2018 Toyota RAV4 Electrical System

THE VEHICLE USE PURCHASED IN DEC '18. IN DEC '19 THE BATTERY WENT DEAD AND WAS REPLACED. TOYOTA SAID THE BATTERY HAD A BAD CELL.. IN APR '20 THE BATTERY WENT BAD AGAIN AND WAS REPLACED. TOYOTA SAID THE WRONG SIZE BATTERY WAS INSTALLED THE LAST TIME. IN AUG '20 THE BATTERY WENT BAD AGAIN AND WAS REPLACED, TOYOTA SAID IT WAS BECAUSE OF A GPS DEVISE THAT WAS INSTALLED BY THE SELLING DEALERSHIP AND WAS NEVER MADE AWARE TO THE BUYER. IN DEC '20 THE BATTERY WENT BAD AGAIN AND WAS REPLACED. THIS TIME TOYOTA SAID IT WAS BECAUSE THE CAR WAS NOT BEING DRIVEN ENOUGH. THE DRIVING PATTERN HAS BEEN THE SAME WITH THIS VEHICLE SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED. IF THAT WAS THE PROBLEM THEN WHY WAS IT NOT A PROBLEM IN THE FIRST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP. ALSO IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE PREVIOUS VEHICLE THAT WAS USED AS A TRADE-IN ON THIS VEHICLE. THERE SEEMS TO BE AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM OF THE VEHICLE.

THE KEYLESS IS NOT FRIENDLY FOR THE DEAF. NEED TO SOMETHING FOR THE RIGHT AND SAFE. THANK YOU.

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR SHUTTERED THEN STOPPED WHILE IN TRAFFIC AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND CHARGING SYSTEM MALFUNCTION ERROR MESSAGE APPEARED. I COASTED OVER TO SIDE OF ROAD. RESTARTED CAR TO GET HOME AND THIS SAME THING HAPPENED 3 MORE TIMES UNTIL I GOT HOME AND PARKED IT. WE RAN THE CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED 3 MORE TIMES. SINCE IT IS SUNDAY AFTERNOON WILL HAVE TO CALL TOYOTA ON MONDAY. AFTER READING ONLINE ABOUT SIMILAR ISSUES...I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR AGAIN. IT SEEMS TOYOTA HAS NO FIX OR HAS ACKNOWLEDGED IT AS A PROBLEM.

MY RAV4 CAUGHT FIRE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHILE PARKED ON THE STREET IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE. IT HAD BEEN PARKED FOR 12+ HOURS. AFTER BURNING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, IT EXPLODED WITH A FORCE SO GREAT THAT IT LIFTED THE CAR ONTO THE CURB, KNOCKED OVER A FIREFIGHTER, AND DAMAGED OUR BOAT PARKED 10 FEET ACROSS THE STREET. THE INSPECTOR FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DETERMINED THE INITIAL FIRE WAS FROM FAULTY ELECTRICAL WIRING BUT SAID HE HAD NEVER SEEN A CAR EXPLODE IN HIS 25 YEARS ON THE FORCE. TOYOTA CONDUCTED THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION AND AGREED IT WAS ELECTRICAL BUT COULD NOT DETERMINE FAULT DUE TO THE SEVERITY OF THE DAMAGE

THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN A DRIVEWAY FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS. AFTER PULLING AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, DASH PANEL INDICATORS WERE SHOWING MALFUNCTIONS ON BRAKE SYSTEMS, AWS, ETC. IT SHOWED THAT ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS WERE MALFUNCTIONING. I DROVE IMMEDIATELY TO THE DEALER. INSPECTION SHOWED THAT THE WIRE HARNESS ON THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN CHEWED APART, OFF, AND INSULATION HAD BEEN REMOVED. I INVESTIGATED THE INTERNET ON THIS PROBLEM AND IT SEEMS THAT SEVERAL VEHICLE MAKES AND MODELS WERE AFFECTED. IT SEEMS THAT THE MANUFACTURES WERE USING A FOOD BASED INGREDIENT IN THE INSULATION OF THE WIRES, (SOY). THIS IS ATTRACTING RODENTS, (SQUIRRELS) TO THIS FOR FOOD. IT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE, PARKED AT THE POST OFFICE, GROCERY STORE, YOUR FRIENDS HOUSE, ETC. MY VEHICLE ONLY HAS 980 MILES. I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS BEFORE. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE WIRES CATCH ON FIRE OR YOUR CAR STOPS ON THE FREEWAY BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. CAN THIS BE INVESTIGATED? AT THIS POINT, WHAT'S GOING TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. WE'VE HAD SEVERAL TOYOTA VEHICLES IN THE PAST AND DID NOT HAVE ANY WIRE HARNESS PROBLEMS.

I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED. I BOUGHT A RAV4 2018 IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, IT HAS ONLY 1,900 MILES AND IS ALREADY AT THE DEALER AFTER TAKING MY KIDS TO SCHOOL I WENT BACK HOME AND I USUALLY DO I ACTIVATE THE VEHICLE ALARM BUT IT DID NOT WORK. THE KEYS DOES NOT ACTIVATE OR DIS-ACTIVATE THE VEHICLE ALARM AND WHEN THE CAR IS ON THE TIRE PRESSURE SIGN STARTED TO BLINK. THE DEALER STAFF SAID THAT ONE OF THE COMPUTER IS NOT WORKING RIGHT. AT THIS MOMENT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AND IRONICALLY IS NOT TIME FOR THE FIRST PAYMENT YET.