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 REVVED UP TO A VERY HIGH RPM THEN DROPPED 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. *TR
2010
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
AT APPROXIMATELY 18:30 ON DECEMBER 27, 2011, I EXPERIENCED AN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION EVENT IN MY 2010 TOYOTA RAV4. I WAS STOPPING FOR A RED LIGHT ON PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY IN SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA AT THE CORNER OF FIRST STREET WHEN I NOTICED IT WAS DIFFICULT TO APPLY THE BRAKE, AND THE CAR DID NOT APPEAR TO WANT TO STOP. I APPLIED THE BRAKE MORE FORCEFULLY AND WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO STOP IN THE LEFT HAND TURN LANE, HOWEVER THE CAR KEPT LURCHING FORWARD AS IF IT WANTED TO BREAK FREE OF THE BRAKE. HAVING HEARD THE WIDESPREAD PUBLICITY REGARDING THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM IN TOYOTA VEHICLES, AND HAVING PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM ON ONE OCCASION OVER A YEAR EARLIER, I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE THE ISSUE. I PUT THE CAR INTO PARK AND THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY REVVED UP TO AN ALARMING RATE. I TURNED OFF THE IGNITION IN PANIC BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE TACHOMETER. HOWEVER, JUDGING BY THE SOUND AND LATER EXPERIMENTATION WITH REVVING WHILE PARKED, I BELIEVE THE RPM MUST HAVE BEEN IN THE 4000-5000 RANGE AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. I WAS PARTICULARLY SHAKEN BY THIS EVENT BECAUSE I HAD ALREADY HAD THE RECALL SERVICE PERFORMED THAT WAS SUPPOSEDLY INTENDED TO ADDRESS THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION ISSUE. THIS RECALL SERVICE WAS PERFORMED MAY 10, 2011 AT DESERT TOYOTA IN TUCSON, ARIZONA. I HAD EXPERIENCE THE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION ISSUE ONCE BEFORE, BUT IT WAS NOT NEARLY AS DRAMATIC. I DO NOT RECALL THE DETAILS, BUT IT WAS IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA IN EARLY 2011 AND MY MEMORY IS THAT TAPPING THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS RESTORED THE CAR'S OPERATION TO NORMAL FAIRLY QUICKLY. I WAS LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT IT HAPPENING AGAIN SINCE THE RECALL SERVICE HAD BEEN PERFORMED. *TR