Toyota RAV4 Complaints (2026)

44 consumer complaints on file.

#11774348October 29, 2026
SEAT BELTS
I am writing to report a safety concern involving the rear seatbelts in the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) updated moderate overlap front crash test (conducted at 40 mph with 40% overlap), the rear lap belt on the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid slid upward from the pelvis onto the lower abdomen of the rear dummy during the crash. This is known as submarining. IIHS rated the rear restraints and dummy kinematics as Poor for this reason, resulting in an overall Marginal rating for the vehicle in that test. In the same test, the non-plug-in hybrid version of the 2026 RAV4 kept the lap belt properly positioned on the pelvis and received an Acceptable rating. The only significant difference noted between the two vehicles is the additional battery weight in the plug-in hybrid, which appears to alter the motion of the rear of the cabin and the performance of the belt system. Submarining can increase the risk of serious abdominal injury by allowing crash forces to act on soft tissue and organs rather than the stronger pelvic bones. As an owner of a 2026 RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid, I am concerned that this design or calibration issue may pose a higher injury risk to rear-seat passengers, including children, in a real-world frontal crash.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11774146October 28, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
National glass shortage The back glass shattered for no reason while parked at home. It can completely separate from the bottom of the glass. Broken into many tiny pieces.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11772464October 20, 2026
Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness
I am reporting a safety concern involving a 2019 Nuna RAVA convertible car seat. The harness adjustment mechanism is malfunctioning, and the adjustment button does not operate properly, preventing me from reliably adjusting the harness to secure my child. I contacted Nuna customer service and provided video documentation of the malfunction. Nuna informed me that this model has been discontinued and that replacement parts are no longer available. Nuna also acknowledged that I never received the original remedy kit associated with the RAVA harness recall. Their leadership team reviewed my concerns and recommended completing the recall cleaning procedure before determining whether the malfunction persists. I am concerned that the harness adjustment mechanism may not function reliably, potentially compromising my child's safety in the event of a collision. I am submitting this complaint to formally document the malfunction and request that NHTSA evaluate whether this issue is adequately addressed by the existing recall remedy.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11772148October 19, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, WHEELS
While I was pulling into a parking spot at Aldi’s grocery store, another car was also parking in the slot right in front of my car. There was no danger at all, yet my 2026 Toyota RAV4 emergency braking system stopped my car and totally locked up the brakes. The engine and EV system was running, and I could shift to any gear, the wheels were so locked the car tried to move but couldn’t forward or backwards. I tried back and forth, finally turned off and car restarted. Same result about 5 times. Finally the wheels unlocked and I was able to drive. If this happened on an expressway or busy road, I feel my life would be in danger. The dealer couldn’t duplicate the problem next day, but was able to disable the emergency braking.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11772167October 19, 2026
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Approximately 6 weeks ago I was driving on the Garden State Parkway North in the middle lane at about 65mph when the car just stopped. A voice came over the car speaker asking if I had a problem. I was panicked for fear I would be rear ended so rather than talk to the person I tried to restart the car. This took maybe 15 seconds after which I continued driving home. Fortunately, the cars behind me were able to stop in time. I brought the car into my dealer's service dept. a couple of days later. They could not offer any explanation or advice. This past Friday I heard that the 2026 plug in RAV 4 is being recalled for a similar situation. I am thus further convinced that there is a problem that needs to be addressed with this car. Currently my wife will only drive in this car on local trips off of major highways.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11771970October 18, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
While driving today, I was at a stop light waiting to turn left. There was a car in front of me at their designated light waiting to turn right. When light turned green, the rav 4 registered the car turning as a potential accident and slammed the safety breaks while we turned left. RAV4 went in full stop in the middle of the turning street. Thankfully a car was not behind us or that could’ve caused an accident. The sensors seem to be too sensitive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11771871October 17, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
My 2026 Toyota RAV4 SE AWD suddenly applied the brakes and shifted into neutral while I was making a protected left turn on a green arrow. An oncoming vehicle was also turning left on a green arrow into its nearest lane, so our paths should not have crossed. The unexpected intervention was dangerous and could have caused a collision. I am concerned the Pre-Collision System incorrectly detected an imminent collision. I would like NHTSA to investigate whether this is a recurring safety issue with the 2026 RAV4.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11770603October 12, 2026
SERVICE BRAKES, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Unexpected Automatic Emergency Braking – 2026 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited While driving straight, I approached a vehicle near the exit of a residential complex. The other vehicle was not pulling out or entering my lane, and there was no apparent risk of collision. My RAV4 unexpectedly applied the brakes very hard, causing significant deceleration. I believe the red “BRAKE!” warning appeared on the dashboard along with an audible alert. I did not initiate the braking, and the other vehicle did not enter my path. Concern: Possible false activation of the Pre-Collision System (PCS).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11769041October 5, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sunroof shattered without warning while driving on the highway. Loud explosion. Checked all lights. Nothing showing. Thought it might be a tire. Tires were fine. Noticed the sunroof had exploded out. Found glass on us and seats. No signs of impact or objects. Took it to Anderson Toyota. They at first said it would be covered by my extended warranty. But claim was denied by Toyota. They advised me to contact my insurance company for reimbursement. But sunroof should have been covered under warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11767909September 29, 2026
