Problems with 2007 Toyota RAV4 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

2007 toyota rav4 v6, defective rear wheel speed control sensor causes erratic abs, skid control and braking. sensor failed at under 40,000 miles. almost $600 to fix and other three could fail too as a result of corrossion from water and salt. toyota has redesigned the part so that the new one will not be as susceptible to failure, but meanwhile there seems to be a safety issue with the failure of these speed control sensors that should be a recall covered by toyota rather than an expense born by the owners. it is a design flaw and a safety issue, especially in bad weather when the sudden loss of awd, abs, vsc can have serious consequences. having searched on the internet through various toyota forums, this seems to be an all to common problem.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving at 2 mph with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle abnormally accelerated without warning. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. the failure and current mileages were 16,000.

I own a 2007 toyota rav4 sport. since it was new we have had this problem. toyota says it's normal and is the nature of the beast. upon accelerating from a stop or accelerating to pass another auto, the throttle does not respond until it suddenly will accelerate hard. leaving a stop it can be very frightening as we just don't know how hard it will accelerate when it does. passing is equally frightening, if not more so. when we pull out to pass and step on the accelerator the car does not respond according to pressure on the gas pedal. we've come very close to head-on a couple of times. i kind of gave up on the issue after being turned away by the toyota dealership where we bought the car until hearing about other toyotas having accelerator problems. our 2007 is a throttle by wire setup also. i have spoken to other rav4 owners who have experienced this problem. this can be pretty scary, especially for my wife. the incidents have been ongoing since the rig was new so i don't have a definitive date. i'll put in todays date for record. i would really appreciate a response to this problem. i know you're probably pretty tied up with toyota problems. *tr

Was stopped in driveway of my home waiting for garage door to open (remote controlled.) then i slowly proceeded towards open garage. the car engine suddenly roared and surged forward on its own. i put all my weight unto the brake which seemed to have little effect then shifted into neutral. only then did the car seem to normalize. i shut it off and haven't tried to drive it since. *tr

In march of 2008 i had two occurrences of unintended acceleration with my 2007 six cylinder toyota rav4. the first was very frightening as i was stopped at a red light. the car suddenly accelerated and pulled me through the intersection while my foot was on the brake. if there had been a car in front of me or one coming through the intersection i would have crashed. shortly after that incident a milder less powerful acceleration event happened. i brought the car to the dealer on march 26 08 and they could not duplicate the problem or give a reason for it. the told me to bring it back if the problem recurred. it did not happen again until 2/19/2010. as in the first two incidents, the event happened while stopped at a red light with my foot off the gas pedal. in this case i quickly shut off the motor, or i would have hit the car in front of me. as in the other cases after i restarted the car the problem was over. our other car is a camry and i have never have never had this problem with that car or any other car. i brought the car back to the dealer and again no reason for the event was found and there was no remedy offered except possibly a gas pedal over ride if one becomes available. after the long gap in time between the first two events i thought maybe they were a fluke. now i worry that i may be in an accident or hit a pedestrian. i am no mechanic but i really think that it is some sort of electronic problem. the car was stopped and my foot was off the gas pedal each time the sudden acceleration happened. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving at 35mph she attempted to slow down and when she applied the brake the vehicle didn't stop and she collided into the vehicle in front of her twice. the driver frontal air bag deployed. she received injuries to her face, and knee. she contacted the insurance company they have not investigated the failure yet. newport news police report number 1049316. the current and the failure mileage were 30,000.

