[Sanj]

I am interested in the experience of others. I recently got a 2006 4-cyl limited and really love the car . One thing I've noticed however is somewhat erratic acceleration when I press on the gas, usually from a stationary position. Sometimes it's very responsive and just takes off, whereas on other occasions it seems like not much happens for a few seconds and then the car will almost surge forward. Obviously one wants to predict what the cars response will be and expect it to be reproducible. Have others noticed this or does this seem to ba a peculiarity of my car and deserve a service check. If so, any ideas...?

Sanj

 

[kendfw]

I noticed that a couple of times but I think it was me who caused the problem. Since I generally do not push my vehicle very hard at the traffic stop, that could have contributed to the observation. If you want it to get up and go, give it a kick and it will respond. My V6 Honda is like a wild horse waiting to be released at the traffic stop. I don't get that feeling with my I4.

 

[RAV42GO]

Can't really say that I have the same experience. The RAV4 seems to accelerate fine when I push it at the light.

What's your mileage though? I was careful not to push the car until about 600 kms just to make sure the engine was broken in a bit. The dealer car that I drove was very rough accelerating and I suspect it's because people rev the car really hard before breakin - just a guess though.

 

[flyingn]

ours does no do this either. Give it some time to break in. Ours is smooth at all times...

 

[Snowserpent]

I've got the 4 as well and haven't noticed any problem from a take off. Bad gas maybe?

 

[go 5 hole]

no problem with ours either.

 

[Mille]

Re: Acceleration on 4 cyl sometimes erratic

I am interested in the experience of others. I recently got a 2006 4-cyl limited and really love the car . One thing I've noticed however is somewhat erratic acceleration when I press on the gas, usually from a stationary position. Sometimes it's very responsive and just takes off, whereas on other occasions it seems like not much happens for a few seconds and then the car will almost surge forward. Obviously one wants to predict what the cars response will be and expect it to be reproducible. Have others noticed this or does this seem to ba a peculiarity of my car and deserve a service check. If so, any ideas...?

Sanj

The problem is that you have a electric gas pedal ... it is slower than others . When you push it , the information goes in te computer , and than in engine ...

all electric pedals are slower than usual pedals ! It has a slower risponse .

 

[flyingn]

what he means that there is no throttle cable like the old days. its called drive by wire. I do not believe that is the issue cause ours does not do it..

 

[Sanj]

Sounds like time for a sevice check

Thanks for your collective input. It sounds like an issue specific to my car. I did try to be careful during the break-in period so I don't thik that should be an issue. I'll get the dealer to check it out and will keep folks posted.

Sanj

 

[sweetwig]

Hi,

I have experienced the same thing. It appears as though you need to be very gentle with the gas pedal to bring on the power. If you punch it, especially when you are in third (low rpm), it will bog down and then kick down after a 1-2 second delay to 2nd or 1st (depending on speed) and it whips forward. That delay drives me nuts. I just had my hitch wiring harness put on last night (back order) and I mentioned it to the sales person I bought the car from.


Keith

 

[Grav]

Odd, I think the same thing is happening to me with the V6. Just over 1000 miles on it. I thought I noticed the other day when driving that sometimes it felt not as responsive consistently. Wasn't anything major I thought it was because the 5 speed automatic was switching more.

I thought it felt more like (heaven forbid) the transmission slipping than an accedlerator problem. More likey what you are feeling is the 5 spd automatic. You have a bigger 1st gear in a 4spd. Probably just feeling the 5 speed switching to 2nd sooner than in a 4 speed.

 

[sstarrx3]

Hi,

I have experienced the same thing. It appears as though you need to be very gentle with the gas pedal to bring on the power. If you punch it, especially when you are in third (low rpm), it will bog down and then kick down after a 1-2 second delay to 2nd or 1st (depending on speed) and it whips forward. That delay drives me nuts. I just had my hitch wiring harness put on last night (back order) and I mentioned it to the sales person I bought the car from.


Keith

Yes this happens to me sometimes too. Pulling into traffic going up hill is a time where it will sometimes "bog down" like that. I have learned it is not good to "punch it" until the RPMs approach 2000 or so. Definitely not from a dead stop. Sorry folks this SUV was not meant to run quarter miles and burn rubber from a dead stop

 

[flyingn]

I think this is due to the 'drive by wire' setup instead of the old cablr throttle. I thinks its normal

 

[Smellfunny2000]

I have the same issue as well. Mine has 1200 miles on it now and I really did not notice this until after 1000 and it is warmer now. The few times I noticed it is first thing in the morning. I may need to let it warm up a little more before going and see if that changes any thing.

Mine is right after I leave the house about 2/10ths of a mile I have to stop and go across 2 lanes to go west. At this stop sign it feels like it is not getting enough fuel. From a dead stop until I get going 30 the power is awful. I would not want to be in front of anyone with it responding like that, so I am careful when I pull out in the mornings. I will let it warm up a little more and see what happens.

 

[The G Man]

Most of the newer cars nowadays will delay upshifting so the car can warm up faster.

 

[Smellfunny2000]

Yeah, but this is more than that. This is hesatation from a stop.

 

[morphoblue]

We are totally having this problem with our RAV4. We've got about 3800 miles on it, and it is becoming more than annoying. The hesitation is serious enough that I think it a safety issue when pulling out into traffic, and it definitely didn't behave that way early on. The behavior reminds me of a rental car I had a few years ago that eventually stalled at a stoplight -- the RPM gauge dips way more than it should. I am calling our dealer tomorrow, and I will post what I learn.

 

[sstarrx3]

Thanks, I believe many of us are having this problem. I don't know whether it is isolated to just the I4 or not. If enough people complain we could see a fix and a recall.

 

[morphoblue]

I just wanted to post an update: My dealer has my RAV4 now, but they are unable to reproduce the problem. On the way to the dealership, the car perfomed worse than ever, but I guess it was warm enough once I got there that it was performing normally by the time they tested it. They let it sit overnight and still didn't reproduce it on their own this AM. So, I'm going back later today to try & reproduce it with them.

When I say it performed terribly, here's the situation: to go anywhere from where I live, there is a stop sign where we turn onto a 40 mph state hwy. On the way to the dealership, I pulled onto the road after stopping, but the car wouldn't get above 20 mph for around 10 seconds. Then it surged forward to 40 mph.

From reading the posts, I think I may be on the high mileage side at 3900 miles so far, so I expect that people seeing the issue around 1000 miles are going to see it get worse like I did.

 

[sstarrx3]

Folks, I spoke to the Service manager at the dealership and what you are experienceing in normal, it sucks, but it is a flaw in the drive by wire accelerator system. Hes said he can't tell you how many times he has had folks on other models like the Camry come in with the same complaint, it is well documented. I work with a guy that has a 2005 Camry and has the same issues. He said it is not isolated to Toyota though. He has a Silverado with the same Wi-Fi acclerator system and it does it as well. This type of system has not been perfected yet