Problems with 2008 Toyota RAV4 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. while the vehicle was being inspected at an independent mechanic, the technician noticed that the muffler was corroded and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was later taken to jack taylor's alexandria toyota (3750 richmond hwy, alexandria, va 22305), but was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vin was not included in a recall. the contact was referred to nhtsa. the approximate failure mileage was 117,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. while driving over a pothole at 35 mph, a loud abnormal noise was heard from the rear of the vehicle. the contact pulled over and discovered that the heat shield from the muffler was detached and wedged near the rear passenger tire. the contact mentioned that the detached heat shield was removed. the contact was an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the spot weld on the muffler was weak and the muffler needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 63,536.

My car would not start, and the check engine light and oil light remained on even while key was not in ignition. also, there was a humming and slight ticking noise coming from the engine while the car was turned off. it seemed like something had shorted out and something electrical was causing something to stay on constantly and it was draining the battery. after researching on the internet someone else had this same problem, and they found that there was a leak coming from the windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle. so i pulled up my carpet and sure enough the entire floor board was covered with water and the pad was completely soaking wet. it appears that water has damaged something in the electrical system. i am not the only one with this problem, and i do not feel that i should have to repair this myself. the vehicle should be void of leaks and able to function in rain and snow conditions. toyota really needs to address this issue and take responsibility for this defect. any assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated. this is the link to the other toyota owners experience: http://www.rav4world.com/forums/96-4-3-general/93222-random-dash-lights-gauges-even-key-removed-2.html. *tr

check engine light, vsc light, and 4wd lights stayed on after we purchased vehicle. we were advised to disconnect battery to reset, it worked until car was shut off. then the lights care on again, and 4wd would not work. our driveway requires 4wd! took it to toyota service near our home, he called warranty company, they would not pay because evap cannister and hoses had previous water damage, and were rusted. manly honda in santa rosa has put us off for two and a half weeks. this is where we purchased the car for our daughter. they will not return calls. we were informed toyota only covered this problem up to 70,000 miles. to take it to dealer!! they will no longer respond. *tr

Evaporative control (evap) system design flaw. this design flaw allows water/debris/etc to enter the evap system, resulting in the need to replace pieces of the evap system such as filter emission hoses, charcoal canister, canister vent valve, or according to my last toyota dealership visit the whole evap system! newer rav4 models have been updated to include a covering under the car as to be able to drive in normal driving conditions such as rain without risking an emission hose or charcoal canister getting debris in it or getting caught on something. *tr

The muffler has already shown corrosion to the point it is loud and now may cause heat issues and vapor issues into the car. *tr

In march 2014 after driving my 2008 toyota rav 4 approximately 3000 miles after an oil change i checked my oil and was down about 1 1/2 quarts. the oil and filter were then changed. in september 2014 after driving 3000 miles the oil level fell 2 quarts short. *tr

The airbag light came on and stayed on. owner took car to dealer and was told that the spiral cable was defective. also, the water pump is leaking. the rav4 only has 86,000 miles. owner has noticed there are multiple reported complaints on the airbag spiral cable defect. how many more "defects" have not been reported? this issue should be a recall. the repairs are very expensive. owner used to think toyota made a reliable car!! *jb

I brought the car to my mechanic because the engine has been getting louder, like a diesel. i've been told the fan in the water pump needs to be replaced. the car is 5 years old with 25,000 miles on it! this should not happen and must be a defect. unfortunately, my drivetrain warranty expired one month ago. now it is going to cost me $800 to repair. i have found many complaints about this very problem online, which proves there is a defect involved, but toyota has not issued a recall. if the water pump gave out while i was on the road, i could have been stranded in the middle of nowhere. i live in the country with poor cell service. this is irresponsible on toyota's part and should be addressed. *tr