After running errands, my wife and i were returning home friday afternoon january 22, 2010 in my 2007 toyota rav4 (v6 engine - 30,815 miles on the odometer) when we experienced sudden acceleration while driving in our subdivision. i was traveling at a speed of 20-22 miles per hour when i applied the brake with no response and the vehicle gathered speed (estimated 35 mph) in spite of my efforts to brake hard. as the residential street was to end at a "t" within about 100 yards and there was a car ahead of me, i had to use any means possible to stop my runaway vehicle or a collision was sure to follow. only after shifting, while continuing to brake, through "park", "reverse", to "neutral" to the unbelievable roaring sound of the racing engine did the vehicle finally stop and a collision was avoided by a few car lengths. i had never experienced this before, and was especially surprised in that i had just had my 30,000 mile maintenance performed at my toyota dealership on december 18, 2009. badly shaken, my wife and i drove the three blocks to our house and i immediately called my toyota dealership for help. i was told that, as my vehicle was not on the recall list, there was nothing he could do for me and he told me to call the toyota customer care experience center. so i hung up the phone and then called toyota as instructed. when finally getting through, i related my experience and was told that "toyota takes this very seriously" and that my information would be passed along immediately. i was assigned a case number and was told that i would hear back from a case worker on monday, january 25. i did get a call back on monday, but not from a case worker, but from the same individual i had talked to on friday. i was told that my issue was no longer a priority since my vehicle was not on the recall list and i should call my dealership and get my car inspected at my expense. i instead left my car parked in my driveway, afraid to chance an accident. *tr

Sudden acceleration of a 2007 toyota rav-4; has happened three times, this is the latest incident; has happened after going over a very small bump in the road at less than 10 miles per hour. *tr

The accelerator stuck and raced while driving into newport nh in a line of traffic. i was fortunate that there was an empty parking lot to turn into or i would have hit the car in front of me. the car is a toyota rav 4 bought new in june of 2007 and this was the first time this happened, and it was before the news of the toyota problems surfacing.. since then it has repeated this 8 times through april of 2010, completely randomly. it has been to two nh dealerships (about 20 hours of inspections/ diagnoses) and they have not been able to replicate the problem. in fact toyota has told me that there is nothing further they can do and if the car is indeed dangerous or an accident waiting to happen that is my problem. at this point i am not sure they believe me but i can assure you that the defect is very real and the last time it occurred on april 5 there were two people in the car who saw it firsthand as it happened twice that day. additionally i don't know what to do with the car as i can't sell it with this kind of defect and my wife will no longer drive it. loaning the car to anyone else becomes a liability and driving with young children or elderly folks is out of the question. frankly i have been highly disappointed in toyota's response which has been slow or non responsive until recently when they informed me that everything is working properly and that arbitration is my only recourse. the car has 22000 and is still under warranty. *tr

Acceleration incident. *tr

While using the cruise control it has a tendency to accelerate rapidly and sometimes past the set speed when using "resume." hitting the brakes or turning off cruise control has always stopped it. this has happened many times over the last three years. usually the car is going over 60 mph when this happens. recently the car has accelerated once when not using the cruise control. when hitting the brakes the acceleration stopped. this has happened only once. i have never taken it in because it will be hard to trace and the warranty is out. without changing out all of the components one could never be sure the problem was corrected. i noted that you have now gone down to 2009 rav's. i believe that there could be a problem with earlier years too. *tr

My fiance drives a 2007 toyota rav4. this vehicle is currently not within the scope of the toyota acceleration pedal recall. in december, i was driving her car (she was in the passenger seat), from massachusetts back to our home in connecticut. as i merged onto rt 128 in ma, i had to accelerate quickly to get onto the highway. after safely merging onto the highway, i let off the gas pedal as i always do, however noticed the pedal did not release and was stuck down to the floor. my first reaction was to pump the brake, however, that only slowed us down temporarily. i then tried kicking at the gas pedal to see if i could get it to release, however, that also did not work. i then tried pulling the gas pedal up with my hand and it would not budge. finally, after continuing to pump the brake to slow down, the gas pedal released on its own. i would estimate that it was stuck for 20 seconds. unfortunately, i did not report the incident right away, however, i called toyota the day i found out of their recall. this past weekend, i brought the vehicle in for a courtesy inspection, however, toyota service team said there were no issues. i have called the toyota hotline multiple times and was only able to get through to someone once. i reported the incident and the toyota rep on the phone said they would report the incident up the chain... have not heard back from them. i contacted the better business bureau, however, have not made any progress there. my fiance drives the car daily, but we can't trust that this will never happen again. our only option is to trade-in the vehicle, and we may do so soon, however, this car should not be resold in the market. i am very doubtful that toyota has solutioned the 'real' issue. *tr

