Problems with 2007 Toyota RAV4 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving approximately 55 mph, the engine burned oil excessively. the vehicle was taken to a dealer and a consumption test was performed. the vehicle was not diagnosed, but the mechanic placed less oil in the vehicle and advised the contact to come back after the vehicle had been driven 500 miles. the failure occurred multiple times. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 126,000.

2007 toyota rav 4. consumer writes in regards to vehicle water pump failure. *smd the #6 ignition coil was replaced, as it was shorting out and the steering wheel made an unusual noise, when it was turned.*jb

Muffler rusted. *tr

After the check engine, vehicle stability control & 4wd warning lights displayed on my 2007 toyota rav4 with 89,400 miles, i went to my local toyota dealer for a diagnosis of the problem. upon inspection and testing, their service advisor stated, "the emissions system has malfunctioned since water has leaked into the emission system & its charcoal canister". the source of the water occurred since the fuel filler tube housing no longer was properly attached/secured to the vehicle. this allowed rwater coming down the side of the vehicle to enter through the fuel filler door by the fuel cap into the charcoal canister. to remedy the problem, the fuel filler assembly along with gaskets, some electronic and the charcoal canister required replacement for the emission system to properly function and to be in compliance with epa standards. the total cost of the repair $1,400 which toyota would not cover since it was not under recall, nor would they consider paying under my extended 6 yr 100,000 mile warranty since that expired july 5, 2013. i find it incredible that toyota would not pay for these repairs since they involve emissions as well as a safety issues. based on my review of various blogs covering rav4's, this is a common problem and toyota admits no fault. as with all issues with toyota they deny they have design/safety issues with any of their vehicles - sudden acceleration, steering suspension & braking. it took me repeated service visits to get them to replace the front steering rack under my extended warranty. i feel my fuel filler assembly and charcoal canister repair is a safety issue since gasoline could easily leak out down the tube on gasoline overfill and cause a fire if it reached the exhaust system. 20 yrs ago i had a similar issue with a honda which was repaired under a recall at no charge. your assistance is greatly appreciated. thank you

I brought my rav4 for service last jan 31, 2013 at a toyota dealer here in hawaii. they told me that there is a sign of a leak on the water pump and charging me $602 just for parts. i declined for the repair. at home, i saw in the internet that this is a common problem for this vehicle. at a mileage of 55109, i don't think this should a problem. so maybe its a defective water pump. *tr

Check engine light, vsc light and 4wd light came on and stayed on. took vehicle to dealer and they diagnosed problem as defective charcoal canister. was told toyota would not cover the repair or part under their emissions warranty. toyota is attempting to blame this problem on consumer error when filling the gas tank. how is the charcoal canister not part of the emissions system when it's purpose is to serve as a filter of gas/exhaust fumes. toyota is once again not standing by their warranties or products. *tr

2007 toyota rav 4. consumer writes in regards to problems with recall notices for rear suspension and power window switch. *smd the consumer stated did not believe the recall was performed, as he is still experiencing problems with the power window switch. also, the water pump was replaced. the consumer stated there were still problems with the suspension, after the dealer it was fixed. due to the ongoing suspension problems, it was affecting the steering shaft, rack and pinion and tie rod. updated 03/12/13

This vehicle has not been in an accident. this is not what i am announcing at the moment, but merely to outline the problem of the oil burning on the rav 4. this problem is costing me additional monies that was not catered for that purpose. i am purchasing more than the usual amount of engine oil at the store than i would buy. i simply need toyota to address the issue/problem and fix it. my vehicle is relatively new and there is no reason that i should need a new engine, not for a seven year old vehicle. i would appreciate if the authorities can ameliorate this situation for all toyota owners that are faced with this problem, and fix the engine burning oil problem...updated 11-06-13 *bf

There is a knocking noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. i can also feel something moving in sync with the knocking whenever it occurs. it feels as though some car parts are making contact and the knocking noise is the result of the impact. *tr

After hearing about tsbs related to premature water pump failure, i noticed that my rav4 was low on coolant. the dealer service department tested and found the pump was leaking, and replaced it under the power train warranty. less than 15,000 miles and 2 years later i am noticing that the coolant level is beginning to run low again, and suspect the replacement water pump may again be defective. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving approximately 65 mph, the contact smelled a burning odor and maneuvered to the side of the road. the contact noticed that the rear passenger side floorboard carpet and rear passenger side seat was engulfed in flames. the fire department was called to extinguish the fire and a fire report was filed of the incident. there was no personal injury. the contact stated prior to the failure, a loud noise and a leak emitted from the exhaust pipe. the vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to a savage facility. the manufacturer was not notified of the defect. the approximate failure mileage was 41,000. updated 5/11/12 *cn the consumer believed the muffler or the catalytic converter overheated and set the back runner mat on fire, as it was directly under the passenger seat. the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames in a matter of minutes. updated 05/31/12

