NHTSA Complaint #10318170 — 2006 TOYOTA RAV4

WHEN FIRST DRIVING MY NEW 2006 TOYOTA RAV4, I NOTICED AT SLOW SPEEDS IT WOULD SOMETIMES ACCELERATE WHEN I HIT THE BRAKE. I ATTRIBUTED THIS TO BIG FEET AND A NEW CAR WHERE I DID NOT YET MASTER THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE PEDALS. I STARTED DRIVING WITH TWO FEET, JUST AS I WAS TAUGHT AS A TEENAGER IN DRIVERS ED. OCCASIONALLY, THIS HAS HAPPENED AGAIN IN THE ENSUING 3 YEARS. UNTIL THIS UNINTENDED ACCELERATION PROBLEM CAME TO LIGHT IN 2010, I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST "OPERATOR ERROR." NOW, I AM BEGINNING TO THINK THERE IS SOME DEFECT - MAYBE IT'S HARDWARE LINKAGES, BUT I SUSPECT THERE IS A SOFTWARE PROBLEM IN THE ELECTRONIC COMPUTER OF THE CAR. I ALSO HAD THE STEERING MID-SHAFT PROBLEM AFTER WARRANTY AND SCREAMED UNTIL THEY FIXED IT UNDER WARRANTY FOR $50. THERE WAS ALSO A "RUNAWAY" FUEL PUMP SERVICE BULLETIN I MADE THEM COVER AS WELL. I HAVE WORKED WITH TOYOTA QUALITY ENGINEERS SINCE THE 1980S AND AM DISGUSTED BY THEIR RESPONSES REPORTED IN THIS ODI SITE. TOYOTA'S CLAIM TO FAME WAS THERE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER FOCUS. LOOKS LIKE THE CURRENT GENERATION OF TOYOTA PEOPLE HAVE LOST THIS, AND THAT POINTS DIRECTLY TO TOP MANAGEMENT THERE. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME. AS THEY SAY IN JAPANESE, THEY ARE "ON SHIRAZU" (DO NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR OBLIGATION TO THEIR CUSTOMERS). *TR