2014 Toyota RAV4

UPDATE TO PRIOR COMPLAINT — Filed April 2, 2026. VIN: [XXX] . 2014 Toyota RAV4 AWD XLE. Team Toyota Langhorne, 746 E Lincoln Hwy, Langhorne PA 19047. Vehicle remains out of service — 53 days as of April 10, 2026. SECOND REPLACEMENT VEHICLE — April 4-5, 2026: Dealership presented 2014 RAV4 VIN [XXX] as replacement. Upon visual inspection: valve cover leaking; blue silicone sealant on valve cover applied unevenly indicating prior engine disassembly or concealed active oil leak; catalytic converter flanges rotted top to rear requiring full replacement; oil on bottom of motor. Photographs available. Dealership declined to repair at estimated cost of $2,500 — April 6, 2026. DEALER RESOLUTION FAILED — April 7, 2026: Bill Sullivan, Pre-Owned Sales Director, offered buyback or trade. Both rejected as inadequate. No resolution provided. Two defective replacement vehicles presented — neither acceptable. Cases: [XXX] / [XXX] / [XXX] [XXX] — [XXX] — [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2014 Toyota RAV4 AWD XLE purchased June 2025. Multiple pre-existing safety defects confirmed by dealership personnel were never disclosed at time of sale. POWER TRAIN: Torque converter failure — vibration documented at pre-sale inspection, never disclosed or diagnosed. Axle bracket corroded so severely it was fused to axle and required cutting off — confirmed by service advisor on recorded call. BRAKES: Aftermarket brake parts installed pre-sale without disclosure. Brake system rated RED by dealership within 9,734 miles of purchase. Severe brake pedal pulsation confirmed on multiple invoices. ODY/STRUCTURE: Severe underbody and structural corrosion — subframe, crossmembers, fuel tank surfaces — never disclosed. Swollen lug nuts documented. Prior welded exhaust repair undisclosed. Exhaust flange separation and catalytic converter failure — repair quote $4,745. SEAT BELT: Rock found lodged in seat belt buckle — safety restraint failure — not noted on pre-sale inspection. RECALL 23V734000 / 23TA13: Aftermarket battery used as recall remedy — OEM replacement required — non-compliant — fire risk not disclosed at sale. All defects confirmed by dealership invoices, MPI video, and recorded calls. Vehicle out of service since February 2026. Complete documentation available.

This matter is not related to a accident. This matter is related to a bad transmission on our Rava4. This started at a little over 100.000 miles. Toyota did replace transmission filter and torque converter at 102.000 miles and now we have 152.000 miles at this time, and now our 2nd gear is going out and the transmission needs to be replaced but can't found a rebuilt transmission. Due to back ordered parts. So what are we to do? The Rava4 is worthless without good transmission .Has there been any other related problems like this ? Toyota's are suppose to be good reliable cars.

The contact owned a 2014 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, it was noticed that there was smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle, and the vehicle lost motive power. The contact arrived at the residence and the vehicle burst into flames causing the rear of another vehicle to melt. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A police report was filed. No one was injured. The vehicle was not towed or diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120,000.

WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT THIS USED CAR WITH AROUND 90000 MILES IT STARTED VIBRATING WHICH LED TO DISCOVERING DRIVE SHAFT REPLACEMENT. ONE YEAR LATER IT NEEDS ANOTHER DRIVE SHAFT AT 118000. DOESNT GET DRIVEN MUCH IN WINTER. NOTICED CAR SHIFTED INTO A LOWER GEAR WHILE DESCENDING DOWN A STEEP HILL WHILE I WAS TRAVELING AT A HIGHER RATE AND HAD TO APPLY BRAKES QUICKLY TO MATCH THE LOWER GEAR. I FELT THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A PROBLEM IN CAR HANDLING OR DRIVE TRAIN REPAIR. THE REPAIR IS EXPECTED TO COST $550 TO REPLACE THIS SECOND DRIVE SHAFT. PARTS DEALER SAID HE SOLD LOTS OF THESE. I THINK SOMETHING IS WRONG