Within 4000 miles of oil & filter change the oil pressure warning light comes on. there has been no evidence of leakage (drops on ground or build up on engine components) and no evidence of burning up oil (smoke or smell). online research reveals a toyota technical bulletin sb0094-11 entitled excessive oil consumption which details an acceptable oil usage level of 1 quart every 1200 miles. this may have been acceptable in a car built in 1940, but it is not acceptable in a car designed to go 5000 miles between oil changes. excessive oil consumption can lead to excessive engine heat and wear causing failure at high speed with the potential for catastrophic failure. as toyota is aware of this issue yet not doing enough to remedy it, i am reporting it here to hopefully be investigated. *js

Vehicle was bought new and had 148miles on it when delivered as it was delivered to me from another dealership. for the past 20,000 miles it has been using 3-4 quarts of oil between oil changes. toyota knows this is a problem with these vehicles and has a tsb 0094-11 to fix the design flaw. this "fix" basically rebuilds the engine with new pistons, rings and cranks. called the dealer when i saw this tsb and told them i had 59923 miles on vehicle so i'll be over the warranty by the time i bring it in and was told it was no problem. dropped off vehicle with 60114 miles on it and they started an oil consumption test by first filling the oil. it took 3 1/2 quarts just to top it off. need to go back in 1200 miles to confirm that it is using oil but they told me the warranty will not be valid and i would need to pay for any repairs out of pocket. toyota uses this engine in many different vehicles and a search online finds that there are quite a few people with this problem but toyota will do nothing about it. *kb

2007 rav 4 had 3 lights turned on (check engine light, stability control light and 4 wheel drive light), shortly after the lights came on, the brakes failed. rav4 was taken to toyota delearship for repair and after the technicians being confused by the lights, they determined that the brake booster had failed. this issue is similar to the recent highlinder recall and i feel people's safety is at stake with the brakes failing. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. the contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the posterior oxygen sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. two days later, the check engine light was illuminated again and the contact experienced brake failure. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the brake booster needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileage was 27,000. updated 11/03/11 *bf updated 05/12/2012 *js

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving 65 mph the instrumental panel lights illuminated and the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the engine control module might have caused the failure, but they will further diagnose the failure. the manufacturer took report 1008300034 and will check with the dealership. the current and the failure mileages were 44,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving at speeds of 30 mph, the contact heard an unusual noise coming from under the hood. the check engine warning light then illuminated and the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the dealer advised there was no oil in the engine. the contact confirmed that the low oil level warning light never illuminated. the dealer then informed her that they would not be able to repair her vehicle and that she should retrieve it from the dealer. the manufacturer was contacted but would not provide any assistance. the failure and current mileages were 49,411.

2007 toyota rav 4: enginetype v6 1) driving car on highway at night, stopped at light, smelled oil burning thought smell was from other vehicles. continued to drive when stopped at next stop light smelled oil burning, saw light trails of smoke around head lights. watched gauges and got the car home. 2) shut of engine raised hood and removed plastic engine cover. saw oil was all over the passenger side front of engine near fire wall and wheel on well cover. had wife start car, saw oil squirting in a small stream from a rubber hose attached to metal pipe. the pipe the hose was attached to was attached to engines cylinder head next to fire wall at the front of the cylinder head. 3) i have had the car since dec. 2007 when it was brand new it now has 80,000. miles. i talked to the local dealer about this specific failure, i was told there was a bulletin for this problem. i gave the dealer my vin and mileage, i was told my vin was not on the list and my miles were well over the vehicles warranty limit of 3 years or 36,000 miles. i was told if i wanted a quote i would need to get it towed in and they would give me a quote for the work. at this time based on all the information still am investigating my options for this repair to attempt to reduce my costs. the repair of this failed oil line entails the removal of the complete failed oil line end to end and the installation of a complete metal pipe assembly. so far i am finding this failure seems to be a quite common with this model engine with this oil line configuration. based on this failure and that it is a know problem with toyota, i'm very disappointed that i'm stuck with all the costs. plus i could for see in some failures one might not detect the problem thus experiencing a full engine failure. i would have to believe if it is covered under warranty, you'll never receive a complaint on this problem. from a cross sectional ...

