Affected Years: 2014, 2015, 2016 Toyota RAV4. Our law firm is also investigating 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Toyota RAV4 for the same issues.
These issues seem to arise from defects in the Axle or Drivetrain Components.
Car dealers still offer test drives today, and most new car buyers take advantage of this. While you never get to drive it long enough to do more than form an opinion on the cabin visibility, handling, braking, and power, it is still worth doing. This is still valuable because it may give you something to evaluate the day you drive the vehicle for the first time.
After some time, you might notice the Toyota RAV4 behaving in some funny ways. You detect vibrations that you do not think were there originally, or handling changes that seem excessive for the mileage you have put on your SUV. You vow to swing by and test drive a new one just to compare them. Then you hear some odd sounds coming out of the front end. The next thing you do is make an appointment at your local Toyota dealership to have it evaluated. There are many different things on new vehicle suspensions that will need lubrication, or might change after break-in. There are different things that wear down or break on today’s vehicles. The new vehicle warranty is one of the top drivers given by new buyers in post purchase surveys as to why they purchased a new vehicle. You don’t appreciate the importance of the warranty until you suddenly find your SUV at the dealer’s repeatedly for failures of the same things, like suspension issues.
If you are having an issue with your Toyota RAV4 and have been to the dealership service department three or four times, you might be wondering whether you have a lemon on your hands. If you are worried, Guardian Lemon Law is ready to take your call. We can schedule a review of your case and see if your vehicle and its problems will actually qualify under California Lemon Law, and more importantly, for how long.
If it does qualify, it clears the way for us to sue Toyota for selling you a defective, lemon Toyota RAV4 and to provide you with an experienced Toyota RAV4 lemon law attorney to do so. We provide our clients with a Zero-Fee Guarantee when they hire us. More on that later.
The History And Remedies Of Lemon Law In The State Of California
The California Lemon Law was signed into law in 1971, with the purpose of providing consumer protection when dealing with manufacturers and their warranties, specifically ensuring that consumers had recourse if the manufacturer failed to meet its express warranty promises.
The basics of qualifying under Lemon Law in California begin with a Guardian Lemon Law attorney performing an evaluation to determine the answer to the qualification question. There are 3 parts to this process. The first step is to verify that your vehicle qualifies under the law. The 2nd part examines the issue and verifies that it meets the criteria for a Lemon Law claim. The 3rd part is to verify that you are within the time limits defined by the Lemon Law to file a claim or lawsuit. What comes next is to determine the desired remedy.
The options available to you are either a vehicle buyback, which is comparable to a refund of what you paid for the Toyota RAV4, plus fees, or a vehicle replacement equal in either value or in make and model if one is available. When you need a Toyota RAV4 excessive vibration lemon lawyer, please know that Guardian Lemon Law is ready to take you on as a new client.
The Qualifiers Of A Vehicle Under California Lemon Law
There are two parts to the qualification list. The first part is specific to the vehicle and the cause of the issue. The first three items listed below must all be met to qualify.
- The vehicle must be covered under the manufacturer’s new car warranty or a certified pre-owned warranty when the issue started, and when all the repair efforts were made
- The problem being worked on cannot be caused by improper use or abuse of the vehicle prior to the first repair effort or during any follow up efforts
- A reasonable number of attempts to repair your issue have been made, with reasonable being defined as at least two attempts for significant safety issues, and at least four attempts for any defect that is not safety related
Under the Lemon Law in California, you must give the manufacturer an opportunity to make the repair. If either of the two items below is met, what is called a presumption of the vehicle being a lemon may be created.
- The efforts to repair the specific issue have totaled more than 30 days of out of service time on the vehicle
- The issue being experienced is affecting the safe operation, the actual use, or the value of the vehicle to its owner
When you need a lemon lawyer to sue Toyota for excessive vibration, the last qualification is that the time limit set by the Statute of Limitations cannot be exceeded.
What Is The Time Limit For Lemon Law Claims And Lawsuits?
The Statute of Limitations in the State of California for filing a Lemon Law claim or lawsuit was updated on January 1, 2025. The two limits set under the law say within one year of the expiration of your vehicle’s factory warranty, or six years from the date you took delivery of your Toyota RAV4. The date that applies to the time limit is the earlier of the two. The Guardian Lemon Law team can provide more information on this during your case evaluation, and make sure the Toyota RAV4 excessive vibration lemon law lawsuit gets filed in time.
The Causes Of The 2014-2016 Toyota RAV4 Excessive Vibration Issue
Unwanted or severe shaking and vibration at speeds greater than 75 mph is what the owners have reported experiencing with their Toyota RAV4’s. There are several things that deal with the suspension and axle components that can cause this issue to show up.
One thing worth noting about this issue is that the vehicle’s stability is at risk at highway speeds. There is literally no potential cause that doesn’t indicate that this issue falls into a safety affecting event when it comes to repair attempts. The common issues that trigger this behavior are:
- Flat-spotted tires are one of the more frequent causes of shaking at highway speed. The tires may also be misaligned or perhaps unbalanced, as wheels do lose weights
- A warped front rotor or a sticking caliper, inducing excess heat, will often cause vibrations, specifically under braking
- Worn engine or transmission mounts will vibrate at both idle and under acceleration
- The front right CV axle that is bound up will cause shuddering, particularly at 70 MPH.
- There is a recall for 2014-2015 models regarding a damaged Electronic Power Steering (EPS) ECU.
- Suspension issues, such as worn struts, shocks, and steering linkage, will also cause instability felt at higher speeds as well as under braking
When you need a lawyer experienced in Toyota RAV4 excessive vibration lemon law cases, we want you to know you can hire Guardian Lemon Law.
Hiring Guardian Lemon Law And Out Of Pocket Expense
The short answer to the question is hopefully not much money at all. We can start with the fact that we will not charge any client up front before taking on their case. Your initial consultation is free, as is a second opinion on a case you already have in progress with another firm.
There is no easy part of going through a Lemon Law issue on a vehicle you pay a lot of money to own. It is not enjoyable when you start spending your own time and energy to get your RAV4 fixed. It is even less fun when it looks like you are going to have to file a claim and retain legal counsel. Here is where Guardian Lemon Law is poised to help you, and hopefully surprise you a little. Our Zero-Fee Guarantee says that if we do not win your case, there will be no fees at all.
Please get in touch with Guardian Lemon Law when you start thinking about a Toyota RAV4 defective axle or drivetrain components lemon lawsuit or claim. We can help you through each step and take some of the burden off of you as we work to resolve this in your favor.
