Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | ||||||
| EA12006 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/14/2012 | 02/12/2013 | Power Window Master Switch Fire | 12V491000 | |
| On october 10, 2012, toyota initiated a safety recall of approximately 2.5 million u.s. vehicles involving the following models and model years:2007-2009 camry and camry hybrid, 2009 corolla and corolla matrix, 2008 highlander and highlander hybrid, 2007-2009 rav4, 2008-2009 scion xb and xd, 2008-2009 sequoia, 2007-2008 tundra, 2007-2008 yaris, and 2009 pontiac vibe.see nhtsa recall number 12v-491 for more details, including the affected vehicle manufacture dates for each vehicle model.note that only early-production 2009 model year vehicles are included in the recall.toyota and gm dealers will inspect the power window master switch (pwms) assemblies and apply a specialized grease that inhibits heat build-up.the circuit board in the pwms may be replaced with a new one if notchy or sticking feeling is observed during the inspection.the failure report summary above shows counts for the vehicles identified at the start of this engineering analysis, specifically the approximately 1.4 million vehicles that share an identical pwms assembly design including, model year 2007-2009 camry, camry hybrid, rav4, and yaris built from september 2006 through august 2008, as well as all 2008 highlander hybrid.toyota subsequently identified approximately one million additional vehicles that have a slightly different pwms design but contain the same defect condition.note that the totals for complaints and fires shown above may include duplicative reports (between odi and manufacturer reports).this engineering analysis is closed.see attached report for additional information.the odi reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification numbers: 10323848, 10360414, 10392622, 10394453, 10411328, 10429983, 10436663, 10446699, 10447416, 10447417, 10447419, 10447444, 10447515, 10447845, 10447947, 10449270, 10450133, 10450568, 10450606, 10450641, 10451821, 10455540, 10455614, 10456353, 10456438, 10457854, 10457955, 10459730, 10460166, 10460691, 10461220, 10462140, 10462200, 10462247, 10462404, 10462705, 10462761, 10464451, 10464769, 10465421, 10466279, 10466667, 10468126, 10468265, 10475230, 10470313, 10470684, 10471551, 10471824, 10472336, 10472910, 10473753, 10473967, 10473969, 10476921, 10477469, 10478563 and 10478657. | ||||||
| PE12002 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 02/06/2012 | 06/14/2012 | Power Window Master Switch Fire | ||
| Odi has identified certain toyota vehicles experiencing a higher rate of fire and thermal event incidents among all toyota vehicles that use the same power window master switch design.they include a total of approximately 1.4 million model year (my) 2007 through 2009 camry, camry hybrid, rav4 and yaris vehicles built from approximately september 2006 through august 2008, as well as all my 2008 highlander hybrid vehicles.this preliminary evaluation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea12-006) to further study the alleged defect and its consequences.the odi reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification numbers: 10461220, 10460691, 10460166, 10459730, 10457955, 10457854, 10456438, 10456353, 10455614, 10455540, 10451821, 10450641, 10450606, 10450568, 10450133, 10449270, 10447947, 10447845, 10447515, 10447444, 10447419, 10447417, 10447416, 10446699, 10436663, 10429983, 10411328, 10407290, 10394453, 10392622, 10360414, 10323848. | ||||||
| EA12006 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/14/2012 | Power Window Master Switch Fire | |||
| Odi has identified certain toyota vehicles experiencing a higher rate of fire and thermal event incidents among all toyota vehicles that use the same power window master switch design.they include a total of approximately 1.4 million model year (my) 2007 through 2009 camry, camry hybrid, rav4 and yaris vehicles built from approximately september 2006 through august 2008, as well as all my 2008 highlander hybrid vehicles.this engineering analysis is being opened to further study the alleged defect and its consequences.the odi reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification numbers:10461220, 10460691, 10460166, 10459730, 10457955, 10457854, 10456438, 10456353, 10455614, 10455540, 10451821, 10450641, 10450606, 10450568, 10450133, 10449270, 10447947, 10447845, 10447515, 10447444, 10447419, 10447417, 10447416, 10446699, 10436663, 10429983, 10411328, 10407290, 10394453, 10392622, 10360414, 10323848. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | |||
| 09/18/2009 | 32 | ||
