Toyota RAV4 Complaints (2017)

321 consumer complaints on file.

#11559360December 10, 2023
ENGINE
I was driving my car when no warning lights came on the car started stalling and turning off and then sparks started to come out from the hood. I was able to get the car in a parking lot and when the hood was opened the battery clamp part came off and welded itself to the hood of the car. I had it towed to Price Toyota where they said the battery was fine and that the bolt was missing. They put the same clamp back on and presumed someone tampered with it. The only place that ever touched the battery was them back in June of 2022 when the first recall came out and they said it was fine. I do not feel safe driving this car, especially on a highway if the car stalled like that, I would have been killed. A bolt just doesn't come loose and fall off. Something caused it to loosen and in turn put my life and my kids at risk.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11556994November 27, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that condensation was present inside the vehicle causing the carpet to become moist and damp. The contact stated that the front and rear carpets on the driver's and passenger's sides of the vehicle were moldy. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was contacted, and a service appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11554196November 8, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked. The contact stated that upon shifting to drive (D) and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle lurched, accelerated unintendedly, and crashed into the base of a lamp pole; however, the engine continued to rev loudly. The air bags did not deploy. The contact depressed the brake pedal and while attempting to reverse away from the lamp pole, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and impacted a curb. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as needed. The contact then pulled into a parking space. The contact did not sustain any injury. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an autobody repair shop, where the contact was informed that the vehicle was significantly damaged. The contact was referred to an auto collision center. The vehicle was towed to the auto collision center where repairs were made. The vehicle was the taken to the dealer, where the EDR crash data report was read. The manufacturer sent a letter to the contact, informing her that the cause of the failure could not be determined. The contact followed up with the manufacturer, but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 24, 971.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11553312November 2, 2023
AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES
Related to a car accident when getting hit in the front my air bags didn’t deploy . Only the driver side was hit pretty bad . Another car accident related to a tree branch no air bag deploy . I was told that you have to be hit in a certain way to deploy the air bags . Hearing that makes me switch from a Toyota to a Kia . I have my toddler .
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11550162October 16, 2023
ENGINE
The contact owned a 2017 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that upon arriving at her destination and returning to the vehicle a short time later, she found it engulfed in flames. A witness had already notified local emergency services, who were able to extinguish the fire. The fire marshal was unable to determine the origin of the fire but concluded that the cause was a non-suspicious mechanical failure with the vehicle. A police and fire report was filed, and no injuries were reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and declared a loss by insurance. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11546441September 25, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, STRUCTURE:BODY, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The car was sitting in the driveway and caught fire around 11:29am. The car had not been driven or moved from the driveway for at least 2 days, and is up to date on all maintenance. The fire inspectors hypothesize the fire began from the battery and spread. After Googling, I have learned that Toyota Rav 4s from 2013 to 2018 had a large recall; 1.8 million vehicles taken because of the battery catching fire randomly. The remains of the vehicle are in the driveway of the residence. Both the police and fire department came to the scene. The safety of others was put at risk because it is only luck that nobody was in the car, or going to drive the vehicle as it caught fire randomly, bringing the residents of the home and owner of the car in extreme risk from both the fire and any explosions, damage to the house, and damage to others.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11544590September 14, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while the vehicle was being charged, the battery intermittently failed to charge. As a result, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that unknown warning lights were illuminated but turned off after the battery was on charge mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the cause of the failure could not be determined, and the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle needed to be driven more often. No further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 41,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11543875September 11, 2023
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 mph, fire was detected near the engine and front of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries, crash,es or air bag deployment. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent towing lot. The contact called the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541236August 28, 2023
STEERING
POWER STEERING IS LOCKING UP, NOT WANTING TO TURN.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11541318August 28, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
Multiple times when coming to a stop the vehicle is stopped and then the brake pedal depresses further on its own while at the same time the engine roars and the vehicle lunges forward about 4 feet. It almost put me in front of oncoming traffic. Also I felt like I had no control over the brakes. It happened 4 times and also did this while I was parallel parking and almost slammed into the parked car ahead of me. It was in the shop last month. The brake calipers were cleaned and the brake lines were bled. This vehicle only has 40000 miles on it. I took it back to Toyota again today to see if they can once again try to figure out what is causing this. When it surges forward it sounds like if your foot was on gas in park, only my foot was on the brake Im afraid to drive it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539820August 21, 2023
TIRES:SIDEWALL, TIRES:TREAD/BELT
225/65R17. I purchased 4 new tires on 02/24/23. On 6/27/23, I found my driver's rear tire was completely flat. I had the 'donut' put on and took to the dealers. There was a 'bubble' around the rim and the tire was replaced. The dealer explained it was likely due to hitting a curb or pothole which I took exception to as I had done neither. On 7/31/23, my passenger-side rear tire was almost flat and there was again a bubble near the rim. As well the front passenger tire looked mis-shapen. This time, I called a tow truck. The dealer refused to acknowledged that was a manufacturing issue and not a road hazard. Although many Continental tires were recalled, they said this wasn't one of them. They did not contact Continental only their service provider for road hazard. Replacing only the passenger rear tire was not a reasonable option. I chose to replace all 4 tires of another brand rather than fool around with what could be an exploding tire on the highway. Needless to say, no more continental tires for me and I will not use that Toyota dealership again either.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11537736August 10, 2023
AIR BAGS
Side Airbag failure: (all air bags didn't deploy) As I was making a left hand turn, My vehicle was hit in my drivers rear quarter, just behind the gas cap. The impact spun the car over 90 degrees, causing me to hit the left side of my head against the side drivers window, causing a concussion and cervical strain. No airbags in the vehicle were deployed, yet the car was totaled. The car that hit me was traveling at a high rate of speed and the impact totally destroyed that vehicles front end displacing the engine. In my opinion the airbags malfunctioned due to the water damage caused by the rail leaks common to that vehicle (which I had the dealer fix previously). If the airbag in question was operational I would not have hit my head. (yes, I was wearing my seatbelt.)
