NHTSA Complaint #10969044 — 2006 TOYOTA RAV4

WHILE DRIVING EAST ON I-490 FROM ROCHESTER TO I-90, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE ENGINE WAS MISFIRING. WE EXITED THE FREEWAY AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT STARTED TO FLASH, THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND DIED. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND PARKED ON THE RIGHT CURB. FORTUNATELY THIS HAPPENED ON A CITY STREET AND NOT ON THE FREEWAY. POWER STEERING WAS OF COURSE LOST, SO THE MANEUVER WAS DIFFICULT. AAA TOWED THE CAR TO OUR REPAIR SHOP, AND THEY REPORTED 24 ENGINE CODES WERE THROWN, AND RECOMMENDED A COMPLETE ENGINE TUNE-UP, INCLUDING REPLACEMENT OF THE SIX IGNITION COIL PACKS, SPARK PLUGS, AND INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS. MUCH OF THE $1,000 EXPENSE WAS 4.5 HOURS OF LABOR, TO REMOVE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD (NECESSARY TO REACH THE REAR BANK OF CYLINDERS 1,3,5). THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE IGNITION COILS HAVE FAILED ON THIS VEHICLE. IN OCTOBER 2012 (AROUND 50K MILES) ENGINE CODE P0354 WAS THROWN, AND I REPLACED THE COIL ON CYLINDER 4. IN JANUARY 2014 (AROUND 58K MILES) CODE P0356 WAS THROWN, AND I REPLACED THE COIL ON CYLINDER 6. SINCE THE DANGEROUS INCIDENT OF LOST POWER AND REPLACEMENT OF ALL SIX COILS ON 14 JUNE 2016 (AROUND 80K MILES) ONLY NINE MONTHS AND 7K MILES LATER, CODE P0351 (BAD COIL ON CYLINDER 1) WAS THROWN ON 24 MARCH 2017, AND NOW CODE P0355 (CYLINDER 5) WAS THROWN ON 28 MARCH 2017. I HAVE ALREADY SPENT AROUND $1,200 TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM, AND THE CAR IS TODAY BACK IN THE REPAIR SHOP TO HAVE TWO REAR BANK COILS REPLACED, FOR $229. THERE IS CLEARLY SOMETHING WRONG WHEN THESE COILS ARE FAILING UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY AFTER ONLY 7K MILES. THIS IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR US. OTHER REPAIR SHOPS HAVE SAID THIS ERA OF RAV4 IS KNOWN FOR THIS PROBLEM. SEE HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/TOYOTA/RAV4/IGNITION-COILS-FAILURE-PROBLEMS.PHP AND YOU CAN FIND OTHER SIMILAR RECORDS OF THIS PROBLEM SEARCHING ONLINE.