2018 Toyota RAV4

AUTO LIGHT FEATURE DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY: ON MANY OCCASIONS (ABOUT 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK), WHILE CAR IS IN MOTION EARLY IN THE MORNING AND AT NIGHT, WITH THE HEADLIGHTS IN THE "AUTO" MODE AND THE AUTOMATIC HIGH BEAM FEATURE ENABLED. WHEN STARTING THE CAR, THE AUTO LIGHT FUNCTION SEEMS TO BE DELAYED. IT DOES NOT WORK INITIALLY BUT STARTS WORKING AFTER THE CAR IS IN MOTION FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. THE AUTO LIGHT FEATURE IS NOT STAYING ON AFTER CAR IS IN MOTION AT NIGHT, LIGHTS TURN OFF BY THEMSELVES FOR A FEW SECONDS CAUSING ME TO DRIVE WITHOUT LIGHTS BEFORE THEY TURN THEMSELVES BACK ON. LUCKILY I WAS DRIVING SLOWLY, OTHERWISE IT COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER A FEW TIMES TO FIX THE ISSUE BUT THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. NO SOLUTION. THEY SUGGUESTED THAT I MANUALLY OPERATE THE LIGHTS. I DO NOT THINK THAT I OR ANY OTHER CAR OWNERS SHOULD PAY MONEY FOR A BRAND NEW CAR THAT OFFERS CONVENIENCE FEATURES THAT DO NOT WORK. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE IS A MECHANIC AT THIS PARTICULAR DEALERSHIP THAT OWNS THE SAME CAR MODEL AND IS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH HIS CAR. THIS ISSUE IS NEW AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE IS NOT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN. ALSO, THERE ARE TIMES THAT I SMELL GAS IN THE CAR WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. THE DEALER COULDN'T FIND ANY GAS LEAKS WHEN CHECKED.

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AROUND 740AM ON 287 SOUTH JUST PAST RT 24. DASHBOARD HAS "4WD" WARNING AND SMOKE COMING OUT FROM HOOD. I QUICKLY MOVED TO THE SHOULDER AND FIRE BROKE OUT BEFORE CAR CAME TO FULL STOP, ALL WITHIN ONE MINUTE. I BARELY ESCAPE THE CAR AND CALLED POLICE AND FIRE DEPT. THEY CAME AND PUT OFF THE FIRE. THERE ARE TWO EXPLOSIONS BEFORE THE FIRE WAS PUT OFF.

ON 8/28/18 MY RAV4 SUNROOF EXPLODED ON HWY. 51 IN A 45MPH ZONE JUST NORTH OF MINOCQUA, WI, ABOUT 15 MI FROM MY HOME. I DO NOT HAVE A CELL PHONE SO DROVE HOME AND IMMEDIATELY CALLED TOYOTA RHINELANDER, WI 2018. AFTER EXPLAINING THE SITUATION AND. ASKING WHAT MY NEXT STEP SHOULD BE, I WAS TOLD TO CALL MY INSURANCE REP..AS THEY DID NOT COVER GLASS BREAKAGE. AFTER I GOT THE SUNROOF REPAIRED, I WROTE A LETTER TO TOYOTA HEADQUARTERS AND TOYOTA RHINELANDER DATED 9/16/18 OUTLINING MY CONCERNS. MY REQUESTS WERE TWO-FOLD: 1) THAT THEY NEED ONLY TO REIMBURSE ME FOR MY MINIMAL REPAIR COSTS: ABOUT $350, AND 2) THAT SOMEONE TELL ME HOW, BY WHOM, AND TO WHAT AGENCY THIS INCIDENT WOULD BE REPORTED. MY LETTERS WENT UNANSWERED. I CONTACTED RHINELANDER ON OCT. 25, 2018 AND WAS ADVISED TO CALL A HOT LINE NUMBER. I DID SO IMMEDIATELY AND WAS PROMISED A CALL THE NEXT DAY. I DID NOT RECEIVE A CALL BACK; A WEEK LATER I CALLED AGAIN AND WAS ASSIGNED A CASE MANAGER. THE END RESULT WAS A DENIAL OF MY REQUEST. AGAIN, THE REASON GIVEN WAS THAT THEY COULD NOT ASSESS THE SITUATION BECAUSE II DID NOT BRING HE CAR INTO TOYOTA FOR AN INSPECTION AFTER THE EXPLOSION (AND, NOBODY TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED TO DO THIS). I UNDERSTAND THE PERSON I TALKED WITH IS NO LONGER WITH THE COMPANY. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR HERE IS SAFETY. HAD THE DOOR TO THE SUNROOF BEEN OPEN , I COULD HAVE BEEN SPRAYED WITH GLASS, SERIOUSLY INJURED OR INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC COLLISION. THE DEAFENING NOISE ALONE WAS ENOUGH TO POSSIBLY CAUSE A SERIOUS MISHAP.THERE ARE MANY WEBSITES, INCLUDING CONSUMER REPORTS, THAT REPORT THESE EXPLOSIONS, YET I WAS TOLD BY RHINELANDER THAT THEY NEVER HEARD OF AN EXPLOSION, AND A STONE PROBABLY CAUSED THE INCIDENT. I WILL BE HAPPY TO FURNISH A COPY OF MY LETTERS AND NOTES OR ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *PM