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11536606August 4, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE
Vehicle experienced an unexplained acceleration while at a complete stop with foot on the brake. This has happened several times.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535758August 1, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was in the third, leftmost, lane on an urban highway coming out of a gentle turn going about 40-45 miles an hour. There was a loud metallic clank or bang and the vehicle pulled sharply to the right. I hit the brakes hard, the vehicle crossed two lanes and came to rest on the shoulder about 18 inches from the concrete barrier, having turned about 170 degrees. There was very little traffic and so there was no accident or injuries but had there been normal traffic it would have been a disaster. There were no indicator lights showing any problem, I examined the tires and underside and could not see any damage. I was able to drive away from the site. I took the car in to my regular Toyota dealer (Toyota of Lincoln Park, they perform all my service) and they test drove it, examined it closely, checked the computer, and could find nothing wrong. No other parties have examined the car. However, I would be afraid to drive it and need to dispose of the car without exposing anyone else to what might happen.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11532765July 17, 2023
AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the contact struck a sign on the side of the road causing front-end damages to the vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The contact suffered a major injury to the chest from the seat belt and back pains where she was taken to the hospital and had to seek physical therapy. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer that stated that the damages were not severe for the air bags senor to deploy. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,408.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11531426July 10, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was slowing at a stop sign and the car suddenly accelerated. My foot was not on the gas pedal but it continued to accelerate causing and accident at an intersection.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11527506June 17, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Even when properly aimed, with new headlight bulbs, visibility is poor at night. I recently had an incident while driving in town at less than 25 miles hour where I almost hit a deer that I could see on the side of the street, and this is actually not the first of many such incidents. I feel unsafe driving the vehicle at night due to the poor amount of light put out by the headlights. Toyota should offer to retrofit these with LEDS for people with issues. It's downrigtht scary, especially on poor lit streets or driving on the highway.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11524969June 2, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, ENGINE
Vehicle surges when accelerating since it was new. Throttle goes dead where engine idles but now power at all. Does it from a standing start, does it on hills and when merging onto a freeway. Now it happens on cruise control, when set on 75 mph engine loses power and slows down to 45 for a few minutes then shutters and speeds back up to 75. This past month if you let the fuel get down to 1/4 of a tank it will happen all the time. On interstate this week it happened and slowed to 35 mph and wouldn't go any faster until more gas was added. No check engine light ever. Dealer has checked twice and says no codes found and can't get it to happen it's a intermittent problem. We almost got hit by a semi on the interstate this week week due to this happening and I was unable to get out of his way because I no throttle response at all.... But engine was idling that all. Had to turn the engine off for 45 minutes before it would have any throttle response at all. Drove down the emergency lane to the next exit and filled up with gas. Engine surged for next 60 miles home. This is a huge problem! I am going to my local Toyota dealer tomorrow to talk with them again about this problem. If they give me the run around again I am going to file a lawsuit against Toyota and the dealership!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11521058May 8, 2023
POWER TRAIN, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
la transmisión de mi vehículo presenta ruidos extraños y ala ves se escucha un zumbido qué es bien molestoso perdió fuerza y velocidad también el consumo de combustible es demasiado mi rav 4 solo tiene 40,400 millas corridas es frustrante porqué la marca no a hecho nada para corregir el problema tengo muchos conocidos qué frecuentan el mismo problema
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11520601May 5, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING
As I drive about 70 MPH, the ABS and the brake lights come on and the car is momentarily out of control. As I grabbed the tearing and reduce the speed dramatically, the system correct itself and I am able to continue driving at a very low speed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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