Problems with 2007 Toyota RAV4 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I was driving home from work last january 19 at 5pm i saw my window that it looks like so hot outside and when i tried to open it,i saw a flame coming out from the left power switch. i was so scared because it looks like it was getting big so i stop my car ,turn off my engine,get out of the car and call 911. when police and fire department arrived, the fire or flames gone. it was so strange and scary. good thing i never got hurt and i turned off the engine right away. i file this complaint because i just want you to be aware so that you guys can do any solution for this matter and i don't want anybody to experience what happen to me. police report # 12-024482. *kb

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav-4. the contact stated that the front driver's door caught on fire. the vehicle had been inspected by the dealer and the contact removed all of the switchs and fuses from the door. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 80,000. the vin was not available.

Master window power switch caught a fire in august 2011. it had been giving me problems since july 2009. toyota would not fix it because to many miles. how does a power window stop working on a 2007 rav4 when it only two years old. faulty master power switch. it had a burn hole the size of a dime. i'm glad i took a picture of it. the first time i saw smoke was june 2011. i was so afraid to drive the fire trap i traded it in for a new car. the rav4 was paid off now i have a car loan at 19.9%. *kb

After driving for approximately 15 minutes, i saw a small amount of smoke coming from the drivers door panel and it smelled like an electrical fire. afterwards, the drivers side power window switch and the passenger side power window switch was not functional. the passenger window would only let down (very slowly) but wouldn't go back up. i took the vehicle to a toyota service center and they showed me that the main power window switch on the drivers side had a hole burned into it the size of a dime. the service manager said he had never seen anything like this before. prior to this the passenger window switch was replaced twice between september 2010 and november 2010. however, the replacements still never took care of the problem of the passenger window switch intermittently working. in fact, a couple months ago i was just at the dealership complaining that i was still have the problem with the window switch on the passenger side intermittently working. i never guessed that my car could catch on fire! now i'm a little worried about driving my vehicle! updated 11/17/11 *bf updated 06/06/12 *js

I was driving the rav4 in april 2011 and again on september 14, 2012 when the same incident occurred.the first time there was no warning, the battery light did not come on, first the radio quit playing and then the car went dead as i was moving in traffic. needless to say it was very stressful being struck in traffic. thanks to some kind ladies, the car was pushed out of the way. we suspected it was a battery malfunction, although the battery was only 8 months old. we took the battery to place of purchase and they tried to charge it, it would not charge so they replaced the battery for free because it was still under warranty. on friday, september 14 i was driving in heavy traffic and this time the battery light came on for a few minutes, then the radio went out and the car died. this was extremely stressful as traffic was speeding behind me and i was afraid i would get rear ended. once again there were two females that helped me push the car out of traffic. once again the battery was replaced as it was still under warranty, however this time the battery light will not go out. after doing some investigating, i believe the problem stems from the rav 4 's electrical steering and the fact that it pulls to much power. there is not reason why the car should just quit while your driving in traffic. it is hard to trust the vehicle when it suddenly stops in traffic and will not start again. *tr

Electrical fire starting inside master window control switch. i was cleaning my car with the ignition on battery power (in order to listen to the radio). after approximately 30 minutes i noticed a burnt plastic smell, considerable smoke pouring out of the driver's door and a small tongue of flame from the same place. the source of the fire was (later found to be) the white electrical connector, for the front passenger window master control, where the physical window switch meets the circuit board. i was not touching any window or other controls at the time or within 15 minutes before the fire. the fire stopped rapidly after i took the keys out of the ignition, disconnected the battery cables, popped off the master switch assembly with a screwdriver and then smothered the controls with a wet towel. all the vehicle's windows were inoperable after that. i brought the vehicle to my local toyota dealership. they performed an inspection and reported that they were 'mystified' as to the cause. the service manager's words were: 'i've never seen anything like that in my 25 years working on cars.' the property damage was confined to the master switch assembly and cost $422 to replace. toyota refused to pay for this. *tr

My wife started vehicle in garage to warm it up when she smelled smoke. she then noticed smoke and flames coming from the drivers side window/power lock switch area. she poured her cup of coffee on the flames to extinguish them. vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who had to replace the drivers side master window switch which had burnt up. *tr

2007 toyota rav 4. consumer writes in regards to the power window master switch assembly recall notice issues. *smd the consumer stated the window would roll up. *jb

Neutral start switch hidden within the confines of the engine management system can fail to work and thus not send a signal to start the engine. according to the head mechanic, the defect is uncertain why it happens other than the standard response that it is normal aspect of wear. i don't agree, since the component is under no stress like for example a spark plug. thank you for looking in the matter. *tr *kb

