NHTSA Complaint #10855713 — 2016 TOYOTA RAV4

MY 2016 RAV4 LE COMES WITH A SIDE VIEW MIRROR THAT HAS A BUILT IN NON-ADJUSTABLE BLIND SPOT MIRROR. THIS BLIND SPOT MIRROR DOES NOT SHOW THE BLIND SPOT AREA. IT SHOWS AN AREA TWO LANES AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE. PAGE 154 OF THE RAV4 OWNERS MANUAL ERRONEOUSLY INDICATES THIS ADDITIONAL MIRROR IS A BLIND SPOT MIRROR AND HAS A DIAGRAM ERRONEOUSLY SHOWING HOW IT FUNCTIONS.THE BLIND SPOT MIRROR IS MISLEADING AND DANGEROUS. I DISCUSSED THIS WITH THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID I NEEDED TO GET APPROVAL FROM THE TOYOTA CORP. TO REPLACE THE GLASS MIRROR INSERT. TOYOTA CORP REFUSED MY REQUEST AND TOLD ME TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH NHTSA. ATTACHED IS A SEQUENCE OF THREE PICTURES SHOWING HOW THE BLIND SPOT MIRROR DOESN'T SHOW AN APPROACHING VEHICLE UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. THIS IS PARTICULARLY CONFUSING AND DANGEROUS AT NIGHT. YOU GET TO SEE HEADLIGHTS FROM TWO LANES OVER AND NOT THE HEADLIGHTS ACTUALLY APPROACHING YOU. A TOYOTA PERSON TOLD ME I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE $8000 MORE EXPENSIVE 2016 RAV4 WHICH IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS WITH SENSORS. THIS IS A BAD WAY TO MAKE MONEY. ALL I WANT IS FOR TOYOTA TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE INTERCHANGEABLE GLASS MIRROR INSERTS USED ON PREVIOUS YEAR RAV4 VEHICLES AND TO STOP INSTALLING THE DANGEROUS SIDE VIEW MIRRORS WITH BUILT IN NON-ADJUSTABLE BLIND SPOT MIRRORS. THE VISION IS POOR ON THE RAV4 AND TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE REASONABLY PRICED THE SENSORS AND VISION ITEMS FOR ALL MODELS INSTEAD OF ONLY MAKING THESE SAFETY ITEMS AVAILABLE ON VEHICLES LOADED WITH HIGH PRICE FEATURES. TOYOTA NEEDS TO PUT SAFETY FIRST. I HAVE HIGH REGARD FOR TOYOTA AND PREVIOUSLY PURCHASED THREE TOYOTA VEHICLES THAT WERE EXTREMELY GOOD AND LASTED A LONG TIME. THEY ALL HAD GREAT VISIBILITY. THE RAV4 COULD HAVE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN DESIGNED WITH MUCH BETTER VISION.