The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving from a complete stop at 10-15 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started shuddering, jerking, hesitated and responded in a surging manner. The contact stated that the failure stopped while driving above 25 MPH. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring increasingly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that she would need to pay a repair fee as Toyota Technical Service Bulletin Number: POL17-06 had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

My husband made sure he took the car into the dealership before his current deployment & records showed nothing was wrong. About 2 months ago I noticed the vehicle would jump from 2 to 3 RPM. He changed the spark plugs and battery. The drive improved but soon started revving again. In September, I called the dealership & described the issue & noted that there was no check engine light or any light indicating anything was wrong. The maintenance personnel said to drop it off for further diagnosis. On October 15, I took the vehicle in for a diagnostic it came back with another clean report and was advised to bring it back in if the problem persist. The next morning, I noticed the vehicle was still behaving the same way. I called the dealership and told them I will bring the vehicle back in. I was insistent on finding out what the problem was & showed them a video of what I was describing the vehicle was doing. The dealership said they would keep it overnight to try & figure out what was wrong. The following evening October 21, I got a call stating that my transmission fluid was black with metal shavings and it was supposed to be red. The transmission fluid could no longer be changed at this point but instead the entire transmission needed to be replaced for $8,947.95! Keep in mind that the average cost of changing the transmission fluid is $250. If my vehicle was properly maintained when took it to Toyota dealerships since 2014 for ALL the recommended maintenance, we would not be having this issue. We TRUSTED the dealerships to tell us what maintenance was needed. The transmission fluid should have been replaced at 60,000 miles & it was not. Now we have to replace the entire transmission. Toyota needs to take ownership of their mistake; not properly maintaining our vehicle. It is no fault of our own that it was never indicated to us that the transmission fluid needed to be replaced. His family with no vehicle, exactly what he was trying to avoid before he deployed.

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS. THIS COMMUNICATION IS ABOUT THE DEFECTIVE TORQUE CONVERTER IN THE TRANSMISSION THAT TOYOTA IS AWARE OF. I ACQUIRED THE VEHICLE AT ABOUT 33,000 MILES AND I NOTICED THAT IT HAD THIS PROBLEM OF A SLIGHT INTERMITTENT SHUDDER, WHAT SOME WOULD CALL A SHAKE OR VIBRATION, DURING ACCELERATION COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. IT DID NOT AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE VEHICLE SO I IGNORED IT MAINLY BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE THE TIME TO ADDRESS IT. AS TIME WENT ON THE CONDITION BECAME MUCH MORE NOTICEABLE AND TOYOTA SENT ME A LETTER EXPLAINING THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AFFECTING SOME OF THEIR VEHICLES AND THAT THEY WERE EXTENDING THE WARRANTY. I HAVE ATTACHED PHOTOS OF THIS LETTER WITH THIS COMMUNICATION. I FOUND OUT THAT THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY IS CONSIDERED A COURTESY AND CERTAINLY IT COVERED UP TO A CONSIDERABLE MILEAGE HOWEVER MY POSITION IS THAT BECAUSE THIS CONDITION EXISTED AT EARLY MILEAGE AND GREW CONSIDERABLY WORSE WITH EXTENDED MILEAGE AND TIME, THAT PERHAPS YOU MAY CONSIDER THAT TOYOTA SHOULD CORRECT THIS PROBLEM REGARDLESS OF MILEAGE OR TIME. MY VEHICLE IS PAST THE ALLOWABLE MILEAGE IN THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I KNOW TOYOTA DOESN'T WANT TO HEAR THAT BUT PERHAPS THIS PROBLEM THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF IS FOUND IN A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT IT MAY NOT CAUSE THEM MUCH GRIEF AT ALL. THANK YOU.