2009 Toyota RAV4 Engine cooling Problems

“Had just pulled slowly into a parking space, I took my foot off the accelerator and applied the brake. As I was applying pressure to the brake, the engine sped up to more than 7,000 RPM. (my foot was not on the accelerator. It was on the brake only.) I continued to press the brake which started to slip, and then I immediately put the transmission in neutral. As the engine reached maximum RPM's, it died back to an idle. This identical incident happened twice within 10 minutes. My parents and wife were in the car and can vouch for me. …”

“My wife was sitting at a signalized intersection in our 2009 Toyota rav 4 on tuesday february 2, 2010 with her foot on the brake, when the vehicle suddenly lurched forward. She was able to keep the vehicle from traveling further by applying more pedal pressure on the brake and then shifting into neutral. While in neutral, the engine revved loudly for about 10 seconds before returning to normal idle. She brought the vehicle home but was visibly shaken up from this experience. I immediately called the Toyota dealership and was told to take the vehicle in for them to check. …”

“As I drove into our parking lot at work after lunch, I was idling engine with foot on brake as I pulled into a parking spot. I was already making my turn into the parking spot with foot on brake and engine idling when my car began to rapidly accelerate. I responded by applying foot brake and grabbing and pulling the emergency brake but only had about 15 - 20 feet before hitting a concrete wall at the bake of the parking spot. I managed to not hit hard enough for the air bags to deploy but there is damage to my front bumper and hood. This is the only time my car has done this. …”

“We noticed that we started our 2009 RAV4 in the morning after sitting all night, there was a rattling type noise coming from the engine. This noise only occurs after the car has been sitting. We took it to the dealership we bought it from (Toyota) and after they checked it, determined it was a bad cam shaft. I asked if this was normal on a 2009 RAV4 and if it was a recall. The lady stated it is a type of recall, but not all cars are affected, so they did not send out notice to all owners. Really? Isn't that a back door recall ? They are ordering the parts and will repair it under warranty.”

“Sporadic burning smell when the heat is turned on. Event has happened at least 6 times now and it only happens when the heat is turned on (vehicle was purchased dec 2008 and current mileage is 12,200). It has happened when running at low and high speeds - very sporadic. And it's not the air coming from the outside or from other vehicles because we've immediately stopped to check when it occurs and it's not a smell from the outside or from other vehicles.”