| Since this car was bought on sept 18, 2009 it has had a shimmy problem. dealer could never find anything wrong but would do an alignment and tire rotation when he took it in for an oil change at 19,265 mi on nov 8, 2011, they told my father he needed tires and that a lug nut was missing. he took it down the block to a tire shop who stated the car was unsafe to drive without at least 2 new tires and an alignment. then on may 20, 2012 replaced the other 2 tires at 23,192 mi. he has had problems with the lug nuts replacing 3 different ones now. the last lug nut that was missing the lug stud was broken also. when i took it to the dealer to be to have 2 of the recalls fixed and the lug stud replaced on nov 30, 2012 they even said these rav4's have been having these issues. we just received a fifth recall notice, a second recall on the suspension. corporate does not fill any of the above issues are related nor their responsibilty, that we need to go to the original tire manufacture regarding the tire issue, they also stated his warranty expired in sept 2012. my father has the 7yr-70,000 mile platinium warranty, (the last dealership i took it to also stated the warranty had expired on 9/12/2012). toyota corp gave me the ph no for extra care extended warranty regarding the lack of coverage and said to was possible if we actually had the extended warranty that they could do something for us. when i spoke with them they stated the warranty was in the national system and had no reason as to why they'd question that. when i explained the continual problems he said corp needs to address. everyone points the finger at others. the car currently has 26,900 mi. my father has been very ill the past 1 1/2 years and is unable to deal with these issues. my father hates this car, the dealership in vacaville purchased from & he does not feel safe driving this vehicle. | |||
| 10/01/2012 | 1 | ||
| 2009 toyota rav 4. consumer writes in regards to vehicle defect and cost *tgw document was written in spanish. | |||
| 08/17/2012 | 75676 | ||
| While braking (at about 5 mph) to make a turn into our carport, the vehicle began to accelerate with a rapid increase in engine rpms. in order to stop the vehicle, the gear was shifted into park (tried to shift it into neutral, but ended up in park). car returned to idle. immediately check the floor mat to find it was not a factor. called toyota dealership in the area and made appointment for following work day. after 1-1/2 weeks at the dealership, they checked the vehicle and said nothing was found wrong with it. he noted that the floor mats were after market floor mats and not recommended. i explained that this was checked immediately after the car returned to idle and was not a factor. he assured me that everything was checked and nothing was found wrong with the vehicle. | |||
| 08/05/2012 | 56000 | ||
| I was at a stop sign and turning right with my grandson in the backseat, i heard a loud noise no other car around me at the time pulled over and looked all around the car and in the back to see if something fell over nothing was in the back. started driving again and heard wind noise pulled over again and looked all under rav and tires got ready to get in side looked up on the top and the sunroof had a hole in it and shattered. nothing hit it just shattered. if had had the inside open glass would have been all inside the vehicle. toyota said not in warranty and the extended warranty purchased did not cover either, had to file insurance claim. was never advised when purchased that the sunroof could just explode and shatter for no reason. now have a vehicle that i will not ever open the inside door for the sunroof again if would shatter while open would get glass all over everyone. thank goodness was only going about 20 miles hour and the inside sunroof door closed when happened. if had been going 65 miles hour and had the sunroof inside door open could have caused wreck. | |||
| 05/10/2011 | |||
| On may 10, 2011 i experienced sudden unintended acceleration and then intermittently until on august 31, 2011 i experienced 3 even more dramatic unintended accelerations within about 40 minutes. i took the car to my nearby mechanic who told me this was something that requires the attention of toyota dealer. the local dealer called in a toyota regional specialist in unintended acceleration who concluded after tests that everything appears to be normal. he did indicate that braking can actually cause revving which sounds like unintended acceleration & perhaps that is what i experienced. he also said that toyota is considering building future models with greater distance between the accelerator and brake pedals & they may also elevate the brake pedal so there is more separation between these 2 pedals and thus less likelihood of one's foot drifting between them. in conclusion, there remains in my mind an uncertainty as to what has been the cause of the unintended and scary acceleration i experienced. it may have been caused by accelerator pedal or ironically by the use of the brake pedal. if the latter, perhaps toyota needs to make an appropriate modification so that neither pedal can cause unintended acceleration. | |||
| 09/01/2011 | 36000 | ||