WE WERE RETURNING FROM DAYTONA BEACH, FL ON 09/26/2018 AND APPROX. 20 MILES FROM WARNER ROBBINS, GA WHEN WE HEARD WHAT SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT. WE WERE ON THE INTERSTATE IN MILD TRAFFIC WITH TEMPERATURE IN 80'S AND OVERCAST. WE SAW NOTHING HIT OUR CAR AND NO BULLET HOLES, BUT KNEW THEIR WAS A LOT OF NOISE AND SOMETHING WAS WRONG. WE PULLED BACK THE COVER ON OUR SUN ROOF AND SAW THE GLASS WAS SHATTERED AND RAISED UPWARD. IT HAD EXPLODED. WE WENT TO THE DEALER IN WARNER ROBBINS AND THEY SAID IT LOOKED LIKE IT COULD HAVE BEEN A SMALL CRACK IN THE GLASS. A DEFECT. THEY VACUUMED OUT THE GLASS AND COVERED IT WITH CARDBOARD, PLASTIC GARBAGE BAGS AND PUT MASKING TAPE ALL AROUND IT TO PROTECT US. (THEY OF COURSE DID NOT HAVE THE PART.) THE HOTEL THERE ALLOWED US TO PARK UNDER THEIR ENTRANCE WHICH WAS COVERED AS IT WAS BEGINNING TO RAIN. ON 09/27/2018 AS SOON AS WE GOT HOME TO NASHVILLE, TN WE WENT TO THE DEALER WE HAD PURCHASED THIS CAR FROM ONLY 4 MONTHS EARLIER ON 06/02/2018. THEY HAVE REFUSED OUR CLAIM. WE DON'T THINK THIS IS FAIR SINCE WE DIDN'T CAUSE THIS, BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE SOP IN THESE CASES.

TAMARA RECALL. VEHICLE CONSTANTLY DRIFTS TO THE RIGHT SIDE. SEVERAL ATTEMPTS OF FIXING THE ISSUE HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE DEALERSHIP AND VEHICLE STILL CONTINUES TO PULL TO THE RIGHT. AT THIS POINT THE DEALERSHIPS DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX THE ISSUE. NO INJURIES HAVE BEEN SUSTAINED. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE FURTHER INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM.

THE AIR CONDITIONER / HEATER / VENTILATION SYSTEM IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OPERATE WITHOUT THE DRIVER TAKING THEIR EYES OFF THE ROAD. THE RADIO IS VERY DIFFICULT TO OPERATE WITHOUT THE DRIVER TAKING THEIR EYES OFF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE REQUIRES DISTRACTED DRIVING. THE HORN CANNOT BE SOUNDED BY PRESSING THE STEERING WHEEL SPOKES; THE DRIVER MUST TAKE A HAND OFF THE STEERING WHEEL AND PRESS THE CENTER HORN "BUTTON". IF THERE IS A COLLISION AT THAT TIME, THE AIRBAG WILL EXPLOSIVELY FORCE THE DRIVER'S HAND INTO THEIR FACE. THE SPEEDOMETER IS VERY SMALL AND IS HARD TO READ IN THE DAYTIME BECAUSE IT IS RECESSED, SHADED AND VERY DIMLY BACKLIGHTED. THE FLAT PANEL DISPLAYS ARE MUCH BRIGHTER AND EASY TO READ IN THE DAYTIME. THE NUMBERS ON THE SPEEDOMETER ARE MUCH TOO SMALL TO BE EASILY READ, AND SINCE THEY ARE SET UP AT 20-MPH INTERVALS THE EXACT SPEED IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE. THE RIGHT-HAND OUTSIDE MIRROR CREATES AN UNUSUALLY LARGE BLIND SPOT, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE WHAT IS TO THE RIGHT OF THE CAR. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM WHEN MAKING RIGHT TURNS ON RESIDENTIAL STREETS AND IN PARKING LOTS. IT IS SHOCKING HOW DIFFICULT THIS CAR'S INSTRUMENT PANEL AND CONTROLS ARE TO USE, COMPARED TO VEHICLES MADE BETWEEN 1970 - 2013.

I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT DOWN THE INTERSTATE AND MY SUNROOF EXPLODED RIGHT OVER MY HEAD. I WAS NOT TRYING TO OPEN IT, NOTHING IMPACTED IT, IT JUST EXPLODED AND THE GLASS SHATTERED EVERYWHERE INTO MY CAR AND ON MY HEAD. THE INTERSTATE WAS NOT ROUGH ROAD AND THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE SUNNY AND 50 DEGREES. AGAIN NO IMPACT FROM AND KIND OF WEATHER OR DEBRIS

VEHICLE'S LDA (LANE DEPARTURE ALERT) COULD NOT BE HEARD AND NO VOLUME ADJUST. DEALER WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT CLAIMING THERE IS NO STANDARD LOUDNESS REQUIRED. YET, THE LDA IS PART OF TOYOTA SAFETY SENSE AND MARKETED AS ALERT FOR SAFE DRIVING ASSIST. MY VEHICLE IS 2 WEEKS OLD AND MISSED THE WARNING TWICE ALREADY. FALSE ADVERTISING BY TOYOTA AS SAFETY ALERT WHEN IT COULD NOT BE HEARD. DANGEROUS TO DEPEND ON IT.01/29