Toyota RAV4 Complaints (2021)

510 consumer complaints on file.

#11496031December 5, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel tank does not appear to fill completely. After 10-11 gallons, the liquid may spill. In addition, fuel range on dashboard only registers 410-440 miles after filling. Because tank volume is 14.5 gallons and hybrid mileage is 38 mpg, this indicates only about 11 gallons in tank. Complete fuel fill should register over 500 miles, even allowing for a reserve.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495574December 1, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2021 Toyota REV4 with just over 5,000 miles. I got off from a parking lot and drove 1/2 miles, The screen shown "Vehicle Alert" and asked to check engine with message "A malfunction in the electronic control of the engine, throttle, or automatic transmission has been detected". I smell very strong gasoline, then stop the vehicle. I check the gas tank, it's normal. I opened the hood and saw a puddle of gasoline on engine part, between the battery and the engine but lower than the battery. It's so dangerous to drive with leaking gasoline so I park my car on a street
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492860November 9, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunroof shatter while I was driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491897November 2, 2022
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle stumbles on moderate acceleration from slow speed, hesitates shifting also. Problem has persisted since new. Dealers rep "they're all like that. can't find any problem. No warning lamps. I think there is a TSB but it seems well hidden. I feel it is a safety issue - acceleration from low speed compromised. We have 2 more 2021 rav4s in the family that do not do that. I believe Toyota knows about this problem. Also had a problem with vehicle slamming violently into lower gear when coming to a stop. Dealer could not find problem. I checked vehicle and found air filter housing not properly secured. I latched it properly and that seemed to solve slamming into lower gear problem. Dealers mechanic (?) must have not latched it properly after 12 month service. No telling how much dirt was sucked into engine while that was happening. The stumbling/ drivability hesitant shifting problem persists. Several people have reported this problem. One was fixed by a dealer attending to a software problem. This is a known problem that is being ignored. This has happened since new Jan 29, 2021.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491667October 31, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was parked at a store, engine off. Was in there 3 minutes and another customer ran inside and said a car was on fire, the employee asked if it was mine. I ran outside and it was indeed mine. The rear tail light was all melted and on fire, billowing smoke was coming out the sides of the hatch so I opened it quickly to get the fire out. The store employee put the fire out with his fire extinguisher. No prior warning lights were present when driving it before this occurred. The car is at Toyota dealer presently while they determine the cause.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491332October 28, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My 21 rav4 prime has started by ITSELF on at least 6 different occasions I understand that my key fob has the ability to remotely start the car if a button sequence is pressed. This might be a good feature, but unfortuantely this happens by accident when my keys are in my pocket. I am unaware of this occurring until I walk into my enclosed garage and find the car running. It was not started intentionally by me. I do not get any text or warning through the connected toyota app. This is a safety risk as the car can run in the garage generating carbon monoxide which can permiate through the house As I mentioned earlier, this has happened at least 6 times on different days, so it is repeatable. I have a call into the dealer. I have spoken to toyota customer support and they told me there is no way to disable the remote start. There are no warning lights or messages that the car is running. I believe that this is a significant safety hazzard to ones health and life. I have a few suggestions 1 have a disable remote FOB start as an option through setup 2 when the car starts remotely send an alert to the toyota app or text msg to let the owner know the status. 3 have the horn sound
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490015October 19, 2022
Tether, Lower Anchor (on car seat or vehicle)
The rear-facing snuglock lever does not hold the car seat belt or the tether belt securely in place. The car seat tips over when the car turns. It appears that some plastic is missing on the bottom of the lever. I have a video of me securing the seat belt and the belt loosening when the car seat is rocked but, am unable to upload.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489696October 18, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving my 2021 Toyota Rav4 Prime on the freeway. As I was exiting the freeway there was a LOUD explosion in my car that scared the hell out of my friend and I, almost causing me to get into an accident. I pulled over and got out to see what happened. As I walked around the car I checked the tires, which were fine. I did not see anything (it was dark). I could not see the roof (I am short) and the moonroof shade was closed. I got in the car and started driving again and my friend said she could hear crackling, so I pulled into a parking lot. We got out again, and my friend looked up on the top of the car and could see the moonroof had exploded. The glass was cracked around the outer edge. There was no mark where a rock would have hit it. There were no debris marks anywhere, and we did not hear anything hit it. It was