NHTSA Complaint #11176309 — 2017 TOYOTA RAV4

ON 01/31/19 I WAS DRIVING MY 2017 RAV4 ON FREEWAY ABOUT 4 MILES THEN LOCAL ABOUT 5 BLOCKS I HEARD NOISE ON MY CAR SO I STOPPED. IT TURNED OUT I HAD A FLAT ON MY FRONT PASSENGER TIRE. I REPLACED IT WITH SPARE AND THE 'LOW TIRE PRESSURE' LIGHT JUST CAME ON. I THEN REALIZED WHY THE LTP LIGHT NEVER CAME ON BEFORE I REPLACED WITH SPARE. I TOOK THE RAV4 TO PASADENA TOYOTA TO RUN THE DIAGNOSTIC CHECK TO FIND OUT WHY LTP LIGHT NEVER CAME ON WHEN I WAS DRIVING ON A FLAT. THE DIAGNOSTIC FOUND 'NOTHING WRONG' AND THE SYSTEM DIDN'T RECORD ANYTHING. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THE TIRE SUFFERED 'RUN FLAT DAMAGE' AND NOT REPAIRABLE. I THEN CALLED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SVC. CASE # 1902010530, CASE MANAGER DEREK. DEREK JUST INFORMED ME ON 2/11/19 THAT THE LTP LIGHT WILL NOT COME ON WHEN THE TIRE SUDDEN LOST PRESSURE AND TURN FLAT (OWNER'S MANUAL PG 571). I ASKED HIM WHY THE LIGHT DIDN'T COME ON WHEN I DROVE IT ON FLAT FOR A WHILE TO CAUSE THE RUN FLAT DAMAGE. WASN'T THE TIRE PRESSURE LOW ENOUGH WHEN IT'S FLAT? HE SAID THE LIGHT WILL NOT COME ON WHEN IT'S FLAT. THIS SOUNDS VERY DANGEROUS IF THE WARNING LIGHT DOESN'T SEND OUT SIGNAL EVEN WHEN IT'S FLAT. HOWEVER PASADENA TOYOTA SVC ADVISOR TOLD ME THE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO CHECK THE PRESSURE EVERY 30 SECONDS. THIS CONFLICTS WITH WHAT DEREK TOLD ME. IF I ONLY DROVE WITH FLAT FOR 30 SECONDS LOCALLY IT WOULD NOT HAVE CAUSED 'RUN FLAT DAMAGE'. I WAS ESPECIALLY DRIVING SLOW LOCALLY ON 1/31/19 BECAUSE OF THE TRAFFIC. I MUST HAVE DRIVEN IT MORE THAN 30 SECONDS (TO CAUSE THE RUN FLAT DAMAGE) BUT THE SYSTEM FAILED TO DETECT IT AND SENT ME THE WARNING. I KEEP THE DAMAGE TIRE IN CASE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS NEEDED. WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THIS 2017 RAV4 WHEN IT WAS ONLY 6 MONTHS OLD. A WARNING LIGHT CAME ON FOR NO REASON SO WE BROUGHT IT TO DEALER TO CHECK ON 10/30/17. AGAIN, THE DIAGNOSTIC FOUND NOTHING. CAN I TRUST MY DASHBOARD?