| I was driving up my driveway, applied the brakes and did not stop, but was forced forward until i hit my house. i searched for the brakes but could not find them, because the brakes were stucked to the floor. there was no brake light on. before that the odometer was jumping between numbers (20,17, 54, ect.). i had my car to the toyota dealership twice and they could not find anything. i had 5 boys in my house and hit my son's bedroom, someone could of been injured. | |||
| 08/14/2011 | 15000 | ||
| On 8-14-2011 my husband was driving our rav4. we had just left a residential house and had been driving through the neighborhood at approximately 30 mph (maximum). as we approached the red stoplight at the neighborhood exit, he took his foot off the accelerator to gradually come to a stop. the vehicle was then moving at less than 5 miles per hour. when he pushed his foot more firmly on the brake to come to a complete stop, the engine starting racing wildly. he then put the vehicle in neutral and turned off the engine. when he restarted the car everything worked fine. a visual inspection verified that the floor mat was nowhere near the gas pedal and the gas pedal moved perfectly (not stuck). considering the circumstances, i cannot believe that either the floor mat or a stuck gas pedal caused this acceleration. fortunately (at least this time), the warnings from toyota and discussions on the internet had mentally prepared us to safely respond in the event that this type of situation occurred, but if an uninformed driver had been driving the car, it is very likely that they would have slammed into the car in front of them. | |||
| 07/16/2011 | 29409 | ||
| Tires rotated. wheel stud broke when being hand torqued to factory specs. no air hammer was used. broken stud was replaced. all others will be replaced this week. i have half the broken stud and will keep those replaced. | |||
| 03/13/2011 | 21500 | ||
| Sunroof of 2009 rav 4 sport exploded yesterday while on the interstate. no other vehicles around and nowhere near an overpass. glass shattered on myelf and passenger in the car. the whole is the size of a basketball and the remaining glass is blown outward. | |||
| 12/02/2010 | 5364 | ||
| My wife was parking her 2009 toyota rav4. after backing up into a space she put the car in drive and it took off, crashing into the car in front of her. my wife was petrified being my daughter ,who is six months pregnant was in the passenger seat. thank god no one was hurt. the owner of the other car was more concerned about the well being of my wife and daughter then the damage to his car. to bad toyota didn't feel the same. called toyota financial and reported the incident .asked to have car towed to the dealer and did not want car anymore being my wife was afraid to drive it , being it was an unsafe vehicle.thats when the fun started. talking to a rude rep.i was informed that whether i wanted the car or not i was liable for the payments if the dealer had it or not. i then asked him if he gave the same response to the familys of the 34 people who have been killed with this accelarator problem or the hundreds of people who have been injured. his response was that if i did not make the payments they would screw my credit ratings for the next seven years.hung up. called toyota customer protection centrer. more fun.was told i would here from a case mgr. the next day. would have car towed to dealer and woud be provided with a loaner car while said car was being inspected. 3 days later and 5 phone calls i was able to get case mgr. no loaner car would be provided, 7 to 10 daybefore someone would call to make an appt.to look at car, and approx.30 days to get response.the toyota has been in the driveway for two weeks plenty of calls which are all documented and some one will call you soon.made payment in good faith.today is dec15., ten days till christmas.i can see the holiday excuses coming.maybe i mght see some one in the next few months, but remember they want their money | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 6000 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 08/23/2010 | 11000 | ||
| I am having a sporadic, continuing starting problem with a 2009 toyota rav4. the problem seems to appear after the car has been driven, then parked. on attempting to restart the car, the accessories (radio, lights, etc.) come on but the engine does nothing. there is no sound from the starter. repeating the starting sequence has no effect. attempting to change the start/stop by using the method described in the user's manual also has no effect. it appears that something has to cool down before the car will restart. this has happened at least four times in the year i have had the car, and always at unexpected times. my dealer has had no luck recreating the problem, or finding a solution for it. | |||
| 04/09/2010 | 3600 | ||