2007 toyota rav4 when using cruise control on a slight incline the car will start shifting in and out of gears, bucking and jumping and i turn the cruise off immediately. it sounds like the engines going to blow. there are hundreds of people on blog sites complaining about this same problem with their ravs: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199996 and http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/webx/.f142eee?displayrecent&mktcat=enabler&aid=10364102&pid=3193631&kw=n&synpartner=edmunds&mktid=cj260233. *tr

First issue-while backing up slowly, attempted to stop before hitting telephone pole, instead of stopping rav-4 lurched backward hitting pole causing $4,000 worth of damage. cost us $500 deductible, plus over $1000 next several years for losing no-claim credit. second issue; cruise control while climbing a hill will, the vehicle will accelerate wildly, then cut out, then lurch back and forth until you hit the brake to shut it off. no injuries from this yet, but dangerous if other vehicles present. *tr updated 02/17/10

Unintended rapid acceleration. *tr

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

This is a possible expansion of the present toyota "sudden acceleration" investigation. it involves one momentary incident of uncommanded acceleration on a 2007 toyota rav4 vehicle in sept. 2009. it has not recurred nor was it reported to toyota nor the nhtsa. while traveling on an open highway, with the vehicle under cruise control, i attempted to resume my normal cruising speed after an apparently successful "brake shutdown" of the system. on applying the "resume speed command", the engine went to an apparent full throttle position with the transmission downshifting into "passing gear". this continued for a short time, estimated to be less than 2 seconds, followed by a sharp deceleration and a second full acceleration (again of a momentary length of time). after the second incident, the vehicle resumed normal operation with continued cruise control. at no time did i apply manual brakes or shift out of "drive". the incident has never repeated. the report is strictly to inform you that the apparent problem under investigation should not be limited to 2009 model year toyota's but should go back further into their fleet with "electronic throttle control". *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 rav 4. while driving 30 mph and attempting to slow the vehicle down the gas pedal remained stuck causing the vehicle to accelerate. the contact had to pump the brakes which released the gas pedal. occasionally, the contact had to shift the vehicle into neutral and pump the brakes to slow down. the contact has called the manufacturer but they could not offer any assistance. the contact is concerned about the safety risk while driving the vehicle. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 30,000.

My 2007 toyota rav4 4cyl 4 x 4 hesitates for several seconds when i depress the gas pedal. this has been going on since i bought the vehicle new in 2007, but has recently begun to get worse. today as i attempted to pull into traffic with my wife and two small children in the vehicle, it hesitated and nearly got us into an accident. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4 . the contact stated that while driving at 55 mph when braking with his foot on the brake petal the engine did not slow down ,it kept going the same speed. the contact was able to slow the vehicle down and it stopped. this has occurred 2 times where the vehicle accelerates on its own. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they told him that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. this issue has occurred when using the cruise control . there have been no repairs done to the vehicle. the failure mileage was 15000 and current mileage was 48000.

