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Toyota Rav4 Service Brakes Safety Report | Aug 31, 2013
Reported on Aug 31, 2013
| I AM FILING A COMPLAINT ABOUT SPONGY BRAKES BEHAVIOR IN A 2012 TOYOTA RAV4. THE PROBLEM I WAS EXPERIENCING WERE THE BRAKE PEDAL TRAVELING TO THE FLOOR AND REDUCED STOPPING POWER DURING APPLICATION. THE SPONGY BEHAVIOR OF THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS ALSO PRESENT WITH ENGINE OFF. I REPORT THIS EVENT TO TWO SEPARATE TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS WHICH TECHNICIANS CLAIMED THIS IS A NORMAL FUNCTION AND THIS IS A SOFT PEDAL DESIGN (ACCORDING TO THE FIRST DEALERSHIP). THE SECOND DEALERSHIP SHOWED ME ANOTHER SIMILAR VEHICLE (2011 TOYOTA RAV4) AND IT ALMOST DID THE SAME THING (ENGINE OFF - PEDAL WAS STILL SPONGY BUT WAS LESS THAN MY VEHICLE). SINCE BEING A ASE MASTER TECHNICIAN BEFORE BECOMING AN MECHANICAL ENGINEER, I BLEED THE BRAKES WHICH ONLY HELPED A LITTLE AND THERE WERE NO FLUID LEAKS. FINALLY, I RESEARCHED THAT THE ABS PUMP MIGHT NEED TO BE ACTIVATED USING A SCANNER TO CYCLE THE ACTUATORS THAT MIGHT HOLD AIR TRAPPED INSIDE. I TOOK THE CAR TO MY PREVIOUS PLACE ON EMPLOYMENT WHERE I CONSULTED THIS ISSUE WITH THE SHOP MANAGER IN WHICH HE AGREED THAT THIS IS A POSSIBILITY. THE SHOP MANAGER PERFORMED THE ABS PUMP CYCLING PROCESS WITH THE SCANNER AND THE BRAKE PEDAL BECAME HARD AND FIRM LIKE IT SUPPOSE TO BE (PROCEDURE TIME: 5 MINUTES!). I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH TOYOTA TRAINED TECHNICIANS AND ANY GOOD TECHNICIAN KNOWS THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SOFT PEDAL DESIGN ESPECIALLY WITH A VACUUM BRAKE BOOSTER WITH ENGINE OFF (HYDRAULIC FLUID IS ONLY SLIGHTLY COMPRESSIBLE!). ONLY VEHICLES WITH HYDRAULIC BRAKE BOOSTER CAN EXPERIENCE A BRAKE PEDAL FEELING SPONGY SINCE THE BOOSTER WILL CONTINUE TO FUNCTION AFTER ENGINE HAD BEEN TURNED OFF (APPROX:10 ¿� 20 BRAKE PEDAL APPLICATIONS ¿� DIESEL & VERY FEW GAS VEHICLES). IT SEEMS TO ME TOYOTA IS SKIPPING A STEP IN THERE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. *TR | |
| Make: | Toyota |
| Model: | Rav4 |
| Manufactured by: | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | 0 person(s) were injured. |
| Was a death reported? | 0 person(s) died. |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | BROOKLYN NY |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | 2T3BF4DV8CW |
| Mileage: | 7000 miles. |
| Speed: | 55 MPH |
| Number of cylinders: | 4 |
| Vehicle type: | |
| Vehicle fuel: | GAS |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | |
| Previous Report:Service Brakes | Next Report:Engine |