Toyota RAV4 Complaints (2018)

348 consumer complaints on file.

#11771473October 15, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, STEERING
All warning lights came on and started flashing, steering wheel locked completely and total system failure. Car suddenly died and I had no control of it. Engine started smoking with black smoke. I got out of car and engine immediately caught fire starting at the bottom left driver side of engine and within a few minutes vehicle was completely engulfed with flames. It exploded and car was gone.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11769276October 6, 2026
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and turning right or left, the vehicle lost power and failed to accelerate as needed while depressing the accelerator pedal. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under an extended coverage associated with a fuel system failure. The failure mileage was 78,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11763934September 13, 2026
TIRES, TIRES:TREAD/BELT
Cooper tires 225/65R17. Purchased 4 tires in June. From installation the tires were bouncy. The garage said it was the struts, so I replaced the struts, but the problem persists. 2 weeks later I took the car back. They said there was nothing wrong with t he tire. They rebalanced them. But that did not fix the problem. I took the car to a different garage and they told me the tires where bad and advised me to take them back to wherebI purchased them. I did. After they had my car for 6 hours they said there was nothing wrong with the tires. I insisted that they inspected them again. After 3 more hours they informed me that the tires were separating and they were defective. They replaced the tires with another brand.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754574August 3, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Before o had taken my RAV4 into Toyota for the recall a AAA tech. had replaced the battery after jump starting it. There was nothing wrong with the sensors or anything else but after the battery was replaced all the electric sensors that are for lane change warnings and cruise control etc. stopped working. I took vehicle into Toyota of Santa Maria and was told that I needed to pay for the sensors that had failed. They told me that I was responsible and I do not believe I am when AAA had just replaced my battery and only after that did the sensors have an issue. I do not feel safe driving my car now because all the sensors aren’t working anymore.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11753295July 28, 2026
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rear-view camera was black and failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the camera was inoperable and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11749459July 10, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The hands free feature over the cars microphone/stereo is unusable; leaving vehicle owners frustrated, and more likely to operate cellphones outside of standard hands free practices. I have been on numerous phone calls where people have told me that they were unable to hardly hear a thing I was saying. To remedy this problem I have 1. Tried speaking up (even yelling) 2. Turning off HVAC systems 3. Positioning my body closer to the microphone 4. Bringing the car to a slow or stop to reduce road noise. 5. Calling myself to see if I can hear myself. 6. Talked with someone who owns the same car (year/model/spec/trim) and they were hardly audible as they called me over their hands free system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11748370July 5, 2026
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
While I am driving my Toyota RAV4, the car will suddenly shut off and I can restart it and keep driving as the month is going on. The incidents are happening more often and now the dashboard is going black. I’ve had a couple of warning signs on the dashboard. I brought the car to Toyota and Pep Boys. Both of them checked the electrical systems and everything looks good according to their testing.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746910June 27, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
My lift tailgate is malfunctioning. Continued forced opening can cause the hinges to crack and messes with the alignment and closing of the tail gate making it a safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11745520June 21, 2026
AIR BAGS
We were part of a 4 car collision on the freeway. A Ford Expedition that was slammed into then slammed into our RAV. The airbags never deployed and an error code came up saying fail for airbags.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740582May 28, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owned a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a defect with the key fob and the door locks for the passenger doors. When starting the vehicle, the brake locking mechanism could not detect the key, and a message was displayed indicating that the key was not found. The contact stated that he had to open and close the door for the vehicle to engage and recognize the key. Additionally, the vehicle failed to lock automatically, which forced the contact to lock both the driver and passenger sides manually. Early corrections were made in an attempt to resolve these issues, but the problems persisted. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,968.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740651May 28, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE:BODY
Severe, chronic rainwater intrusion through the vehicle's front cowl and body seams, resulting in catastrophic flooding of the passenger-side cabin floorboards. This issue occurs even when all sunroof drains are completely clear and functional. Toyota has issued Technical Service Bulletin 0055-24 acknowledging body seam and cowl leaks for this vehicle type. The passenger-side floorboard houses critical electrical wire harnesses and sits adjacent to the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS/Airbag) control module. Chronic standing water on the floorboard presents an immediate risk of electrical short-circuits, potentially causing sudden vehicle stalling, electrical component fires, or the uncommanded deployment/failure of the vehicle's airbag safety systems. Furthermore, the thick foam insulation beneath the carpet remains saturated, creating an immediate, toxic mold hazard within an enclosed passenger cabin, severely impacting occupant health and air quality. The manufacturer and dealership have left the vehicle unrepaired for over 30 days, refusing to remediate this safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11732003April 18, 2026