The throttle in my 2007 rav4 v6 limited has stuck open three times in the last few months. it happens after i "floor" the accelerator. the first time occurred in my garage as i was trying to start the engine. i had to turn it off. the second time was a week later as i was passing a truck going up a hill on a 3 lane highway. i put on the brakes and tried to get the transmission into neutral as i tried to get to cross two lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder. i was successful without getting into an accident, but it was scary. i took the car to a dealer and they said that the throttle body had a leak, so they replaced the seal. i did not experience the problem again for a couple of months until it happened again two days ago. i was accelerating to merge with traffic on a freeway. i applied the brakes and the throttle stopped sticking and quickly returned to normal operation. *tr

About 8 or 9 months ago, i was doing maybe 45 miles per hour when all of a sudden the rpms went wild, the engine howled, and my 2007 toyota rav4 limited sped off as if someone had dumped a boulder on the accelerator pedal. my heart was in my throat as i tried to stop the car. pressing the brake hard didn't do it. i then stuck my foot underneath the accelerator pedal and pushed up with the toe of my shoe a few times. that worked and subsequently i could depress the brake and the car responded normally. i assumed at the time that maybe the driver's-side floor mat had somehow crept up and impeded the free operation of the pedal, a theory that toyota headquarters also seemed to find plausible (though not for the rav4, apparently). so i threw out the mat and didn't replace it with anything. we have dirty carpeting now, but we are alive. of course, in recent weeks, the world has learned that millions of toyotas are potentially afflicted with a sticky accelerator pedal. two weeks ago, we drove our car to the dealer, downeast toyota in brewer, maine, when it was time for its 60,000-mile service anyway, and we insisted that the accelerator be replaced. we discovered later that they hadn't done so, even though we advised them clearly that we?d had a potentially life-threatening incident involving the accelerator. the reason they will not replace the accelerator, they told my wife, is because toyota believes that the 2007 rav4 has no accelerator problems. in other words, our car is not part of the recall, so we're out of luck no matter what i've personally experienced. *tr

I was turning into a driveway with my foot on the brake when my 2007 rav4 suddenly began to accelerate. the rpm's were over 6000. i took my vehicle into the dealer that day and they performed a diagnostic check but told me they found nothing wrong. i asked what i could do or who i could speak to and they said there nothing unless the vehicle was recalled. this incident happened in may 2009 and when i had the vehicle in just recently for normal maintenance i again was told there was nothing i could do since it is not a part of the recall. why isn't it? must someone in my family die before someone will make it a part of the recall list? i am taking my vehicle in for a safety check next week. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while attempting to park the vehicle, it suddenly accelerated over a curb and crashed into a wire fence. the vehicle was inspected by her local dealer and was advised that there were no related recalls. the manufacturer would not offer any assistance. the failure and current mileages were under 9,563. updated 04/09/10.*jb

I have a2007 rav4 purchased new 11/06/07. the car accelerated as i was backing out of my driveway, causing me to hit two signs across the street, before finally stopping, when it hit the corner of my house. i made a complete loop. this all took place in approximately 2 to 3 seconds. i truly can not say whether the accelerator stuck, it just happened so fast. the damage was $3900. i thought it was just a freak thing, however when i see all have troubles with toyota, i think it should be reported. *tr

My husband was working out of town on business in ft. worth, tx. we live in cincinnati, oh. on dec 4,2008, my husband in his 2007 toyota rav 4, accelerated at a high rate of speed for about 1/4 mile into his hotel building. this was reported by two eye witnesses (per police report). my husband has no memory of the event. he spent 7 days in the icu and was discharged after 10 days from the hospital. he had one additional surgery and several follow up consultations with several doctors since to determine what caused the accident. nothing was ever determined. since the toyota recall was announced, it may offer an answer as to what happened. his car was destroyed in the accident, but we still have all the information. *tr

tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. she stated that while driving up a hill at 35 mph, the vehicle starting jerking and attempted to accelerate without intent. she then tapped her foot on the brake pedal and the vehicle started to decrease in speed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test and the dealer could not duplicate the failure. no repairs were made to the vehicle. the failure has occurred three times. the failure mileage was 15948 and the current mileage was 37000.