The driver door's window/lock control panel spontaneously caught fire while i was operating the vehicle. i was not using the controls at the time. i could hear the sound of burning and feel heat behind the panel, however no actual flames came outside of the panel. copious amounts of smoke began to billow from the openings in the control panel. i stopped the car and turned off the ignition. after several seconds the sound of burning ceased. the smoke continued to billow from the openings in the control panel for a couple of minutes. i called the toyota dealer where i purchased the car and was told by the service department to come in. i restarted the car and drove about one mile to the dealership. while i was driving small amounts of smoke continued to come out through the openings in the control panel. at the dealership they placed some kind of "lock" on the driver's side control for the front passenger window. i have since seen the actual control mechanism. a portion of the electrical component is charred, and where this char is there is a hole burned through the plastic enclosure. *tr

Last night, my rav4 battery died due presumably to the rear door light getting accidentally turned on. upon jump starting the car, everything seemed fine. i drove it home without incident. then, this morning, the battery was not quite up high enough to start the car, so i jump started it again. it started, but a few hundred feet away, i lost power steering and power brake assist. it required every ounce of force i could muster to turn the vehicle around and get it back to my house. thankfully, this happened on city streets near my house and not on the highway last night or the chp would have been scraping me off a bridge post. the rav4 cannot realistically be steered by an average person without the power steering assist because of the gearing ratio, making this a very serious design defect. if a vehicle cannot safely operate, the vehicle should not operate. the problem is that, because the battery plays an integral role in power smoothing, and because the power steering and power brake pumps are electrically operated, a low battery can result in failure of the power steering and brake pumps while the engine is still functional. this can easily result in an uncontrollable vehicle barreling down the highway at 80 mph. i believe that fixing this problem requires a fundamental redesign of the electrically operated pumps to add additional capacitors so that the battery is not playing such a crucial role in smoothing out the pulsating dc from the alternator along with the addition of sensor hardware to detect a low battery condition and activate an indicator light until the vehicle is safe to drive. ideally, the steering gearbox should also be redesigned with a lower gear ratio so that it does not become undriveable. without these fixes, the 2007 rav4 is fundamentally unsafe. this design flaw probably also affects most other late models of toyota. *tr

1. while driving a 2007 toyota rav4 at low speed, the steering wheel lock engaged, instrument cluster lights flashed and the radio silenced for about 5 seconds. the car was able to be safely stopped. normal steering resumed radio came back on and cluster lights stopped flashing. the car was driven approximately 2-3 miles and parked for apprx. 1 hour. 2. the car would not start, again no radio, but lights were illuminated to full brightness. no warning/fault light was illuminated. the car was "jump-started". when pulling out of the parking stall, the steering wheel lock engaged again. a tow truck was called. the car engine remained running normally. 3. while loading the car, the tow truck driver had the steering wheel lock engage and disengage repeatedly 4 - 5 times. the toyota of walnut creek (california) technician states that the problem is a discharged battery, causing the electric power steering assist to not operate and stated that the steering wheel lock cannot engage while the car is in motion. the problem was that the steering wheel lock did engage, not a lack of steering assist. the technician stated he "cannot duplicate" the problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav-4. the contact stated the vehicle would not start and received a jump start. after receiving the jump start and driving 15 mph, the power steering locked and the power steering warning light began to sporadically illuminate. the dealer advised the contact that the battery would need to be replaced to correct the failure. the battery was replaced. the contact was concerned with the safety of a recurring failure if driving on the highway and the potential of a crash. the vin was not available. the failure and current mileage was 45,000.

Oem battery died. vehicle was jump started. during subsequent operation power steering stopped working intermittently causing difficulty steering vehicle. *tr

The battery on my wife's 2007 toyota rav4 went out without warning, & so on the advice of the folsom lake toyota garage, i jump started her car to get her home. the next morning i did the same, so that she could drive it to the garage to get fixed. when she started to drive the car however, the steering lock would not allow her to turn the wheel & she ended up driving towards the middle of the road. she immediately stopped, & told me, & so as i thought she meant that the power steering simply wasn't working, i said that i would drive it to the garage for her. when i started off however, the car steering lock stopped me turning the wheel, although only for a second or two, before the steering began to work correctly, & so i very slowly & carefully drove the car to the garage. the garage checked the car & said that it was just a faulty battery, but when i pointed out that if a faulty battery could cause the steering lock to engage while driving, this was a safety hazard, they said that when they asked toyota, they simply said that it was working as designed, & so there was nothing they could do. consequently, i called toyota, & they told me that as the car has an electronic power steering module, the steering lock could engage with a bad battery. when i suggested to the customer services rep that they needed to address this issue as a safety hazard, she wasn't interested in helping, & point blank refused to give me contact details for her boss, or anyone at toyota north america or japan, only the customer services dept., i.e., people like herself. i find it insulting that toyota not only appears not to care about the safety of their customers, but also doesn't appear to want to hear from their customers, e.g., when i took a survey after my call, & entered some very low numbers for service care, the call was deliberately cut off by toyota. so much for japanese service! *tr

