Steering Knuckle Spindle Problems of Toyota RAV4

Note: Toyota called and said that since I had the car repaired, they could not do anything. . . . . I saved the part. I am writing now because I saw a tv news story about the roll-over concern with SUV's. This would have been a tragic roll-over if not for the location and low speed. Dear Toyota (edited for space), it is rare that I would take this step unless I thought not speaking up could be far more tragic or disastrous. Last week, as I was slowly turning the corner down a side street at work (I work on an army installation), I heard and felt a tremendous crash. My rav-4 dropped on the right side and the tire instantly blew. My momentum was stopped by a large concrete barrier or I may have hit someone. After I was towed (the car was not drivable), the mechanic confirmed what I was told by some of the engineers - something snapped (completely severed) underneath ("in a weird spot"). . . . That something was part of the steering knuckle. As I travel route 80 in northern NJ, I am very grateful when I was told that if I had been on a highway, I would have flipped, possibly several times, and, obviously, would not be writing to you now. . . . . I bought my rav-4 in 1996 when they first came out. Although it cost me $1800. 00 in repairs, the money is least important in the scheme of things. I'm constantly looking at the road surface to avoid any bump. . . . Braking inappropriately, but this is not the way it should be. I would not be this upset if this was a small car, but this is a SUV and I expect it to handle the rigors of a NJ winter. Even a Toyota mechanic told me this should not have happened. . . To paraphrase him. . . . 'these trucks are built to last forever'. Could there be a flaw in the part? I took a digital photo of the part that was completely severed (and no, it is not the ball joint). I cannot attach it to this e-mail. Telling me a bought the car in '96 and have over 100,000 miles on it is not an acceptable answer. Thank you, celeste goodhart.

See all problems of the 1996 Toyota RAV4 🔎.