Unintended rapid acceleration. *tr

I bought the brand new 2007 rav4 limited v6 from chicago grossinger toyota 2 and 1/2 years ago. there was some boiling water noise coming out from the engine at around 28k miles. i took the rav4 to the cgt dealer for repair since it was still under the warranty. the customer service rep. told me that the reason why the engine had some boiling water noise because the camshaft was bended. he lied! he didn't even tell me that the oil hose was the cause of the damage. the noise problem was fixed (hopefully) but i don't know if the actual problem is still going or not because i found there were a lot of complaints about the same problem that i had online. most complaints said that the problem was because the oil pipe was made with half rubber/metal. the rubber part will soon be cracked due to the weather or something. i called the cgt customer rep to verify this problem and then he told me that my car might have that problem and he was aware of that so he told me that they had switched oil pipe to metal. he lied again! i checked it and the oil pipe is still made with half rubber and metal. he seems like covering something. i believe this problem has had been existing for a long time but toyota never do anything about it. this is a very serious issue. toyota has to be liable of the driver and passengers safety if their products are defective. *tr

2007 toyota rav4 v-6 manufacturing defect with the oil line of the vvt-i camshaft. poor quality of rubber line has caused multiple failures which has resulted in catastrophic engine damage, engine fires. toyota is conducting voluntary recalls with certain vin's, however this voluntary recall does not adequately address the problem. toyota knows of this manufacturing defect and has redesigned oil line accordingly, but is not offering this redesigned oil line to customers affected by original defect. *tr

Uncontrolled and uncommanded auto acceleration of toyota 2007 rav4 with subsequent impact into retaining wall, damages in excess of $3000.00. *tr

My 2007 rav 4 hesitates when i depress gas pedal. it began happening shortly after purchase in 2007 and the problem has increased in frequency & duration. yesterday i started a left hand turn while oncoming traffic was clear, but because of vehicle's hesitation, in mid-turn, oncoming traffic suddenly appeared and had to stop for me to complete my turn. i narrowly avoided being in an accident, for which i would have been found at fault, as i was making a left hand turn. *tr

I was driving down the highway with my 2 children and the oil hose broke. no failure lights came on the dashboard. took car to closest repair shop. they had to add 5 qts of oil since it leaked out. found out this happens quite frequently on the same engine in another model. the oil hose was replaced.*tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav-4. the contact stated that excessive amounts of smoke was released from the tail pipe when first started. the vehicle was burning 1.1 quarts of oil every 2,300 miles. the contact believed the failure was contributed to a manufacturing defect because the vehicle was recommended to have an oil change performed every 5,000 miles and the contact was concerned that the failure would destroy the engine. the manufacturer was contacted and advised that the oil consumption was normal and that the vehicle was designed to burn 1 quart of oil every 1,200 miles. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 40,000.

1. leading up : a faulty and poorly designed rubber oil line weathered within the engine compartment. 2. failure: while driving on the freeway, the weathered hose snapped. the car immediately spilled four quarts of oil. the check engine light never lit. the water temperature stayed within range. we had the vehicle towed to a toyota dealership. 3. repair: toyota replaced the failed oil line with the same part. no engine diagnostics were performed despite the likelihood of serious engine damage. the oil compartment was left dirty. the engine cover was left soaked in oil (it's a foam part). *tr

Engine oil leak over several weeks. upon opening the oil fill cap, the rest of the oil came out the bottom of the car. i was forced to have it carried to the dealer because of that. the dealer informed me that it is v v t i hose on engine bank 1 that needed to be replaced, that toyota knew of the problem but they never recalled to fix the cars, they fixed them as customers brought them in (according to bulletin). it took about 10 days to fix. a mechanic i know who saw the invoice told me that toyota replaced almost half the bottom of the engine( replaced bank vti hose, both v v t i gears, cam shafts and housing a total of 31 parts. i did not have to pay , but i was very upset at toyota for knowing that a problem existed but did not alerted customers. *tr

Blown oil line on 2007 toyota rav4. *tr

After a dangerous surge-at-stop problem, we took our 2007 rav4 to our dealer yesterday, but so far they claim they can't find anything wrong. we told the dealer that we don't want the car back until they fix this life-threatening condition. yesterday was actually the third time that this happened, and each time the problem was more intense than the prior incident. the first time it happened, around three weeks ago, my husband wasn't sure if he had accidentally hit the accelerator, so he ignored it. the second time it happened, five days ago, he was more aware, and knew where his foot was placed, and knew for sure that this was an engine surge entirely unrelated to anything he was doing. it was only because he had his foot placed firmly on the brake that he was able to control the rav4 and prevent it surging past the red light. yesterday was the worst incident, since the surge happened, again at a red light, with cars passing in front of our rav4 (we were first in line) and when my husband jammed his foot harder on the brake, the engine surged even harder, and louder, and he had to really force the brake pedal down. if our daughter had been driving the rav4 there is no doubt in our minds that she would have gone right into the intersection, and either broadsided a vehicle, or been broadsided herself, with catastrophic results. this seems like the kind of life-threatening condition that nhtsa should really focus on, and that toyota should want to immediately fix, before several people get killed. *tr

