| Issue ID | 1114582 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10639120 |
| Manufacurer | Toyota Motor Corporation |
| Brand | TOYOTA |
| Model | RAV4 |
| Model Year | 2007 |
| File date | 02/06/14 |
| Component | VISIBILITY |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Driver's side sun visor failure to work properly causing a safety issue and possible bodily injury or death. The sun visor is not staying in the stowed position which is flat against the interior roof of the car due to a known failed mechanism within the sun visor such as the spring loaded mechanism which is failing. Instead, the sun visor is dropping down at a 45 degree angle. This has caused my head to hit it several times while entering the vehicle. And, if involved in a head on collision, this could cause the sun visor to slice through my neck because it is at a 45 degree angle going across my neck since it will not stay up due to the failed spring mechanism within the sun visor. Again, this could result in death or bodily injury if it is not taken care of. After research of my own, i have found and been told by reliable sources in the toyota industry that this is a known problem and that i am not the only one having this problem with the failure of the driver's side sun visor and possibly the passenger side as well over time. I have been told by a toyota representative at toyota headquarters that this part is only covered by a 3 1/2 year warranty instead of the same warranty as the car. This tells me that toyota may know that this part will fail over time. All other vehicles i have owned with manual sun visors have never failed for the life of the car since they do not have internal parts like the toyota model has. I have been told by my local toyota dealership that i have to pay about $85 to have it replaced when this is a safety issue and it should not fail. It's not a moving part within the engine. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 79000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | PORTSMOUTH, NH |
| VIN pattern | JTMBD31V975XXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 65 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |