Problems with 2006 Toyota RAV4 SUSPENSION

My power steering p/s warning light came on as i was backing out of a parking space. i noticed my power steering suddenly wasn't working. i drove home and then took it back out of my garage, in which the light then turned off and i had my power steering back. is this a known defect of my car? i did receive one about the rear lower suspension arm #1 and a floor mat recall, but that's all. *tr

Over the course of the past 2 months i have heard a quiet popping noise coming from the back right tire area when i make turns. i actually visited a toyota dealer 1/8/2013 because there was a lower suspension arm recall on my vehicle. they "inspected" and put a sticker on, and a worthless clamp (might as well been a paperclip) on the the tie rod. on 2/27/13, i took a few co-workers to lunch and they noticed a loud pop every time i turned a corner or hit any uneven spot in the road. when i pulled into my parking spot at work i got out and looked at the rear right tire and it was slanted only slightly. later in the day, i backed out of my parking spot and heard a very severe pop and the tire made a whooshing noise as it was making contact with the tire well. the vehicle was out of service at this point. i got my vehicle toed to a nearby shop, and they found that the tie rod on the rear right wheel was bent severely. the mechanic that was inspecting my vehicle was not a dealer, and agreed that the "fix" toyota developed for this recall issue was worthless, and agreed that i could have been seriously injured if this had failed on the highway. i have a photo of the bent tie rod, and visited the shop to see for myself this afternoon. i truly think that toyota's fix should have been to replace everyone's tie rods. people's lives are still at risk! i plan to submit my charges to toyota for reimbursement. *tr

On wednesday, january 30th, around 6 p.m. est, i was driving home from work, going approximately 40-45 mph, when suddenly i lost control of my vehicle (2006 rav4, standard not sport). fortunately, i was able to get the car off to the shoulder after about 30 seconds of swerving and inability to control the car. there was no physical damage to my person, car or anyone else, but as you can probably imagine, i was ? and continue to be- very shaken up over what happened, and how much worse it could have been had i been on a more congested highway, going at a faster speed. a woman, who was driving behind me, stopped and helped me out and witnessed how out of control my car was. she thought i had hit a deer (it was very dark, foggy and rainy, as well). ironically, i had just received a recall notice from toyota not even a few days earlier. i was away the previous week and it arrived while i was out of town. i had the recall in my physical possession for a total of 4 days, one of which was not a business day. i had my tires changed and aligned over a year ago (i?d have to get back to you on the exact date, but i?m fairly certain it was dec. 2011 or january 2012). at this time, according to the toyota recall notice, an additional step needed to be taken in order to prevent backlash at the threaded portion of the arm, followed by rust. if this occurred, thread would wear, causing the arm to separate, which could result in the loss of the vehicle. the same night of the incident, i had my car towed to the dealership where i purchased it and the next morning, january 31st, they confirmed that what had happened to my car was indeed because of the recall. this means that i had been driving my car around to my own detriment for over a year, without any idea that there was a potential safety hazard to myself or my six year old daughter. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota rav4. the contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the rear of the vehicle began to shake intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the vehicle was repaired under nhtsa campaign id number 12v373000 (suspension). the failure persisted after the repair was performed. there was a second recall related to the failure under nhtsa campaign id number 13v383000 (suspension) however, the vehicle was not repaired because the manufacturer informed the contact that there was not a remedy yet available. the approximate failure mileage was 45,000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota rav4. the contact experienced excessive wear on the rear tires. prior to the failure, the vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired per nhtsa campaign number: 13v383000 (suspension). prior to the recall, the vehicle operated normally. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that once the vehicle fell out of alignment, the tires could not be adjusted due to the epoxy. the rear suspension arm needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 225,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota rav-4. the contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph around a bend, the driver's side rear wheel separated from the vehicle. the vehicle was later towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where they advised her that the tie rod end was fractured, causing the wheel to detach from the vehicle. the vehicle was repaired by welding the tie rod into place. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was approximately 106,000. the current mileage was approximately 107,000. the vin was unavailable.

This is an inquiry not a complaint i had my car checked for the suspension arm recall nothing was done to my car i given a repair estimate for tires and a alignment my concern is if there was nothing done now what happens if this suspension arm causes a problem next week or next year can i be certain that a quick check is all that is needed to ensure safety no clips or caution labels were mentioned am i driving a safe vehicle. *tr

My rav 4 is making a loud clunking noise from the rear suspension. my local shop replaced the rear shocks and the rear sway bar end links, which did not solve the clunking noise. i took it to toyota of westport in westport,ct on october 1, 2012 where they checked the vehicle and said they are unsure how to rectify the problem until toyota produces a formal recall and fix, but they do know of the problem. if the problems are stated all over the internet and toyota knows of the problem...how can it not be fixed? i am worried as my wife travels distances by highway and i do not want this to cause a crash if it can be solved. what is one to do when the dealer does not know how to fix their product? i am at a loss, but will keep my fingers crossed and hope that my car holds up until toyota figures this out. *tr

Performing a three-point turn on an uneven, rocky surface. heard a loud clang/pop from the rear of the car. thought a rock was kicked up or it might have been suspension related. was informed by dealer at previous oil change that i was in need of replacing passenger rear shock absorber as it was leaking badly. i had figured that the failed shock absorber had finally given in and had created the noise. i went ahead and scheduled an appointment for service that same week and had an oil change done and had both rear shock absorbers replaced. peeked underneath the car when i got home to see new the new shiny (not oily) shocks and noticed that the bolt connecting the anti sway or stabilizer bar to the lower suspension arm had sheared off on the driver's side. the bottom half of the bolt, the bushing, washer and nut were missing. the passenger side was complete and intact. the failure of this critical piece of suspension had obviously created the noise i heard. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 toyota rav4. the contact stated that she received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 13v383000 (suspension) and stated that the parts were not available to have the recall service performed. the contact also mentioned that the vehicle had been experiencing problems with the rear suspension and when making turns, the contact would hear an abnormal noise from the rear of the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 122,000.

Right rear suspension rod broke. took it to mechanic, had it welded till new part arrived. had it replaced. toyota issued a recall and had work done on february 13, 2013. on march 18 the driver side arm broke. *tr

Steering wheel "clunks" at relatively low speeds - clunking increases over time. concern is if steering fails as a result. toyota's fix is to replace intermediate driveshaft and an alignment. apparently this is a pervasive problem on a number of rav4 model years (based on hundreds of postings on internet discussion sites, at least one of which claims failed steering resulting in multicar crash). per these online discussions, some toyota dealers have stated it is a serious safety issue, some have not. given this problem has existed for a number of years (toyota has two service memos issued on the problem and even developed new replacement parts), if the nhtsa has investigated this issue and determined there is no consumer safety issues, is that conclusion available to the public? would appear this would be proper to disclose, as consumers get very concerned with a potential loss of steering and its potential crash ramifications. *tr

i was driving by 88 st and 94 ave in miami, florida went through the train tracks, and heard a loud noise, like an explosion, and the car started to shake and move to the left lane, thank god there was no cars coming, so i finally control the vehicle, i look for a reason of the explosion, and then drag...literally to a shopping plaza, where i noticed the tire behind on the driver side was almost separating from the vehicle. i called my son, and he send a tow truck, later a mechanic would tell me that the inner tie rod broke. i noticed months before that the car made funny noises from the suspension. i called the dealer sent an e-mail to toyota usa warning them, they told me to go to the dealer. they didn't care what i said to them, i went three times to them, toyota usa insisted to go to the dealer. three years later toyota usa sent me a warning brochure about the inner-tie rod problem and how to do the alignment on the rav 4 but when i bought the car they never said anything about doing this procedure. i did the alignment for the rav 4 in a place that has all the certifications, in my opinion the rav-4 has a defect involving the suspension ( after shocks) and the inner-tie rods, i hope this helps find the reason of this problem. and how to get reimbursed for all the expenses that i went through this.. *tr

Since day one there was a knocking/popping sound coming from the steering column when turning the wheel at park and low speeds. i had taken the vehicle in to the dealer at least 3 times and finally, and ironically, the dealer acknowledged the noise. previous trips yielded the ever present "could not duplicate". however steering adjustments via an alignment was attempted. could not duplicate but tried something anyway? the ironic part about when the dealer acknowledged the noise is that the vehicle was 4000 miles past warranty. funny how such an obvious thing can go unnoticed until warranty expires. *tr

2006 toyota rav 4. consumer states issues with front steering, suspension and drive train *tgw the consumer stated the problems started with an abnormal noise in the steering system and continued with other problems associated with the steering, front suspension and drive train. various front end components had been replaced 10 times. after the steering shaft was replaced for the second time in august of 2011, the vehicle is now performing as designed. *jb

Two separate problems: 1) left rear suspension, reported to two dealers starting 8/11/07 followed by three other complaints, diagnosed as worn bushing. parts on order; problem getting worse. notified dealer through factory rep; dealer has not indicated that driving vehicle is a safety issue. 2) hesitation downshifting when depressing gas pedal. first reported to two dealers on 9/8/07 followed by two other complaints. informed it was/is a software problem corrected at the factory, yet problem persists. *tr

My 2006 rav 4 has had a series of front end problems dating from jan 2007 to april 2009. it had been in the shop 9 times (warranty work) with numerous parts being replaced before toyota had their southern california rep come and look at it. they ended up replacing just about all of the front end component parts except the steering. that was the 10th time the car was in. now after 21 months the sound is back and i can even feel vibration knock in the steering. this car was purchased new in july 2006. mileage at the first sign of trouble was 4847. mileage in april 2009 was 26737. current mileage is 41800. i don't feel safe driving this car with the feeling that something is going to break while i'm making a sharp turn. *tr