general problems of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 - part 2

The contact stated that the owner of a 2021 Toyota Rav4 was driving approximately 35 mph when the odor of burning rubber was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. After stopping and exiting the vehicle flames were present coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroy during the incident. A fire report was taken at the scene and the vehicle towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified. The contact indicated that vehicle had recently been repaired after a front end crash had occurred. The contact also reference a NHTSA open investigation(pe21005) for the same failure that had occurred. The failure mileage was 30,000.

When driving the car and stopping at a stop sign or stop light, the engine will shut off. The automatic restart occurs and with the headlights on the climate temp control display flickers while all the other dashlights remain bright. Many people are disabling the system. Since there is a switch you can press, defeating the system. Toyota sent a technical specialist who inspected the system. And since he couldn't find how to fix it, declared it normal. Apparently Toyota designed the car to do this for some unknown reason. He stated that lights will dim when the car restarts. It is not dimming as if a current draw, it flickers every time. This of course, affects the fuel economy of the car, defeating the system, which many people do and creates a concern of why that one component flickers. Toyota installs a heavy 605a battery to operate this system since there are so many restarts. Will this create a car fire at some point? I would imagine that it makes a difference in the cafe reporting since so many people disable the system.

Vehicle stumbles on moderate acceleration from slow speed, hesitates shifting also. Problem has persisted since new. Dealers rep "they're all like that. Can't find any problem. No warning lamps. I think there is a TSB but it seems well hidden. I feel it is a safety issue - acceleration from low speed compromised. We have 2 more 2021 Rav4s in the family that do not do that. I believe Toyota knows about this problem. Also had a problem with vehicle slamming violently into lower gear when coming to a stop. Dealer could not find problem. I checked vehicle and found air filter housing not properly secured. I latched it properly and that seemed to solve slamming into lower gear problem. Dealers mechanic (?) must have not latched it properly after 12 month service. No telling how much dirt was sucked into engine while that was happening. The stumbling/ drivability hesitant shifting problem persists. Several people have reported this problem. One was fixed by a dealer attending to a software problem. This is a known problem that is being ignored. This has happened since new Jan 29, 2021.