I own a 2007 rav4. in fall 2008, my husband and i pulled up to a red light behind a pickup truck and stopped the vehicle. my husband had his foot on the brake but, just as he stopped, the car suddenly accelerated. even though he immediately put both feet on the brake, we ended up hitting the truck in front of us. the accident caused about $1,500 damage to the front end of our car. the truck in front sustained no visible damage, and the driver said don't worry about it and we did not file a police report. after the accident, the vehicle was thoroughly inspected by dowling toyota of litchfield ct. they did not find anything mechanically or electronically wrong with the car that would cause the unexpected and unstoppable acceleration. they did find some acorns under the hood, and given the lack of any other identifiable cause, they suggested that the sudden acceleration might have been due to the ingestion of a nut into the engine which held the accelerator open. at the time i reluctantly accepted this explanation because our accident was an isolated incident. however, in light of recent events concerning toyota vehicles, i can't help but wonder if our experience with our rav4 was part of a larger problem. my experience with our 2007 vehicle was eerily similar to those of the affected models that have been recalled. i am hearing on the news that it has taken several years for toyota to acknowledge the accelerator problem, and i can't help but wonder if our accident was related to a similar problem. please add my vehicle to the list of consumer complaints about accidents involving sudden acceleration. *tr

Sudden acceleration while parking my 2007 rav 4 caused me to go off a four foot retaining wall and the vehile was totaled

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. the contact stated that three people who regularly drove the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration while driving. after approaching a stop sign, the vehicle suddenly accelerated after she took her foot off of the accelerator pedal. the vehicle slowed down when the brake pedal was engaged. the failure occurred five times between the contact and the other three drivers. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who could not duplicate the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 22,000. the current mileage was approximately 37,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav 4. while entering a parking space the vehicle accelerated without intention. he was able to turn off the engine to avoid a crash. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for inspection. since the technician could not duplicate the failure, he could not provide a remedy. the failure mileage was 5,000. the current mileage was 25,800. the vehicle identification number was unavailable.

The "memory drive feature" on this vehicle is a hazard and skews gas mileage. i own a 2007 toyota rav4. i shopped and compared vehicles, prices and consumer guides for more than 2 years. i was not informed of the "driving memory feature" in the computer on the vehicle when considering buying. vehicle has lag time between the ability to acceleration or take evasive capability to avoid accident or get out of the way to avoid being hit. the memory feature, electronics/computer system develops a memory as to a person's driving "habit". it then becomes confused because every time i drive conditions change, minute to minute, day to day, causing the system to become confused when i ask the car to respond to an exception in driving conditions. my gas mileage epa is listed as 19 to 28 mpg, and i am yet to get 18 mpg once in city driving. i can't even get close to an average of 19 i get 17.5. one highway trip i got 24.9 mpg, and i am an average driver, not a lead foot. i took it to a toyota dealer here in tucson and they "erased" the memory in the drive computer. it drove well for 2 days then has returned back to the previous erased memory. my gas mileage is worse. i talked with another owner and he told me to take it out of overdrive for in-town driving. if i do that the engine will rpms will not drop if over 40 mph thereby ,skewing gas mileage and will damage the engine. so, here i am, paid $26,000 for a car and am so unhappy with the rip off. i would be happier if it was available in a stick shift so i could take the control, but americans are lazy, so toyota doesn't offer this model in a stick shift.(my preference) the fact that toyota is not fourth coming with this feature is grounds for fraud. but the new american way is lie by omission. i did call the toyota complaint line, national number and they took a report and will get back with me. i do not think i should have to spend my time off going to the dealer only to be told ...

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. he stated that while driving at 5 mph, the vehicle accelerated on its own. he was able to apply a lot pressure on the brakes to stop the vehicle. the contact had experienced this about 6 times. the vehicle had not been diagnosed and there had been no repairs done to the vehicle at the time of the complaint. the failure mileage was 2530 and current mileage was 17500.