The onboard computer (ecm) program is defective in the 2008 rav4, and probably other years and models, causing owners to unnecessarily bring cars in and pay for unneeded service. when i started the car to begin an interstate drive, 3 fault indicators (check engine,vehicle stability control, 4 wheel drive) illuminated. following owners manual, my wife called the nearest toyota dealer who told her to bring the vehicle to a toyota dealer immediately, and to drive cautiously, to allow additional room when following other vehicles, and not to attempt sudden stops. another fault indicator (cruise control would not engage) presented itself enroute. the service technician said the reason for all 4 fault indications was the #6 cylinder misfired 1 time a few seconds after i started the vehicle. he said the ecm is programmed to give these 4 fault indications for a cylinder misfire, but he did not know why. he said that he could find no reason for the single misfire, but that he found and tightened a slightly loose air intake hose that could not possibly have caused the misfire. he told me that it would have been fine for me to make my interstate drive without coming to the dealership. i believe that the onboard computer programming that provided these 4 fault indications is defective for the following reasons. 1. a single cylinder misfire is unrelated to and has no effect upon the three systems pointed to by the fault indications (vehicle stability control, 4 wheel drive, cruise control) 2. a single cylinder misfire at startup is not an emergency situation requiring immediate service at a toyota dealership with extraordinarily cautious driving enroute. 3. during the 1 hour drive to the dealership the cylinders of the vehicle fired successfully around 360,000 times, and the programming did not recognize this faultless operation and automatically clear the fault indicators.

My wife was driving our 2008 toyota rav4 ltd v6 with our 5 years old daughter yesterday. she was driving at around 50 mph then suddenly, without any warning, the engine stopped in the middle of the road. she almost was rear ended by other cars. the car did not start again after being tried after every 5 minutes. the car was serviced a month back for routine oil change and breaks. a cop came over and got the car towed. still have no idea. *tr

My 2008 rav 4 all wheel drive burns about 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. i brought the suv to toyota on 01/19/2012 for oil consumption. tech checked oil. oil level was 1/2 quart low. the tech topped off oil. i pick up rav at 1:30 p from dealer and checked oil level. the tech over filled the oil about 8 oz. i verified this with customer service he said he did not know why tech would over fill it. the dealer would like to recheck oil level in 1000 miles. however, tech over filled it so when i bring it back they can say see it doesn't burn that much oil. i wonder if the extended warranty has anything to do with it. mileage 71393. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) *tt

consumer complaint: odi case number: 10444712 component: engine and engine cooling details: my 2008 rav 4 all wheel drive burns about 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles. i brought the suv to toyota on 01/19/2012 for oil consumption. tech checked oil. oil level was 1/2 quart low. the tech topped off oil. i pick up rav at 1:30 p from dealer and checked oil level. the tech over filled the oil about 8 oz. i verified this with customer service he said he did not know why tech would over fill it. the dealer would like to recheck oil level in 1000 miles. however, tech over filled it so when i bring it back they can say see it doesn't burn that much oil. i wonder if the extended warranty has anything to do with it. mileage 71393. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)[xxx] occurrences: 1 injuries: 0 fail date: 01/19/2012 deaths: 0 date added to database: 1/20/2012 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Waterpump leaking. water pump did not meet factory specifications. water pump leaking engine block very damp . *tr

Was at a complete stop at a signal. had foot on the brake. engine surged to approx 6500 rpm plowed into the vehicle in front of me. i climbed on the other vehicle. car would not stop moving until i turned and pulled out the key from the ignition. airbags did not go off. reported incident to tarpon city officer, while the accident report was written up. my daughter and i were pretty banged up. don't know if the other vehicle reported injuries. the rav was not drivable. had to have it towed to suntoyota for repairs. reported incident to sun toyota service and body shop dec 22, they asked me what i wanted done about the problem. called toyota 800 331-4331 case #[xxx], 12/22/11 promised to call back in 24 hrs case worker [xxx]. talked to [xxx] at toyota headquarter in california. still waiting for a response from toyota. i don't feel safe in this vehicle now. i can't sell it in good faith, because of the product liability. i am thankful there was a car in front of me. the tarpon springs christmas parade was in progress and there were a least a dozen kids in the crosswalk in front of us. what a christmas present my rav would have given some parents if my car had hit these kids. just an fyi. i had a perfect driving record for 35 years until this happened. thank you toyota! toyota needs to man up before innocent people are killed. i forgot this is big corporation, they don't care, as long as it doesn't effect their bottom line. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Oil consumption is too much. it uses about 1 quart of oil in every 500 miles. from what i am hearing, this is a very common problem and toyota is doing nothing about it. i believe a recall is in order. thank you *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. the contact stated that the engine was abnormally burning two quarts of oil every 3,000 miles. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer but the vehicle was neither diagnosed for the failure or repaired. the failure mileage was 57,000 and the current mileage was 60,000. updated 04/10/12*lj updatyed 04/23/12