I purchased a new 2007 rav4 from toyota of braintree in 2007. 1. in 2009 i could hear wind in the driver's window; i took the vehicle to be checked, toyota service department said i was hearing things. 2.the driver's door caught fire (i had the keys with me) i had to spend $606.01 to fix it, toyota said there was water intrusion (i thought, it probably was, because of the air leak previously reported in 2009) 3. the steering wheel felt strange when i drove, i took it back for service, the diagnosis was steering shaft internal failure which needed to be replaced; i fought to get that fixed out of warranty. 5. on november 25, 2011 i was driving, the window fell in on me and on november 26, 2011, i had to have the driver's side window regulator replaced for $338.30 7. now, oil is leaking into the muffler. (i purchase oil frequently) this vehicle is only 4.5 years old and should not have any of these major problems, when i purchased this rav4, it was going to be my last vehicle purchase because toyota advertises longevity of their products. i also know people who drive 1990 and 1995 toyota products who have never had any of these problems. i was also treated very poorly during some of my repair visits. after the door caught on fire, i had a meeting with the owner of toyota of braintree, [xxx] but his resolution was giving me $13,000.00 for my vehicle (which i own) and me purchasing a brand new vehicle, which meant i would have a monthly payment. i did contact toyota headquarters in california and filed a complaint and never received any resolution. since then i received a letter from the national center for dispute settlement stating they can't help me. thank you for any assistance, sincerely, toyota rav4 owner. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).*tr

2007 rav4 ltd v6 - alarm system that kills engine -- malfunctioned. short in electrical system between alarm system and battery. dealer supposedly fixed, but i hear a buzz noise like a wire shorting out and the one beep the alarm system is to make when locking car doesn't beep. system malfunctioned 2 x and last time was leaving airport at midnight. luckily pulled off interstate. car died. could have happened while driving on interstate. car horn continuously beeped when malfunctioning - which could have caused me to be car jacked by someone who thought i was intentionally doing the beeping or it could have killed the engine while driving on interstate. dealer said problem was battery then said short between battery and alarm system. supposedly fixed it but it appears that it's still not working properly 2 weeks later so taking back to dealer today. *tr

I purchased my 2007 rav4 used in early 2008. it has the factory installed premium jbl 6-disc stereo. since the day that i have owned it, i have had problems with radio reception. the radio's display was also malfunctioning, so the dealer replaced that, but i still have poor reception. the reception is fine if i am within about 5 miles of a radio tower, but just outside of city limits, i either get static or the signal is lost completely. when i had the display replaced, i told the dealership (bill penney toyota, huntsville, alabama) about the poor reception, but they didn't do anything about it. *tr

Leads to battery were colored wrong. the positive lead was painted black and the negative lead was painted red. when i jump-started the car i put the battery cables to the associated colors. it was connected for about 1 minute when i noticed something smoking. after i found out what the problem was i corrected the connection and started the car. the car would only idle due to a blown fuse, which the car dealership had to find. *tr

Complaint:second complaint i purchased my toyota rav 4 2007 in october of 2007. a few months after i had the car i started noticing that the car, for no reason would hesitate, leaving me at times in the middle of crossings an intersections with no power. after others began making comments that there was something wrong i brought it into leith toyota. the first time was april 24th 2008. i explained to the service advisor i was having intermittent problems with the car. i told him i would start across an intersection (4 lanes) and all of a sudden the car hesitated, there was no power. i would press the gas pedal to the floor and approximately 10-15 seconds later the car would lunge forward. i told them it concerned and scared me. i was told that they could not find any problems. april 28th 2008 i returned again to the dealership advising them there was a problem, i was afraid to drive the car and wanted it fixed. i again was told there was not any problem with the car. this time i refused to leave until the problem was fixed. they finally brought the car back in and told me the models have a problem with the ecm system. i was told they reflashed the ecm system with an update sent by corporate and things should be fine. yesterday i returned to the dealership. i told them the car was ok for a number of months but again this week i was almost in an accident because the car had started to hesitate again, and i am left in the intersection without power and on-coming traffic. they took the car out and of course the problem is intermittent so they were unable to find anything abnormal. they told me they would check to see if there were any additional computer updates for the problem. the car also looses power on highway at 60 mph, shuts down after a while. they advised me there were no additional updates. i told them the problem is putting me in danger of having an accident. they told me toyota does not feel this is a problem. *tr updated ivoq 07/15/10.*jb

The car filled with the smell ,and smoke of burning wire. *tr