| 2009 toyota rav-4driven by owner with wife as passenger. coming down off ramp from two lane road to stop sign in order to turn onto a town street. although braking hard, car failed to stop and engine decidedly accelerated. driver able to turn corner and, since no car coming in his lane, was able to pull to side of road. driver decided to proceed 2-3 blocks to a gas station. drove slowly to station, pulled in, car refused to stop, in fact it was jerkily accelerating, and bumped into a car whose driver was putting gas into it. no damage to either car or persons. (pressed yes for crash, but was only going about 5 mph or less and driver's car pushed other car into a street.) driver was able to put car in neutral and car stopped. driver had car towed to toyota dealer whose service manager, after telling driver his rav-4 was made in japan and not eligible as a recall car, finally agreed to have car tested. nothing found and toyota has refused to replace any parts saying there is nothing wrong with car--to them the incidents did not truly occur. after testing, twice, driver picked up car and was driving home, had to stop for a school bus and while stopped felt engine surging forward again but was able to keep car braked and put car in to neutral. only drives car on back roads now. these three incidents are the only ones that have been experienced thus far. | |||
| 08/15/2009 | 800 | ||
| As i was leaving a parking lot i depressed the brake as there was ongoing traffic coming on the road i was entering. the car accelerated and continued to race as i put increasing pressure on the brake and the car did move forward slightly. this happened twice on a car that had less than 900 miles. i have stopped driving the car, a toyota 2009 rav 4. it was picked up by a toyota dealer just recently and is being tested. based on their comment that in the past they have been unable to reproduce this problem even though there are more and more reports of this problem. i currently have 3 other cars and have never experienced this problem. in fact in over 40 years of driving this have never occured before. it is obviously a car failure not a driver problem. this is a serious accident waiting to happen | |||
| 04/19/2010 | 5400 | ||
| 2009 rav-4 toyota was traveling up a gravel driveway. as it proceeded up an incline the car rapidly accelerated. the driver tried the brake to no avail. fearing that she would be unable to stop, she veered off the driveway into the woods. the car hit several small trees and then turned over on its side. the airbag was deployed. highway patrol report was made. incident was reported to dealership. dealership directed the call to california toyota office. | |||
| 04/01/2010 | 15000 | ||
| I have a 2009 toyota rav4, and took it in to the dealer for accelerator shim placement as per the recent recall. since the shim has been placed, i have been experiencing periodic episodes of jackrabbit starts from a stopped position. the accelerator is very touchy, it either creates a prolonged moment of hesitation, then jerks forward. there was one episode when the veghicle rapidly accelerated, thankfully there were no vehicles in front of me. i returned to the dealer, but since they could not replicate the concern, they dismissed my issue. i am annoyed that toyota acted as though they have never heard of such a thing. | |||
| 12/22/2009 | 1 | ||
| Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) these events happened on 12/22/10 in san diego. the owner, my client, was driving a new 2009 toyota rav 4. here are the vehicle specifics: toyota rav 4 5 door 4x2 suv vin: [xxx] yr/mdl: 2009/4430a here is his narrative: i was in the left most lane on miramar blvd. headed east towards the 15 fwy. when all of a sudden my car | |||
| 03/06/2010 | 16000 | ||
| Sudden acceleration in 2009 toyota rav 4 after recall repair. happened for the 1st time since ownership of car 4 days after repair. had car for approximately 1 year. never had any problems. 4 days after repair, we were west bound on fm 1709 in southlake, tx approaching light just to the east of high school. we were approaching at approx 30 mph with speed decreasing due to red light and other cars already stopped at light. car rpm's increased to the 3,000 range. had to apply steady to hard pressure to brakes. car was fighting to accelerate, but was able to continue speed descent. got car to around 15 mph. car learched into 1st gear, rpm's decreased to around 1,000 range and we all were thrown forward in our seats when the car learched. | |||
| 10/20/2009 | 1000 | 1 | |
| Occasionally the car will try to accelerate, when the foot is on the brake off the accelerator. this has happened at least four times since purchasing this new vehicle in sept. of 2009. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2009 | 1 | 11/01/2008 | |
| Consumer wants the event data recorder removed or disabled on his 2009 toyota rav4. *nj the consumer stated having a device installed on a vehicle he paid cash for is a potential threat to his civil rights. *jb | |||