2022 Toyota RAV4

I am submitting this complaint to report a known and widespread safety defect involving the door lock actuators on my Toyota RAV4. My vehicle’s door actuators have failed at approximately 39,000 miles, just outside the 3‑year/36,000‑mile warranty. This failure prevents the doors from locking and unlocking properly, which poses a significant safety hazard while driving, especially in emergency situations. When I brought the issue to Beechmont Toyota, the dealership refused to repair the defect under goodwill or warranty consideration. I spoke with Stacy Meyer, Assistant Service Manager [XXX] ), who stated that the refusal was directed by Rodney Wetenkamp, Service Director. Despite the well‑documented nature of this defect, the dealership declined to assist in any way. This is not an isolated incident. There is an active class action lawsuit in Texas regarding defective Toyota RAV4 door lock actuators, demonstrating that Toyota is aware of the widespread nature of this problem. Source: Toyota Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Allegedly Defective Door Lock Actuators I also contacted the Toyota Brand Engagement Center, which opened Case #260508001469. Toyota advised me to work through the dealership, stating that the dealer should escalate the issue through their internal channels. However, the dealership refused to do so, leaving me without support despite this being a manufacturer‑related defect. Door lock actuator failure is a serious safety issue. When the locks fail: Doors may not lock while driving, exposing occupants to risk Doors may not unlock in an emergency Children and passengers may be unable to exit the vehicle quickly The vehicle becomes vulnerable to theft and unauthorized entry Given the known defect, Toyota’s awareness of the issue, and the dealership’s refusal to escalate or repair the problem, I believe this represents a failure of manufacturer responsibility and a potential violation of safety standards. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5

Please see attached complaint letter. Overall, this is related to the 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid electronic hybrid system. This issue related to campaign 25TD01. The issue can cause the car to not start at any time because of the vehicle's start/stop hybrid system. If this happens in traffic, you could cause a safety issue that could lead to an accident and possibly fatalities.

I was driving through pretty heavy rain for about 65 miles. When I got to my destination, I was idling in the car for a few minutes when the car started to shake. I turned the car off. Upon turning it back on the engine would start and the car would shake before getting a message “engine stopped. Power steering low.” After two hours, I was able to turn the car on and move a little bit but the car was lurching and the RPM needle was rapidly bouncing between 1,000 and 2,000.

The sunroof shattered while I was driving. There were no other vehicles around me or on the street. I heard a loud bang and glass rained down on me. The glass is pitched upward like it exploded from the inside. There is no other damage to my car. I had no warning other than the loud bang. When I am not out, my car is in a garage it never sits outside.

The contact is an attorney concerned about a crash involving a 2022 Toyota Rav4. The attorney stated that the vehicle had a comma.ai device installed on the vehicle. The attorney stated that while 2 couples were occupying the vehicle and driving at night on an expressway, there was a police vehicle on the side of the road responding to a separate vehicle crash. The driver of the vehicle may have been asleep, along with the front passenger, while relying on the comma.ai device to operate the vehicle. The vehicle failed to engage the brakes in order to avoid crashing into the police vehicle, and as a result, the Toyota Rav4 crashed into the rear of the police vehicle. The vehicle speed was unknown at the time of the crash. The owner of the vehicle rear-ended a Louisiana state trooper. Air bags deployed in the front and on both sides of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and then to a Progressive Insurance lot. No warning lights were noticed. All occupants were wearing seat belts. The driver of the vehicle sustained concussion injuries, and the front passenger occupant sustained arm and leg injuries. The two rear occupants succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. No other injuries were reported as the police officer was not occupying the vehicle during the impact. The comma.ai device failed to avoid the f vehicle in front. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

After turning my car on and the car running for several minutes, the engine shut off on its own and it said “engine stopped steering power low”. This is the second time this has happened. The vehicle is available for inspection. My safety was put at risk because I am concerned about this happening while driving, or being stranded somewhere. I have not taken my vehicle in yet, but many other RAV4 owners have this issue from my internet searches. This has happened twice to me in the past two weeks. The vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warning lamps/messages/lights prior to failure.