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
While driving in heavy traffic, the engine shuddered then dashboard warnings: "Hybrid System Malfunction Output Power Reduced, Drive-Start Control Malfunction, AWD System Malfunction." I pulled over, parked, then the transmission wouldn't shift to drive or reverse.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11767223September 27, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I got in my car last night (it was dark so hence the first picture being dark) , shut the driver door, and my trunk window blew out/shattered. My car was clear of clutter, only a pair of shoes, an umbrella and a doll present in car, so no cabin pressure relief vents could have been blocked.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11767304September 27, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Windshield has diagonal lines throughout in pattern similiar to, \\\\\\\\\\. This causes vision impairment and eye strain when attempting to drive. When researching online it appears it is a defect in the manufacturing process of 2026 RAV4s with the acoustic lamination.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11766752September 24, 2026
AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
If I could select everything under the adaptive driver assistance details, I would. Upon startup, every warning light lit up on the car and messages popped that all of the safety systems were disabled on the car with a message to visit the dealer stating there was a "system malfunction." I turned the car off and turned it back on and all warnings remained and passenger airbags and other safety features remained disabled on the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11766754September 24, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunglasses holder above and between the driver and passenger suddenly opened while on the interstate, causing the sunglasses to fall out, creating a sudden distraction. The sunglasses could have also fallen by and interfered with the pedal assembly. The sunglasses holder continues to pop open while driving even when there is nothing inside of it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11765684September 20, 2026
AIR BAGS
On September 10th my wife and I were driving on IN-66 and a Corvette ran us off of the road. We went into a culvert, up and embankment and crashed into a tree and fence. Our speed was approximately 50 mph. Our front end was heavily damaged and our airbags did not deploy.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11764058September 14, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The contact owns a 2026 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving 72 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the brake pedal was depressed to slow the vehicle; however, after pressing the resume button, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration, and accelerated to 88 MPH. The contact pressed the cancel button, but the cruise control failed to disengage. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed an inspection and determined that the vehicle was operating normally. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by phone. The failure mileage was approximately 300.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11761281September 1, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The front windshield on my new 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid XSE, which is equipped with a head-up display (HUD) and uses HUD-specific laminated glass, appears to have an optical clarity/distortion issue. The original factory-installed windshield is still on the vehicle and is available for inspection upon request. From the first day I drove the vehicle, I noticed persistent optical artifacts when looking through the windshield. The issue is most noticeable around high-contrast objects, such as white lane markings against dark pavement, white vehicles with dark trim, signs, and other sharply defined edges. Instead of appearing clean and sharp, these edges can look slightly fuzzy, gritty, pixelated, or surrounded by fine irregular lines. I am concerned that reduced optical clarity in the driver's forward field of view could interfere with clearly distinguishing road markings, signs, vehicles, pedestrians, or other roadway objects, especially under high-contrast or nighttime conditions. No crash or injury has occurred. I reported the issue to the selling Toyota dealer. Dealer personnel stated they could not clearly reproduce what I was seeing, but the dealership nevertheless agreed in writing to replace the windshield at no cost. I have temporarily deferred replacement, so the original windshield remains available for evaluation. I have since found multiple reports from other 2026 Toyota RAV4 owners describing similar windshield waviness, distortion, fuzzy or diagonal line patterns, and reduced clarity. Several reports appear to involve HUD-equipped vehicles, and some owners report similar issues even after OEM windshield replacement. I am requesting that NHTSA review this complaint with similar reports to determine whether there may be a recurring optical-quality issue involving HUD-equipped 2026 RAV4 windshields that could affect driver visibility.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11760707August 30, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
On two separate occasions, the hatch has opened all by itself. One time was in public, and another time while sitting in my driveway overnight with the vehicle locked. This is a safety hazard as opening by itself could cause things to fall out of the back while driving, or theft/weather damage when just sitting in my driveway. I did not receive any notifications via the app, which alerts me if a door or hatch is opened. My last notification indicated that the car was locked. When I went outside this morning, the hatch was wide open and would not close using the fob or any buttons designated to close the hatch. I had to force it closed for it to work again. Based on my research, this is an issue that is experienced by others as well, but Toyota has been unable to reproduce it. I will be logging this with the Toyota dealership where I bought the vehicle and where I service the vehicle (Toyota of [XXX]), but they are closed today. I will report this to them tomorrow morning (Monday XXX). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11760305August 28, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM:INVERTER, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with an EV inverter and transmission failure. The vehicle was pending repairs and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11760066August 27, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The sunglasses compartment spontaneously comes open repeatedly when the car is operating, dropping its contents on the driver and passengers
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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