Car-and-Safety.com
Toyota Rav4 Structure Safety Report | June 30, 2011
Reported on June 30, 2011
THIS COMPLAINT RELATES TO THE VEHICLE I LEASE, BUT I SUSPECT IT APPLIES TO ALL TOYOTA RAV4 MODELS OF THIS SAME DESIGN VINTAGE, AND MAY ALSO APPLY TO OTHER TOYOTA MODELS. THE BASIC PROBLEM, AS SHOWN IN THE ANNOTATED PHOTO AVAILABLE AT HTTP://JRGSPACE.HOMESTEAD.COM/RAV4_ENGINEERING_DESIGN_FAIL__1.JPG IS THE INADEQUATE SPACING BETWEEN THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS, WHICH ALLOWS EVEN RELATIVELY SMALL SHOES TO SIMULTANEOUSLY DEPRESS BOTH PEDALS DURING URGENT , OR EVEN NORMAL BRAKING SITUATIONS. THE PROBLEM IS EXACERBATED BY THE FACT THAT THE POINT (OR PLANE) AT WHICH EFFECTIVE BRAKING IS ACHIEVED IS AT LEAST 1/2 BELOW OR BEYOND THE PLANE OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, ALMOST GUARANTEEING THE APPLICATION OF POWER DURING BRAKING. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE ENGINEERING DESIGN FAILURE AND WILL ALMOST ASSUREDLY LEAD TO ACCIDENTS IF IT HAS NOT ALREADY DONE SO, AS I HAVE NARROWLY AVOIDED SEVERAL ACCIDENTS MYSELF ALREADY WHERE THIS INTERFERENCE WAS A FACTOR. I CONSIDER THIS AN EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS CONDITION AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY THE NHTSA AS A TOP PRIORITY. *TR | |
Make: | Toyota |
Model: | Rav4 |
Manufactured by: | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
Year: | 2011 |
Was a crash reported? | N |
Was an injury reported? | |
Was a death reported? | |
Was a fire reported? | N |
Location: | BALTIMORE MD |
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | 2T3BF4DV8BW |
Mileage: | |
Speed: | |
Number of cylinders: | 4 |
Vehicle type: | |
Vehicle fuel: | GAS |
Was a police report filed? | N |
Tire size: | |
Dealer name and location: | |
Previous Report:Structure | Next Report:Electrical System |