My 2007 toyota rav4 experiences sudden and random instances of uncontrollable acceleration when attempting to stop. under full brake pressure the engine revs to 4000 rpm and continues to move. when i shift to neutral to stop the vehicle, the engine revs to 6500 rpm. sometimes it will return to normal idle after a few seconds and sometimes it is necessary to turn off the ignition. it usually restarts normally but occasionally repeats the 6500 rpm. i have taken it to the dealer twice who finds no computer record of a malfunction and reports that " everything meets factory specifications. " i have requested technical assistance from toyota motor sales but they only refer me back to the dealer. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while the contact was driving 30 mph he attempted to accelerate and noticed that the vehicle began to accelerate uncontrollably, in order to stop the vehicle the contact had to put the vehicle into neutral. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the failure could not be reproduced. there were no prior warnings. the current and failure mileages were 80,000.

Racing rpm's when using cruise control; raced way up to 5-6 and then back down. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph the fwd, engine and stability control warning indicators illuminated continuously. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and the oxygen sensor was replaced. on a separate occasion while driving in reverse the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and the rpms increased. the gear lever was shifted into park and the engine was turned off. the vehicle was previously repaired under a recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v113000 (vehicle speed control). the problem existed before the recall and persisted after the recall remedy repair was performed. the vehicle was repaired five times due to the unintended acceleration. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the failure mileage and vin were unavailable.

All 2007 rav4 v6 engines like mine purchased new have a whistling/whining noise at idle, especially when cold out due to more air intake needed, from the brakes vacuum booster lines very noticeable when at idle at initial cold startup when applying brakes off and on. i have even heard this same loud whistling noise coming from in front of the instrument panel when accelerating from a stop sign in very cold (below 32 degrees) weather which is all due to the vacuum lines/check valve in the brakes vacuum system. dealer is aware of the problem and have no resolution except to file a complaint with toyota rep. to address this issue. all new 07 rav4 v6 owners need to complain to their dealers about this issue for they will not repair this annoying loud whistling noise in the brakes vacuum booster lines without 100's of complaints. also, i have read several complaints about the cruise control flooring the engine up even a slight hill and shifting in and out of gears repeatedly like it does not know what gear the engine should be in. even with my 268 hp v6, it will do this and is not only annoying, but is a distraction and possible safety issue in slippery winter driving since the cruise control floors the engine up a hill and can cause swerving on icy roads. speak up consumers, and let toyota know they have issues which i am 100% correct on! *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

Hesitation when trying to press gas pedal usually from a stop. this could cause an accident when i believe i have enough time to get out on main highway from side street and the suv won't go. took to dealer, who said normal. cruise does not work properly on inclines. it will jerk back and forth until cruise turned off. mechanic rode with me and said this shd not be happening, but toyota has no fix for it at present; they do not know when. called toyota call center. they said this vehicle not meant to use cruise on inclines(so why put it on the vehicle-put on on level road, take off when see hill approaching-what a joke). never had a vehicle in my life where the cruise was not meant to be used at all points of driving. told by dealership to wait. this vehicle is new and i do not want to wait.

When driving there is a delayed throttle response which has led to a sudden acceleration when not expecting it. this happened on different occasions intermittently almost leading to an accident. i called my toyota dealer on august 22/07, sept 2007 and then called toyota on november 1, 2007. i was advised that this sudden delayed acceleration was normal for toyota as it was because the computer system sends a delayed message and i had to adjust my driving to accommodate it. it has not happened nearly as often as the first few months but does occasionally. it is sudden and frightening when it happens. *tr

When using the vehicle's cruise control it will down shift back and forth from 2nd and 3rd gear numerous times before finally achieving the original speed and returning to 4th gear. this occurs predominately on hills where the vehicle speed will drop forcing the down shift. this down shifting to 2nd gear at speeds as high as 55 mph is hard on the engine. in addition, the ability to concentrate on other traffic and road conditions is impaired. the whole advantage of cruise control is negated causing a more hazardous condition. *tr