While i was driving to work around the month of october, my car would be going around 40-50 mph and it will suddenly stall or power down and the car just shuts off in the middle of everything. its a good thing i go to work early around 4-5 am and traffic is low or i would be in major accident and at fault too? this continues to happen. sometimes happens when i flash on high beam and even when the car is in low speed around 15-25mph or turning around a corner. there is never a check engine light. when my car goes into stall, all power dies and my radio/cd/mp3 player stop playing my dashboard becomes all pitch black and headlights all die as well. i don't know how to explain this its frustrating and scary, i'm the original owner and i bought it brand new from my local toyota dealership. i live in wisconsin and the snow is coming and toyota require me to leave the car with them for over a week or so, not a problem cause i don't want to drive it until its fix. its now after thanksgiving and the problem is still occurring i took the car to the dealership today but they wont even look at it until i leave it with them for a week. i cant leave it there because i need a car for work so i had to arrange car rentals first with my own expense and will be dropping the car off saturday. the answers they already gave me was no clue and don't know what's wrong with it with no check engine code. i don't want to be another koua fong lee. i just want to post this up now see if anyone found a solution and for my reference if they cant fix it. i want someone to have my back. the car is a rav4 2008 with only 50,000 miles. *kb

On 9/7/11 my daughter was driving her rav 4 home from pinole to hercules (less than 5 min) and she heard a noise and the car stopped. on 3/26/11, during a 66,138 maintenance service toyota repaired the rear crank seal. we normally maintain the service close to 5,000, except this time due to lack of funds we were late. my daughter had made an appt for 78,000 service for 9/8/11, during out of town trip for my daughter's wedding. so now toyota will only repair it for $7,000.00 because we were late one time on the service, the crank froze and it needs a new engine. they feel it had nothing to do w/the crank seal. how can a brand new car, which i'm still paying for, engine break down just from being late one time. i feel that it should still be covered w/warranty (exp. 75,000), *kb

At approximately 11:15am saturday january 22, i was stopped at a stop light on spit brook road in nashua nh for about 30 seconds, when my leased toyota rav4l suddenly revved it's engine and started to move forward. as it did, i pressed on the brake as hard as i could, and the car continued to rev the engine and suddenly jumped forward hitting the car that was about 6 feet in front of me. at that time, i put the car in park, stopped the engine and checked to see if the woman in the car ahead of me was hurt. she was not. her car had no damage to it. she went on her way. there is minor damage to the from end of the rav4, including the bumper and grill. i got back into the car, and took it to the toyota dealer in nashua nh, that was a mile or 2 away, and explained to them what happened. they tried to blame this on the floor mat issue, and then tried to blame it on me, saying that they think my boot might have been on the accelerator. i told them that was not the case. the car was stopped for about 30 seconds when it suddenly revved the engine and accelerated into the car ahead of me. the car was left at the dealer for them to take a look at on monday january 24th, 2011. they told me that they would look into it and get back to me. *ln

2008 toyota rav 4 keeps losing oil . light keeps coming on. returned to dealer on several occasions and they put in writing "up to 1 qt in 1000 mile is considered normal by toyota. since oil changes are required every 5000, is toyota saying it is acceptable to be down 5 qts? asked reps for explanation and they stated they cannot provide me with one. at this rate i should have a blown engine. *tr

Approaching a traffic light, approximately 10-15 mph, with the brake applied, the engine of my 2008 rav4 (vin [xxx] ) accelerated for 3-4 seconds. because my foot was already on the brake pedal, i was able to keep the vehicle under control during the unintended acceleration. this has occurred only once, 3 weeks ago. after taking the rav4 to the local toyota dealer, the dealer found no computer codes stored, test drove the vehicle, but was unable to duplicate the acceleration condition. the vehicle was not covered by any of the existing acceleration recalls. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Idle speed kicked up unexpectedly at a stop light. the engine was close to full operating temperature, about 1.5 miles from home. the air conditioning was not on. the defroster was also not on, so there was no reason for the idle to kick up. vehicle was stopped at a light behind another vehicle at an intersection. it lurched forward, but was easy to hold back with the brake. i then put my left foot on the brake and released my right foot to be sure that both brake and accelerator were not being pressed simultaneously. the high idle continued, about 1100 rpm in drive. i then put the vehicle in neutral and the tachometer read 1300-1400 initially, then slowly dropped to about 1000. once back in drive it dropped to about 800 rpm, which is normal operation. it has never done this before or since. that particular intersection has power lines and/or transformers that have interfered with my am radio in other vehicles, but not this one. *tr

While driving under 25 mph the vehicle without reason or notice shuts down. it is able to start up right after, however the only reason that you know it has shut down is that all the dash lights come on. this has happened about five times. the dealership says the there is nothing wrong. the vehicle has not been change in anyway. *tr