What 301 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid

My Toyota RAV4 was involved in an accident. My vehicle was rear-ended on [XXX], at the corner of [XXX] and [XXX] in Tucson, AZ. Because it was during rush hour traffic, I moved my vehicle to an adjacent parking lot. It was while I was in this parking lot that I experienced brake failure and I was unable to stop my vehicle. As a result, my car hit a concrete pillar in the parking lot. This automatically stopped my vehicle and resulted in front end damage to my vehicle. 911 was dispatched and a sheriff was called to the accident scene. My car was towed to a tow yard before the Toyota collision center could begin work on estimating the amount of damages to my vehicle for the front-end and rear-end damage. My insurance company totaled my vehicle. I contacted Toyota to notify them of this brake failure. I was notified by a third party to contact you to report this incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11613612

Related to a car accident when getting hit in the front my air bags didn’t deploy . Only the driver side was hit pretty bad . Another car accident related to a tree branch no air bag deploy . I was told that you have to be hit in a certain way to deploy the air bags . Hearing that makes me switch from a Toyota to a Kia . I have my toddler .

NHTSA ODI 11553312

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2017 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT, HE HAD REPLACED ALL FOUR TIRES WITH ALL SEASON TIRES. HE STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH ON A RAINY DAY, A TRUCK BEGAN TO MERGE INTO HIS LANE. AS THE CONTACT BEGAN TO VEER TO THE RIGHT, THE ANTI LOCK BRAKES ACTIVATED INDEPENDENTLY WHICH CAUSED HIS VEHICLE TO VEER INTO THE LEFT LANE AND HIT THE REAR OF THE TRUCK. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED UPON IMPACT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NEITHER HIMSELF OR THE OTHER DRIVER SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE HAD RECENTLY STARTED TO EXPERIENCE PAIN IN HIS RIGHT CHEST. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AT THE SCENE. DUE TO THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT TOW YARD WHERE IT WAS DEEMED DESTROYED. THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER HAD YET TO BE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT BELIEVED THAT THE FAULTY ABS SYSTEM WAS THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 67,000.

NHTSA ODI 11374530

PURCHASED MY NEW RAV4 ON 12/2017. ON 8/13/2017 I WAS AT A DRIVE THROUGH AND STOPPED AT THE END OF THE LINE AND THE SERVICE BRAKE WHEN I PRESSED THE PEDDLE THE BRAKE WAS FIRM AND STOPPED CORRECTLY. THE LINE MOVED AND I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF OF THE SERVICE BRAKE AND THE LINE STOPPED AND I APPLIED THE SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE AND HAD TO PRESS THE PEDDLE FURTHER THAN I PRESSED THE PEDDLE THE FIRST TIME I STOPPED IN THE LINE. WHILE STOPPED IN THE LINE THE SECOND TIME THE RAV4 STARTED TO ROLL FORWARD AND I HAD TO PRESS THE SERVICE BRAKE EVEN FURTHER TO GET THE RAV4 STOP. THE LINE MOVED FORWARD AND I LIFTED MY FOOT OFF OF THE SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE AND THE LINE STOPPED AND WHEN I PRESSED THE SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE THE SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE WENT TO THE FLOOR AND DID NOT SLOW UNTIL I STRUCK THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME. AFTER THE ACCIDENT MY SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE WAS VERY SPONGY AND SLOW TO RESPOND WHEN PRESSING THE SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE. I TOOK MY RAV4 ON 8/14/2017 TO LOCAL DEALERSHIP TO HAVE MY SERVICE BRAKES CHECKED. WHEN I TOOK THE RAV4 IN I DID NOT HAVE ANY PAPER WORK TO SIGN. THE AFTERNOON THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID MY RAV4 WAS READY. WHEN I WENT TO GET MY RAV4 THE SERVICE ADVISOR SAID NO CODES AND DID NOT GIVE ME ANY PAPER WORK AND I DID NOT SIGN ANY PAPER WORK. WHEN I GOT IN TO DRIVE THE RAV4 AWAY MY SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE WAS FIRM NOT SPONGY AND RESPONDED QUICKLY AS VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT TO PRESS THE SERVICE BRAKE PEDDLE TO STOP THE RAV4. MY SERVICE ON THE TOYOTA WEB SITE SERVICE HAS NEVER REPORTED THE SERVICE EVEN TODAY. I CALLED THE TOYOTA AND TOLD THEM OF THIS SITUATION AND THE TOYOTA REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME TO BRING MY RAV4 BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 8/24/2017 AND HE WOULD DOWNLOAD THE EVENT RECORDER AND DID ON 8/31/2017. NO ISSUES WAS REPORTED ON THE EVENT RECORDER. LETTER SHOWED NO REFERENCE THAT I HAD MY SERVICE BRAKES CHECKED ON 8/14/2017. SERVICE BRAKE IS SPONGY WHILE STOPPED NOW.

NHTSA ODI 11022755

BREAKS FAILED WHEN BACKING OUT OF PARKING SPACE AND FAILED IMMEDIATELY AGAIN WHEN TRYING TO PULL BACK INTO PARKING SPACE AFTER CAR HIT A CAR AND THEN HIT A CART CORRAL PUSHING THAT INTO ANOTHER CAR. AS A RESULT 3 CARS INCLUDING OURS WERE DAMAGED.

NHTSA ODI 11014830

AS I WAS APPROACHING THE MAIL BOX AREA IN MY APARTMENT COMPLEX AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE TO TURN INTO THE PARKING AREA IN FRONT OF THE FOUR METAL MAILBOXES AND PUT THE VEHICLE IN "PARK" WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LURCHED FORWARD AND JUMPED THE SIX-INCH, BRICK-PAVER CURB. I CRASHED INTO THE MAILBOX STRUCTURE, COMPLETELY UPLIFTING THE BASE THAT WAS BOLTED INTO THE CONCRETE AND HIT A WOOD TRASH CONTAINER HOLDER. I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL HARDER BUT MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN OR STOP AND I ALSO COULD NOT CONTROL THE STEERING. I CONTINUED UP A HILL (AT 45-50 MPH) CONSISTING OF TALL GRASS, WILDFLOWERS, ROCKS, ETC., ACROSS A WALKING PATH OF WOODCHIPS AND MULCH, THEN DOWN THE HILL (STILL WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE) GRAZING THE BRANCHES AND LEAVES OF A SMALL TREE BEFORE COMING OFF THE SIX-INCH CURB AND BACK ONTO THE STREET, WHERE I HIT A LIGHT POST. I MANAGED TO LIFT THE PARKING BRAKE, SLAM ON THE BRAKE AGAIN AND THE VEHICLE ROLLED TO A STOP. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 11013006

I WAS DRIVING AND TAKING A TURN AND AS I APPLIED THE BRAKES THE CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN RESULT IN A MINOR ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10938656