NHTSA Complaint #10228922 — 2002 TOYOTA RAV4

PURCHASED USED 2002 TOYOTA RAV4 IN OCT 2004. BOTH VISORS WERE ALREADY SAGGING A BIT AND WERE A HAZARD TO DRIVING WITHIN 8 MONTHS. I PURCHASED THE REPLACEMENT VISORS FROM THE DEALER IN JULY 2005 FOR A TOTAL OF $131.27. THEY TOLD ME THE ORIGINAL OWNER MUST NOT HAVE BEEN CAREFUL AND I NEEDED TO BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN USING THE VISORS. I TOOK THEIR WORD AND WAS GENTLE WHEN I PUT THE VISORS UP AND DOWN. LESS THAN 3 YEARS LATER AND I ALREADY NEED TO REPLACE THEM AGAIN!! I HAVE SMALL CHILDREN WHO ONLY SIT IN THE BACK SEAT, SO THE PASSENGER VISOR DOESN'T GET USED VERY OFTEN AND IT IS JUST AS BAD AS THE DRIVER'S SIDE VISOR THAT GETS USED EVERY DAY. I HAD MY LAST VEHICLE FOR 13 YEARS AND BOTH VISORS WERE STILL IN PERFECT CONDITION WHEN I TRADED THE VEHICLE IN FOR THIS ONE. BASED ON MY RESEARCH, THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT TOYOTA MODELS. I CAN'T FIND ANY SOLUTIONS AND THE DEALER HAS TOLD ME THAT ALL I CAN DO IS PURCHASE ANOTHER SET - WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY WON'T BREAK AGAIN. *TR