2007 toyota rav 4 cruise control changes gears violently when going up a minimum hill and continues to change gears when on the straight away. feels like it is changing between three gears. i have read multiple complaints in forums about this problem. dealer denies problem and will not fix. car only has 5k miles on it. *tr

When using the cruise control (with the automatic transmission) the vehicle will shift rapidly between 2nd and 3rd gears when climbing small inclines and even sometimes on flat ground. this action starts when the transmission downshifts to maintain current speed. this was first noted when the vehicle had just over 8,000 miles. it now has over 17,000 and the problem still exists. it has been in to the dealership twice for repairs. the first time i was told there was no problem. the second time i was told it was a computer problem and could not be repaired at this time. i was advised by the servicing dealer that in order to make a repair toyota would have to create a computer program for the technicians to install. after talking with toyota i have been told this is not a problem but a "characteristic" of the vehicle and no efforts were being made for any type of repair. this condition makes for an unstable and dangerous driving condition when the cruise is utilized because you do not know how the vehicle will react during the drive. currently i am aware of 12 case numbers that have been created with the toyota customer support center addressing this situation. some of these cases even involve 2006 models. *tr

Tl*- the contact stated that when the 2007 toyota rav 4 was test driven on january 3, 2007 the acceleration and control on the vehicle was not stable. at times the vehicle accelerated abruptly even if the accelerator was slightly depressed. three weeks after the vehicle was purchased he noticed that when depressing the accelerator pedal the vehicle would accelerate, but it would not reach the desired speed. then after a few seconds the vehicle would accelerate again. the contact stated that when turning corners with the accelerator was depressed the vehicle would speed up. it remained steady for a few seconds at a constant speed then it proceeded to accelerate abruptly. the contact stated that when driving on the highway if another vehicle slowed down in front of the contacts vehicle, trying to speed up again was also a problem. the vehicle accelerated and stayed steady at any given speed, but then after a few seconds it would accelerate to a higher speed without warning. the contact took the vehicle to the dealership, and was told these vehicles did not have a cable going from the gas pedal to the mechanism that give gas to the vehicle. this system was electric in the 2007 models. the failure mileage was 1,500, and the current mileage was 3,500. *ak update 5/3/07*tr

When driving for longs periods, and some short periods including coming home from the dealer when the vehicle was brand new, the check engine, stability control, and 4wd lights come on in the cluster. the cruise control, 4wd, and stability control do not function when this happens. the dealer claims they could not find any codes and cannot fix it. this has been going on since march of 2007, and the warranty has expired. i feel this is a huge safety concern, as i have heard of other toyota vehicles doing the same thing, and stability control is a safety feature. *tr

Hit garage with 2007 toyota rav 4 while moving it in driveway at low speed. incident happened after a large snow storm and vehicle was being moved to clear area after snow was removed. it seemed like the gas pedal stuck or the brakes failed. no injuries just a dent in the front bumper. the failure has not occurred again. the vehicle was brought to toyota dealer (lia toyota in schenectady ny) and concern about possible brake failure was expressed. the dealer checked the brakes and did a diagnostic computer check. they told me " that the diagnostic indicated everything was fine" and gave me a $700 estimate to repair the front bumper damage. i drove the vehicle home and had the dent repaired at a local body shop. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 toyota rav4. while driving out of the driveway the floor mat started to slip under the brake and accelerator pedal. the contact has removed the floor mats. the contact is aware of the safety risk since the vehicle could accelerate and cause a crash. the current mileage was 20,000 and the failure mileage was 1,000.

There is a problem with the cruise control on this vehicle. it shifts erratically, and bucks, and shifts in to the wrong gears, causing the engine to operate at very high rpms. *tr

The loud whining sound appear when going from 30 to 45 mph. loudest at 40mph. while press gas pedal, the sound appear clearly, when release the gas pedal, the sound seems to disappear, press the gas pedal again, the sound come back. it really gives me headache. *tr