an explosion that you could feel. There was absolutely no warning. I took the car in the next day to the dealer and the service agent told to come back on Monday, which is today. The service agent at the dealership agreed that there were no marks, or dings where a rock hit it. He agreed that it looked like it exploded the way it was cracked all around the outer edge of the glass. Late this afternoon they called to tell me that there is a "quality control" person coming tomorrow to look at it so they can decide whether they will honor their warranty. I also purchased the "bumper to bumper" extended warranty when I bought the car, less than a year ago. I always keep the moonroof shade open. Fortunately, I had it closed at that time or we would have at least gotten cut. I usually have my grandson in the back seat and there are glass shards in the back seat and in his car seat. If he had been in the car, my grandson would have gotten cut.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489636October 17, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While driving on the freeway, suddenly we heard a loud noise and then felt particles dropping on us. While attempting to assess what happened in and outside of the vehicle, we noticed the sunroof/moonroof shattered and small shards of glass were everywhere. The loud sound and attempt to assess the situation could have caused an accident. We were not passing under anything like a bridge and could determine no cause for the breaking of the glass. Afterward when I could safely pull over so we could clean the glass out of the vehicle, we found no rock or other debris in my vehicle that did not belong. Only shards of glass in our hair, on our bodies, and everywhere in the car, sticking into our skin and making one passenger bleed slightly.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487148September 29, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Windshield cracked for no reason. I noticed very fine cracks which are spreading. I park inside of a garage and do very little highway driving. The windshield cracked in its own.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11484909September 16, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving on the highway, 45 minutes into my 3 hour trip. As I was approaching a bridge, I suddenly heard a very large bang- sort of like a gunshot. I immediately looked around and noticed my moonroof in my vehicle had completely shattered. It was still held together, but I very quickly closed the moonroofs inner cover to assure no glass would fall into my car. Noticeably, there was small shards of glass all over my center console. I could hear the glass falling onto my moonroof, and could see glass flying behind me with a vehicle traveling behind. I very well could have suffered injuries/cuts if the glass had shattered onto me. Not only is this dangerous for me, but the people behind me. It could have cracked their windshield, or even given someone a flat tire. Now I am left to travel 2 hours not knowing what could potentially happen next. I took the rest of the travel slow. This happened with absolutely no warning. It was sudden, loud, and scary. I am left to pay for this now because there is no recall or warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11484288September 13, 2022
TIRES
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4 equipped with Dunlop Tire, Tire Line: Grandtrek PT20, Tire Size: 225/60/R18, DOT Number: V4H0. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving to her destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that three of 4 tires needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the four tires. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,386.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11482197August 31, 2022
STRUCTURE:BODY
I bought a 2021 Toyota RAV4 XLE Midnight Black Metallic, last year on July 2021 from Hillside Toyota in Jamaica, NYC. From the very beginning since the delivery, I was not at all happy with the build quality of the car as Toyotas used to be before. There were issues with paint finishing, noise from engine, and issue with pick up. I reported this to Toyota as well as my dealer, Hillside Toyota and no one showed any interest on addressing these issues. Yesterday, I was cleaning my car and I saw that my car paint is peeling from 3-4 areas, including the driver side door and from the left side of the hood. I was really surprised to see that happening in a brand-new car. I felt like is this really happening, is it a joke? I spent almost $40k on a car by taking out loans just to face this? I really care about my car, and I follow all the maintenance guidelines as mentioned by Toyota, but still how is this possible? I am pretty sure this is a manufacturing defect and not something that could happen from a regular wear and tear. This is the first time I am facing something from a Toyota, because I always trusted this company due to its build quality and low maintenance. I also have a 2015 Toyota Highlander LE Plus, and I have never faced any issues like my RAV4. I have been a long time user of Toyota since I also owned a 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid and both of them were reliable too and never gave me any issues. I am really concerned with my RAV4 right now because in the long run, I am not sure what else I have to face with this car. This is to kindly request you to please evaluate this matter further and please help me by fixing the paint peeling issue of the car. I have spent my hard-earned money to invest in this car and it means a lot to me. I am attaching pictures of the paint peeling as supporting evidence of my claim. Thank you for your time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11479444August 15, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The driver side mirror shakes when you drive over any bump in the road at any speed. It is amplified at speeds over 50mph. Toyota did a TSB on passenger side mirror but refused to complete the same repair on driver side. Toyota said only if the dealership acknowledged it shakes would they repair. The dealership stated the mirror shake was as expected although they tested the vehicle on a road with a 45mph speed limit. Then demonstrated another rental vehicle to say it was fine.....but who knows if that rental had the repair or not. Then Toyota says my only recourse is to take the car to another Toyota dealer 25 miles from my home.....and if they don't agree the mirror shakes I'm out of luck. The mirror shakes so bad on the highway it would be better if wasn't there. It's unsafe and Toyota holds you hostage to fix the known issue with their own repair bulletin. It's like they don't want to pay for the repairs so tell customers nothing is wrong. I found dozens of posts online from 2021 Rav4 owners and the same experience. It's also shocking to me they repaired one side when both mirrors shook to begin with.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478860August 11, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
The contact stated that the owner of a 2021 Toyota Rav4 was driving approximately 35 mph when the odor of burning rubber was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. After stopping and exiting the vehicle flames were present coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed during the incident. A fire report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified. The contact indicated that the vehicle had recently been repaired after a front-end crash had occurred. The contact also references an NHTSA open investigation(PE21005) for the same failure that had occurred. The failure mileage was 30,000
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478253August 8, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving and was only 5 miles from my home and I heard a loud pop like an explosion. My moonroof/sunroof had spontaneously exploded. Then I heard glass moving around as I slowly continued home. When I got home I inspected what had happened and took a picture and called the dealership I purchased the car from. I have only owned the car for 7 months.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478059August 7, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
After proceeding from a red light, the vehicle rear ended a semi. The Automatic Emergency Braking system did not engage. Although the Forward Collision Warning worked by giving me visual/sound alerts, it has a tendency to be delayed. Richland County City of Mansfield Police Inspected the vehicle Report number: 22-017305
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11476650July 30, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
May 29 2022 I parked my new RAV4 PRIME EV on an incline and left the vehicle running to keep the a/c cold & radio playing. The car was securely parked atop an incline facing up the incline while still running. While the vehicle sat idle I walked my dog waiting to clean up after him. He was taking a long time so I decided to turn off the vehicle. I walked over to the running vehicle in park, opened the driver door and pressed the off button to turn the vehicle off. This caused the vehicle to roll backwards down the incline while in the park position making a loud click noise. It made the click noise when initially it powered off and attempted to relax into the park position but did not catch, it clicked and began a roll backwards down the hill. I was caught in the driver's door jam and was dragged down the hill along with vehicle. While picking up speed it also made an audible clicking noise that witnesses recall coinciding with the increase in speed the noise increased in intensity. The vehicle dragged me stuck in the door jam into a busy 4 lane roadway where the driver door & my body met impact with a car resulting in the RAV4 rolled on my foot, ankle and leg resulting in severe damage. The impact was at the driver door where I was pinned causing the door to hyperextend. The RAV4 couldn't be moved once stopped due to a safety feature not allowing shifting out of park while the driver door was sensed open. I was pinned for 20 minutes+ under the front driver side wheel. The RAV4 needed to be jacked up to free me. I've since had 4 major surgerys. I paid out pocket 6k to repair the RAV4s cosmetic damage. Toyota they sent a tech to analyze the ECM which confirmed rolling backwards in park but due to my admission of reaching into the running vehicle and pressing off, I was told to refer to my owner manual. They gave excerpts citing "ready" position which is anytime the vehicle is on even accessory mode it's in the "ready" not to operate from outside the vehicle. Unsafe
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11474885July 20, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while his wife was approaching a traffic light and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to stop as needed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the parking brake was activated to slow and stop the vehicle. The driver was then able to continue driving to her destination. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made the dealer aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,900.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11474455July 18, 2022
SUSPENSION, POWER TRAIN, WHEELS
I have been having continuous problems with the transmission jerking and slipping passengers can also feel this. I am also experiencing vibration in the steering when you get up to high speeds around 60-80 mph. The car also has a habit of lunging forward suddenly when the gas saver light goes off which can cause it to hit other vehicles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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