NHTSA Complaint #10263960 — 2007 TOYOTA RAV4

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