My wife was stranded on the side of an interstate when our toyota 2007 rav4 v6 had a catastrophic failure of an oil hose which resulted in the loss of almost all the oil in the engine within a few minutes. the 3.5l v6 engine in this vehicle is identical to the v6 in the toyota avalon which is experiencing a very large number of failures such that a tsb was issued. the avalon started using this engine prior to the rav4. i was told by a parts manager that there are so many of these failures that owners are waiting 6 weeks for the backordered replacement part and that 2500 parts are on national backorder. toyota knows the same problem exists with the v6 rav4 since the engine is identical but refuses to put out an associated tsb for the rav4. this failure is dangerous in that it can cause the engine to lock up on the highway potentially causing an accident. toyota is "quietly" replacing the failing hose with a metal hose only after a failure has occurred.(a defect admission of a design flaw). a recall is completely warranted for this defect. toyota has issued no such recall. *tr

Oil hose ruptured on '07 toyota rav-4 dumping all engine oil. engine then was starved for oil and ruined internal engine parts. toyota is aware that there is a problem with this hose leaking and a tsb exists for the fix. however, there is no recall or even a mandatory inspection of this hose at regular service intervals. our issue was a complete rupture and it would have cost us thousands to repair on our own if the car was out of warranty. it could have even lead to a crash as the tires and brakes got covered with oil. *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

Transmission developed an annoying whine from 40 to 60 mph. very distracting while driving because of the high pitch noise it makes inside the cabin. big disappointment! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving at any speed, the vehicle suddenly stopped accelerating. the contact did not notice any difference beforehand. the current mileage was 9,000 and failure mileage was 4,000. updated 11/12/08. *cn updated 11/18/08. *jb

We bought our toyota, a new 2007/4430c rav4 (5-door 4x2 suv), on 9/7/07, and have noticed several problems in the operation of this vehicle. our rav4 currently has around 24,000 miles on it, and the problems have neither increased nor decreased in frequency. because these problems are intermittent, our dealer, dunning toyota of ann arbor, michigan, was unable to replicate what we experience. however, we believe that documenting this situation is important as problems'some of which sound similar to what we have experienced'are currently surfacing on other toyota vehicles. problems we have experienced ever since we have had the vehicle include: (1) intermittent engine surges. these occur when accelerating, braking, or simply coasting. the rpm needle visibly fluctuates, and passengers can feel the surging and 'choking' of the engine. (2) the gas pedal sometimes does not smoothly engage, and the car 'jumps' ahead when the pedal seems to finally engage. (3) occasionally the car does not seem to slow when the brake is applied. in the winter of 2008, i was traveling at a low speed (beginning to accelerate from a stop) on slick pavement when the car in front of me unexpectedly stopped in the middle of an intersection. i immediately applied the brake but the car did not seem to slow down. the resulting collision resulted in $615.63 in damage to our vehicle. i do not know the exact date of the accident. the police were notified but no tickets were issued. i just put an arbitrary month and date below so i could continue to the next page of this report. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving 55 mph with the cruise control activated, the vehicle began to bounce up and down. all of the warning indicators on the instrument panel illuminated. the contact pulled over and called the dealer. the dealer advised him to take the vehicle to a car wash because it had previously been driven through a lot of snow. the failure continued after the vehicle was washed. the vehicle continued to bounce and the contact was pulled over by the police. the dealer was unable to determine or duplicate the failure. the failure mileage was 2,500 and current mileage was 2,600. updated 02-14-08 *bf updated 02/14/08 *tr

This is an ongoing problem that has existed since i owned the vehicle. more then half the time when i step down on the gas hard, my vehicle nearly stalls, severe hesitation, then slowly recovers and applies power. this would be when you have to pass a car on a two lane road or merge into heavy traffic. it is hard to know if it will be there when i need it or if i will have to wait for the engine to catch up. i have reported it to the toyota service department multiple times; they have test drove it, had a factory rep. look at it and at computer printouts. they admit there is a problem but don't seem to know how or want to fix it. i thought i should report it, since the information coming out now is toyota seems to like to hide the safety problems with their vehicles. i feel this is a safety issue since i can't depend on the vehicle when i might most need it to get out of the way. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. the contact noticed that whenever the vehicle was driven over 1,000 miles, the engine would consume one-half a quart of engine oil. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the issue was normal. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was 75,000 and the failure mileage was 3,000.

Tl*- the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving 45 mph the contact heard a high pitched whistling sound. the dealer stated that they were unable to diagnose the failure. the whistling sound started to occur more frequently, and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure. the contact felt that thiswas a safety issue because it caused the driver to become distracted. the current mileage was 1,500 . *aki

Toyota v6 engines 2gr-fe have a problem with the vvti oil pipe failing. this pipe has a rubber section in it, it leaks with all the oil draining & causing engine failures. toyota has replaced this pipe on later vehicle with all metal this started out with the avalon.check out the ravworld on line site. click on "4.3" & then "oil line failure rav camry, lexus" etc. toyota needs to recall all vehicles with 2gr-fe v6 that have the rubber hose in the vvti oil line. *tr