POWER TRAIN
Malfunction: Mechanical failure of the Torque Converter Clutch. The vehicle exhibits a persistent transmission shudder during acceleration between 25–50 mph. Warning Signs: None. There were no dashboard warning lights or error messages prior to or during the failure. The only indicator was the physical shuddering of the vehicle. Safety Risk: The malfunction causes unpredictable hesitation when merging or changing lanes, creating a dangerous speed differential and risk of rear-end collision. Documentation: Comprehensive maintenance records are available to prove the vehicle was serviced according to the manufacturer’s schedule at a third-party facility.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11731566April 16, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
See attached document for complaint.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11729761April 7, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On October 27, 2025, I was housesitting and watching a friends' son and dropped him off at school. I returned to their house, shut off the car, went into the house, started cleaning home in preparation of returning to my home. I was in downstairs master suite on opposite end of home when I heard a car horn. I went to the door, looked out and saw fire emitting from under the driver’s side wheel well, front of engine, from under the engine hood and half way up the windshield of the RAV4. I called [XXX] and informed the dispatcher that my car was on fire. The [XXX] fire department responded and extinguished the vehicle. I called my insurance company and also reported the incident to Toyota BEC, they assigned the incident Liability Case# XXX. I had also received 2 recall notifications from Toyota (NHTSA# 23V734). The car had been serviced by Grappone Toyota (now known as McGovern Toytota) in [XXX] on August 14, 2025 and the recall was documented as fixed on that date. The vehicle was a total loss and towed to a Coparts Salvage Yard in Candia NH. An inspection was performed by an inspector assigned by Toyota. I later received a letter from Toyota stating that the cause of the fire could not be determined and Toyota assumes no reponsibility whatsoever. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11726041March 21, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Iam having transmission issues. I have been to 3 different Mechanic shops, 2 being transmission specialist. Going to a Toyota dealership on 3/26/26 to confirm. Was told I need a whole new transmission, My rav4 is a 2018 with only 115k for miles No engine light on or have any codes. I have spent a bit of money trying to address this issue. and was told that this particular year has a lot of transmission issues and have over 100 on back order. why is this not a recall?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11725079March 17, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
The automatic lift gate started failing and became misaligned causing the back lift gate to be unable to be closed and damaged my passenger rear tail light as well due to the malalignment issue resulting in having to drive without the back gate fully shut until I can afford the 2k cost quoted to fix it. My research shows this is a very common issue with the rav4's in this production cycle
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11722494March 6, 2026
AIR BAGS
3/4/2026 5:10 pm Vehicle (2018 RAV4) was sitting in backed up traffic waiting to exist highway and was hit from behind by a sedan travelling at 65+ mph, pushed into a pickup truck in front, then deflected left into a guardrail. SO, three separate impacts with extensive damage to the entire rear of the car, the front end, and right front quarter. Two occupants in the car, driver and front passenger, no airbags deployed. Driver's head contacted the steerring wheel (back eye, cut lip, swelling on forehead and around eye, headache), and legs and arms of driver and passenger contacted other portions of the interior of the vehicle and experienced severe whiplash, but no broken bones per initial ER xrays and scans. Vehicle towed and is currently available for inspection.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11722314March 5, 2026
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Both headlights and taillights are stained on the inside of the lens with a white residue. My headlights are very streaky and it makes it difficult to see out of. Not the outside of the headlight, because when i rub my hands along the outsides, i do not feel any grabbing, scratches, film, etc.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11709138January 6, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System); and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list because she no longer owns the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11702009November 29, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
While picking up my son from school, my 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid suddenly experienced a complete steering failure. The steering wheel locked without warning and became impossible to move, making the vehicle inoperable and creating an immediate safety hazard. My son and I were stranded for over 7 hours in a public area. AAA was dispatched twice, but they were unable to resolve the issue. The vehicle ultimately had to be towed to a Toyota dealership. Toyota dealership diagnosed the car with a failed steering lock ECU, a critical safety component that should not malfunction under normal conditions. I was quoted over $2,000 for the repair. This issue aligns with multiple known recalls and technical service bulletins related to steering and electronic control failures in RAV4 Hybrid models, suggesting a potential manufacturer defect. This sudden steering failure placed me and my child at significant risk. There were no warning lights, no prior steering issues, and no indicators of malfunction before the event occurred. I am submitting this report because a steering lock ECU failure can lead to sudden loss of steering control, which poses a serious danger to vehicle occupants and others on the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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