NHTSA Complaint #10633793 — 2007 TOYOTA RAV4

2007 TOYOTA RAV4 SUN VISORS WILL NOT STAY UP, WHICH RESTRICTS VISIBILITY. AT FIRST, THE PASSENGER VISOR STARTED TO HAND DOWN, ABOUT AN INCH FROM THE ROOF. EVENTUALLY, BOTH THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE VISORS REMAIN IN THE DOWN POSITION. THE VISOR COMPLETELY RESTRICTS VISIBILITY AND APPARENTLY, HAS BEEN A SAFETY ISSUE WITH TOYOTA FOR YEARS. 15 SEP 2014, I TOOK MY RAV4 IN FOR RECALL WORK AND ASKED THEM TO FIX THE VISORS. I WAS TOLD THE NEXT DAY, THAT IT WOULD COST 240 DOLLARS TO REPLACE BOTH VISORS. I TALKED WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALERSHIP, AND BASICALLY STATED, THAT TOYOTA WAS RESPONSIBLE AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE THE REPLACEMENT. CALLED TOYOTA 800-331-4331 AND TALKED WITH CUSTOMER CONCERNS. SHE TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A WARRANTY ISSUE AND THAT MY 36K MILE WARRANTY HAS ALREADY PASSED. I TOLD HER THAT THIS WAS A SAFETY AND DESIGN FLAW THAT PRESENTS A HAZARD TO ANYONE WHO DRIVES THE VEHICLE. CUSTOMER CONCERNS STATED THAT SINCE THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THIS MATTER, THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT TOYOTA WOULD DO. SINCE BEING TOLD THAT TOYOTA DOES NOT CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE, I HAVE RESEARCHED SEVERAL CONSUMER BLOGS, TOYOTA OWNERS, AND HAVE SEEN SEVERAL BLOGS/COMPLAINTS CONCERNING TOYOTA CAMRY'S, RAV4'S, HIGHLANDER'S AND TUNDRA'S, ALL HAVING THE SAME SUN VISOR SAFETY ISSUES. MANY HAVE REPLACED THEIR VISOR'S TWO AND THREE TIMES. MOST BLOGS DISCUSS REMEDIES TO FIX, ONLY FINDING THE MATTER A PAIN AND SAFETY ISSUE NO ONE WANTS TO REMEDY. OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADJUST THE VISORS SO THAT THEY CAN BE SAFELY ADJUSTED TO SAFELY STAY UP AND OUT OF THE WAY WHEN NOT IN USE. I DON?T THINK WE SHOULD WAIT FOR NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS OR INJURIES AND DEATH TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SAFETY DESIGN FLAW AND SERIOUS SAFETY COMPLICATIONS! *TR