NHTSA Complaint #10323041 — 2010 TOYOTA RAV4

UNINTENDED ACCELERATION O F TOYOTA RAV4 WITH "FIXED" ACCELERATOR PEDAL WITHIN 50 MILES OF DRIVING: 0N COMING TO TRAFFIC STOP ENGINE REVVED UP TO AN AUDIBLE HIGH SPEED. TO PREVENT A COLLISION I APPLIED INTENSIVE PRESSURE TO BRAKE PEDAL WHILE SETTING HAND BRAKE. CAR STLILL SEEMED TO BE IN FORWARD ROLL MODE, SO I PUSHED GEAR SHIFT FROM DRIVE THRU NEUTRAL,REVERSE AND INTO PARK. ENGINE SPEED RETURNED TO NORMAL IDLE WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. I THEN DROVE 40 SOME MILES TO RETURN HOME. ON 3/27 I TOOK CAR TO THE DEALER TO REPORT THAT THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MODIFICATION WAS A FAILURE. I TOOK DELIVERY OF THIS NEW CAR ON 7/31/09. WITHIN ABOUT 300 DRIVING MILES OF ACCUMULATED MILEAGE, THE 1ST UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OCCURRED REQUIRED ADDED PRESSURE TO BRAKE PEDAL & USE OF HAND(EMERGENCY) BRAKE TO STOP CAR & END ABNORMAL ENGINE SPEED. GEAR SHIFT REMAINED IN DRIVE. I HAD 3 TO 4 SUCH INCIDENTS WITHIN APPROX. 2400 MILES COMPRISING 40-50 TRIPS, NONE LONGER THAN 100 MILES. MOST OF MY DRIVING IS HIGHWAY TYPE, WHICH DOES REQUIRE INTERMITTENT BUT INFREQUENT TRAFFIC STOPS. ABOUT 200 MILES OCCURRED IN CITY-TYPE CONDITIONS (FREQUENT TRAFFIC STOPS) WHICH WERE SPREAD OVER ABOUT 12 OF THE AFORESAID TRIPS. ALL THE UA SITUATIONS OCCURRED UNDER THE CITY-TYPE CONDITIONS. I MADE SEVERAL TRIPS TO THE DEALER TO REPORT THE INCIDENTS AND TO OBTAIN HELP. AFTER THE 1ST ONE THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT CHECKED THE CAR & FOUND NOTHING WITH THE CAR'S SAFE OPERABILITY. I TOOK THE CAR BACK FOR SERVICE AFTER THE INCIDENT WHICH WAS POST SAFETY RECALL PEDAL MODIFICATION. THE RESPONSE WAS THAT THIS WAS THE FIRST THAT THEY HAD HEARD OF A "FIX" FAILURE. TOYOTA APPEARS TO CLING TO THE STICKY FLOOR MAT OR SIMULTANEOUS PRESSURE TO ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS.