NHTSA Complaint #10460922 — 2011 TOYOTA RAV4

I HAVE A SERIOUS CONCERN OVER THE DESIGN OF THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDAL WIDTH ON MY 2011 TOYOTA RAV. MY PROBLEM IS THAT MY DRESS SHOES AND RECREATION BOOTS ARE GETTING CAUGHT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN I SWIVEL FROM THE GAS TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, I CAME CLOSE TO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. I AVOIDED THE ACCIDENTS BY QUICKLY SLIDING MY RIGHT FOOT TO THE RIGHT AND COMPLETELY LIFTING MY FOOT UP AND OVER TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. DURING ONE OF THESE MANEUVERS, MOVING MY RIGHT FOOT QUICKLY TO THE RIGHT RESULTED IN THE LIP OF THE SOLE ON THE RIGHT SIDE HITTING THE GAS PEDAL AND CAUSING ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM DOES NOT OCCUR WHEN I WEAR SNEAKERS, AS THE SOLE OF THE SNEAKER DOES NOT HAVE AN APPROXIMATE HALF-INCH LIP ON THE SIDES. ALSO AND MOST IMPORTANT, I DRIVE A TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AND THIS PROBLEM DOES NOT HAPPEN. I ALSO DID NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH MY CAMRY, WHICH I TRADED IN FOR THE RAV. THE ABOVE VEHICLES HAS CLOSE TO A FIVE INCH WIDTH SEPARATION BETWEEN THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDALS. I'VE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF MY TOYOTA DEALER AND THE MAINTENANCE MANAGER. THEY HAVE BEEN RESPONSIVE OF MY CONCERN, FORWARDING MY COMPLAINT TO THE AREA MAINTENANCE MANAGER. I MET WITH THE AREA MANAGER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM. HE PROCEEDED TO TAKE PICTURES OF MY SHOES AND THE 3 INCH WIDTH BETWEEN THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDALS. THAT MEETING ENDED WITH THE AREA MANAGER OPENING A CASE AND THE PROMISE HE WOULD REFER MY PROBLEM TO HIS APPROPRIATE MANAGEMENT. TO DATE, MY CASE IS STILL WITH TOYOTA. MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER MAINTENANCE MANAGER HAS CONTACTED ME ADVISING THAT THE CASE IS BEING HANDLED AT A HIGHER LEVEL. *JS