NHTSA complaint: 2017 TOYOTA RAV4 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On Saturday, May 14, 2022, my vehicle burned. and has since been totaled. The car had been trouble-free since I bought it in 2018. I was so pleased with it that I had just paid off the balance on the loan the week before because I wanted to keep it for 10 years. Prior to it burning, I had just driven it a couple miles for the first time in 2 weeks (it had been parked in a friend's garage). There were no warning lights visible during that time. I got out of the car for 3 minutes and was about to get back in when I noticed white smoke coming out of the hood. Within 30 seconds the hood had become engulfed in flames. The entire front and interior of the car was destroyed in the blaze, which the Fire Department had to extinguish. No one was injured, but two cars on either side were damaged by the fire. The car had last been serviced by Headquarter Toyota in Miami on January 22, 2022. They had not done the government-recommended inspection of the engine area during the servicing.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation