2005 Toyota RAV4 Complaints

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR APPROXIMATELY 50,000 OF THE 255,000 MILES ON MY RAV4. IT HAS BEEN ON IT SEEMS MOSTLY BECAUSE OF OXYGEN SENSORS AND RELATED EMISSIONS "ISSUES" AND THIS HAS COST ME THOUSANDS OVER THE YEARS IN DIAGNOSTICS, TROUBLESHOOTING, AND MASKING OTHER PROBLEMS THAT REALLY WERE OCCURRING. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON SO MUCH THAT IT'S HARD TO TELL WHEN THERE REALLY IS A PROBLEM. RECENTLY MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON FOR ABOUT 9 MONTHS. THE MECHANIC CODES REVEALED THAT IT WAS RUNNING TOO "RICH." I PUT IT ON "NON-OPERABLE" FOR REGISTRATION PURPOSES WHILE I AGAIN TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHY. ONE DAY (ON A TEMPORARY MOVING PERMIT) I WENT TO GET GASOLINE AND FILLED THE TANK HALFWAY. A FEW MILES LATER THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT OFF, FOR NO APPARENT REASON. I WENT TO GET A SMOG CHECK, AND WHEN I ASKED ABOUT THE FAIL POLICY AT THE STATION, THE ATTENDANT SAID, "THESE TOYOTAS ALWAYS PASS THE EMISSIONS, AS LONG AS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ISN'T ON." HE WAS RIGHT, AND MY RAV4 P...

I AM HAVING AN ISSUE WITH MY 2005 RAV4 THAT HAS BECOME SO FREQUENT THAT I NO LONGER FEEL SAFE OPERATING THE VEHICLE. WHEN I AM DRIVING BETWEEN 30-50 MPH, AND THE ROAD MAKES A SLIGHT CURVE, MY VSC WARNING LIGHT COMES ON AND I LOOSE STEERING CONTROL UNTIL I REMOVE FOOT FROM ACCELERATOR. ISSUE BEGAN: APRIL 2018, AND HAPPENED ABOUT 2-3 TIMES A MONTH. SINCE THEN, IT HAS GRADUALLY INCREASED TO AT LEAST ONCE EACH TIME I DRIVE. APR-NOV, MOSTLY OCCURRED ON SAME SLIGHT RIGHT CURVE UPHILL SECTION OF ROAD. IT'S STILL MOSTLY THAT, BUT NOW IT ALSO HAPPENS WHEN THE CURVE IS TO THE LEFT, OR DOWNHILL THE SPEED LIMIT IS 50 MPH WITH CONSTANT MODERATE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC WEEKDAYS ABOUT 4 ' 6 P.M. I ACCELERATE UPHILL AS I MAKE A SLIGHT RIGHT CURVE, AND SUDDENLY, THE CAR DOES THE FOLLOWING: I WILL LOOSE CONTROL OF THE STEERING AND THE VSC WARNING LIGHT COMES ON. WHEN I TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR, THE VSC LIGHT TURNS OFF AND I REGAIN CONTROL OF THE STEERING. WHEN I APPLY THE GAS, THE SAME THING H...

DRIVERS SIDE VISOR WILL NOT STAY UP. FALLS DOWN CONSTANTLY. DRIVER CANNOT SEE WHEN IT HAPPENS. I BOUGHT MY RAV4 USED AND DIDNT NOTICE IT UNTIL MY HUSBAND DROVE IT. IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME BECAUSE I'M SHORT. WHEN MY HUSBAND DRIVES IT WE HAVE TO RIG IT TO STAY UP BUT NOTHING EVER WORKS FOR LONG BEFORE IT FALLS DOWN AGAIN. IT COULD EASILY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC.

THE DRIVER'S SIDE VISOR WILL NOT STAY IN POSITION. IT FLOPS DOWN WHEN I'M DRIVING, MAKING IT SUDDENLY HARD TO SEE. THE PROBLEM STARTED VERY GRADUALLY A FEW YEARS AGO BUT NOW HAS RAPIDLY GOTTEN MUCH WORSE. I THINK TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM. MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP WILL NOT COVER THE REPLACEMENT AND IN COST, NOR WILL TOYOTA. I KNOW ABOUT THE COMPANY BECAUSE I CALLED THEM AND THEY SAID IT'S MY PROBLEM TO FIX. HOWEVER, THIS IS A KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE, AND THEY ARE IGNORING THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. THE VISOR ALONE COSTS $107.52 ! THE INSTALLATION COST IS IN ADDITION TO THIS (BTW, I SELECTED TODAY'S DATE, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT DATE. THE SAME APPLIES TO THE MPH - IT HAPPENS AT ALL MPH.).

WHEN DRIVING I WILL PRESS THE BREAK PEDAL AND INSTEAD OF BREAKING THE VEHICLE REACTS LIKE I HIT THE GAS INSTEAD AND SURGES FORWARD. THIS HAPPENS AT SEEMINGLY RANDOM TIMES, THE LATEST WAS YESTERDAY 7-30-2018, THE TIME BEFORE THAT WAS A FEW MONTHS AGO AND I HIT A PARKED CAR BECAUSE OF IT. WAS TOLD BY A NON-DEALER MECHANIC IT MIGHT BE THE AIR INTAKE SENSOR, CLEANED IT AND IT DIDN'T HELP. TOYOTA DEALER OF COURSE CLAIMS TO NOT KNOW OF THE ISSUE. IT HAS DONE THIS ON CITY STREETS AND PARKING LOTS.