrieve the data from the edr to prove that the gas pedal was not depressed by the driver. If the car accelerated without the driver stepping on the gas pedal, then the vehicle has safety issues. I am waiting for liberty mutual to retrieve the data. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
While driving the vehicle on an uphill stretch of highway with cruise control set at approximately 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly slowed down without warning. A distinct clunk was heard at the same moment. The cruise control system attempted to restore speed, and the engine became noticeably louder, but the vehicle struggled to return to the set speed. The driver tapped the brake to disengage cruise control and manually pressed the accelerator to resume normal speed. The trip was completed without additional events. After parking, the check engine light illuminated and the cruise control system became disabled on all subsequent drives. No warning indicators were present at the time of the initial failure, and there were no vehicles ahead that would have triggered the collision-avoidance system. Two days later, the vehicle became an intermittent no-start and eventually failed to start entirely. The vehicle was towed to a dealership for inspection. Technicians confirmed an electrical malfunction and reported that the multiplex ecu was likely experiencing an internal short. A parasitic draw test showed an abnormally high current draw of approximately 113 MA, which disappeared when the dome-light fuse and later the multiplex ecu were disconnected. The failure is intermittent and appears to involve an internal electrical short within the multiplex ecu. The sudden loss of cruise control function, abrupt deceleration, and subsequent intermittent electrical behavior created a safety risk, as the electrical malfunction occurred without warning while the vehicle was in motion. The issue was confirmed by a dealership service department.
Gas pedal won’t work.
I was slowing at a stop sign and the car suddenly accelerated. My foot was not on the gas pedal but it continued to accelerate causing and accident at an intersection.
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked. The contact stated that upon shifting to drive (d) and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lurched, accelerated unintendedly, and crashed into the base of a lamp pole; however, the engine continued to rev loudly. The air bags did not deploy. The contact depressed the brake pedal and while attempting to reverse away from the lamp pole, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and impacted a curb. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as needed. The contact then pulled into a parking space. The contact did not sustain any injury. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an autobody repair shop, where the contact was informed that the vehicle was significantly damaged. The contact was referred to an auto collision center. The vehicle was towed to the auto collision center where repairs were made. The vehicle was the taken to the dealer, where the edr crash data report was read. The manufacturer sent a letter to the contact, informing her that the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact followed up with the manufacturer, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 24, 971.
As I drive about 70 mph, the abs and the brake lights come on and the car is momentarily out of control. As I grabbed the tearing and reduce the speed dramatically, the system correct itself and I am able to continue driving at a very low speed.
I was backing my car up to unload a shelf at work. I was backing a short distance( 15 ft) on a flat surface. The tailgate of the car was up. I had to turn the car slightly to the right to back it towards a handicap ramp. My car was rolling so I was using the brake and moving slowly when my car accelerated backwards. I was pressing my foot on the brake, almost standing on it , and my car accelerated through the railing onto the ramp while my foot was on the brake. This railing was about 35 ft long and had 7 post that were cemented into the ramp. The whole railing was knocked down. Two of my coworkers were standing on the ramp waiting to help unload the shelf were injured. Both coworkers had broken legs that required metal rods. One coworker had a more serious leg injury and will require multiple surgeries and skin grafting.
I had the dealer check on a problem I was having. The stated "if customer is a two footed river or the brake pedal is touched along with the gas pedal the accelerator is over ridden in the computer causing vehicle not to accelerate". This has happened many time with my vehicle resulting in complete loss of power. . Usually when from a stop into traffic. Potential problem of no power when cross traffic is coming or when entering freeway. Was never told about this when the car was purchased.
2017 Rav4 hybrid xle - 4300 miles hello, experience a problem last week driving on the highway. While driving 75 mph, I took my foot off gas pedal to coast, the "ev" light came on for about "1/2 - 1" second and then went off. If I happened to press the gas pedal at the time the light was on at about 65-70 mph, I experienced a shaking, vibration, and a feeling that I ran over something for about a 1/2 second timeframe. It was very noticeable and troubling. If I waited the second for the light to go off while coasting, then no problems. I took it to my dealer and they could not recreate, no computer codes, and indicated that this is normal since the electric and gas is "out of sync" at the high speed. This was certainly not normal to me. My thought is that the ev light should never had come on (even for a 1/2 second) at the high speeds and there is a problem somewhere.
As I was approaching the mail box area in my apartment complex at approximately 15 mph, I put my foot on the brake to turn into the parking area in front of the four metal mailboxes and put the vehicle in "park" when the vehicle suddenly lurched forward and jumped the six-inch, brick-paver curb. I crashed into the mailbox structure, completely uplifting the base that was bolted into the concrete and hit a wood trash container holder. I depressed the brake pedal harder but my vehicle would not slow down or stop and I also could not control the steering. I continued up a hill (at 45-50 mph) consisting of tall grass, wildflowers, rocks, etc. , across a walking path of woodchips and mulch, then down the hill (still with my foot on the brake) grazing the branches and leaves of a small tree before coming off the six-inch curb and back onto the street, where I hit a light post. I managed to lift the parking brake, slam on the brake again and the vehicle rolled to a stop. It should be noted that none of the airbags deployed.