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2012 TOYOTA RAV4 EV — POWER TRAIN

crash · 1265930 · 2016-03-06

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
RAV4 EV
Year
2012
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
POWER TRAIN
Miles at failure
33,000
Speed
5 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

MY 2012 RAV4 EV HAS AN UNSAFE CONDITION WHERE THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION DOES NOT ACTUALLY ENGAGE FROM R TO D, OR D TO R WHEN STATIONARY, EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE INSTRUMENTATION INDICATES SO. THE VEHICLE INSTEAD MOVES INADVERTENTLY IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. IT HAS BEEN A CHRONIC ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE, AND I HAVE REPORTED IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. EACH TIME I WAS TOLD THAT THE TECHNICIAN COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE CONDITION, BUT THAT A SOFTWARE UPDATE WOULD BE INSTALLED AND MIGHT CORRECT THE MATTER. IT HAS NOT, AND MY WIFE AND I CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM RANDOMLY. ON MARCH 5, 2016 HOWEVER, THE CONDITION CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AS I WAS LEAVING A PARKING SPOT ON THE STREET. I INITIALLY HAD TROUBLE GETTING THE CAR TO ENGAGE IN REVERSE OR DRIVE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTED IT (REBOOTING THE SOFTWARE). THIS TIME REVERSE ENGAGED AND I MOVED THE CAR BACKWARD TO MAKE ROOM TO EXIT THE PARKING SPACE AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I THEN PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE, HEARD THE REVERSE 'BEEP' STOP, VISUALLY CHECKED THE INSTRUMENTATION CLUSTER TO VERIFY THE INDICATOR WAS ON 'D', APPLIED THE HILL-ASSIST FUNCTION, AND PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR TO DRIVE FORWARD. THE CAR INSTEAD LUNGED BACKWARD AND SLAMMED INTO THE CAR BEHIND ME. THIS IS A SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS CONDITION. IT COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN A PEDESTRIAN BEHIND ME INSTEAD OF A CAR. I CAN NO LONGER DRIVE THIS CAR AND FEEL SAFE WITH MY FAMILY, OR FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND THE VEHICLE. CHECKING THE OWNER FORUMS

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10840133
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown