Toyota RAV4 Complaints (2021)

510 consumer complaints on file.

#11518515April 23, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
While traveling on highway with adaptive cruise control engaged and maximum following distance selected, adaptive cruise control applies excessive braking force than necessary when vehicle in front exits highway. Safety concern because following vehicles must abruptly apply brakes. Dealership or police have not inspected vehicle. No visual or audio warnings. Internet search reveals numerous, similar complaints.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11516445April 11, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The Glass sunroof spontaneously exploded while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515666April 5, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, AIR BAGS
While accelerating ~6ft from a complete stop, a minor collision occurred affecting the front right headlight. The air-bags did not activate and the engine compartment was immediately on fire. Within ~1minute, the fire had spread to and completely engulfed the passenger compartment. The contents were immediately destroyed. The speed with which the fire spread through the vehicle was a significant risk to my life and the motorists around me. There were no warning lights on the dashboard prior to the incident, and the car had never before experienced an accident. Witnesses and firefighters estimated that any fire barrier between the engine and passenger compartments had failed, and that a fire of that severity from such a minor accident indicated some fault with the vehicle. The vehicle was an immediate total loss as inspected by our insurer.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515031April 2, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
Somebody just hit my car and left. My car was parked in my community.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514109March 27, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
While driving to friends house, the collision warning popped on screen 1 or 2x but no vehicle was close to front of the car. When I turned into driveway and pulled onto yard to park the collision warning went off and red screen flased and I tried to brake but brakes would not depress. The car suddenly lurched forward quickly and I tried to steer away but it slammed into a line of cars with great force. I crashed into the parked car in front of me with such force it pushed a line of 4 cars. I had mild issues after crash: Whiplash, neck pain, head pain, and soreness. The RAV-4 had passed inspection with the dealer with no issues, The car had less than 15K miles driven. The collision warning lights seemed to start to have issues the day of the crash; approximately 15 min before the crash. Post-note for 3/27/2023 - we picked up from the collision repair and the car and the collision control was still flashing in error - and will be taken back to Toyota dealer on 3/28/2023 to have them read the computer. Other similar incidents have been reported for 2021 RAV-4 - and a similar recall went out for Toyota Prius we found after the crash.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11512952March 21, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid XLE Premium. Purchased new from the dealer. It currently has 75,000 miles (predominantly highway). Condition: The Braking mechanisms behind the firewall intermittently make a noise when the brake pedal is pressed fast (emergency) and/or released. It sounds like a seal barking when the pedal is moving either up or down. These are not your typical noises from a pad or rotor wear. Cause: At approximately 28,000 miles, the seal barking sound was there but very faint. As I added miles the sound became more frequent and louder. I did take it to the dealer who was not able to help. Environment: This seal barking sound can happen at any time and any condition, but is almost always going to happen when I want to avoid hitting an object that suddenly appears in my lane of travel and must brake quickly. Research: I’ve researched several Toyota and Lexus owner forums and found that other owners have the same issue. They described the sound as “seal barking” or “farting” (sorry for the wording, but that is what was used in the forums). Other forum members stated that it could possibly be tied to the master cylinder, brake actuator pump or ABS Brake Pump Booster (or all of them). Conclusion: I’m very concerned because this noise happens when brake components are activated and then may lead to failure. Please let me know if you need more information or an audio recording of the condition.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11512270March 16, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
On the driver's display, some Vehicle Settings menu pages do not display properly. The text either appears too dim to read or displays legibly but then disappears. The problem is inconsistent and difficult to replicate. This behavior prevents proper setting or adjustment; and may confuse the driver when vehicle is in operation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11508350February 21, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I purchased car in 12/20. The car has a 14.5 gal sized tank, and gets avg 42 mpg -calculated by miles driven to empty divided by gas pumped when empty- as well as on dashboard display. Since purchase the car registers empty 150 or more miles sooner than the 560 dashboard estimate and than 14.5*42 mpg. I am only able to fill less than 11 gallons when the fuel Guage reads empty with less than 20 miles remaining. The service dept assures me the car is able to drive 560 on a full tank, as the fuel Guage and miles-to-empty ignore a "buffer " of several gallons in the tank. It is unsafe to drive over 150 miles with the car registering no miles remaining. It is unsafe to plan a trip based on dashboard or tank size/gallons mileage, where I could run out of gas in an unsafe region.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11507704February 16, 2023
Carry Handle, Shell, Base
This is a rotating car seat. At first the seat would rotator from side to rear facing fine. After 5/6 weeks it didn't rotate all the way to rear facing without using the release button. Then when locked in the rear facing position when applying minimal force to the seat it rotates without the use of the release button. After removing the seat from my vehicle the seat was stuck on the side facing position and would not enter either the rear or front facing position. The contact stated that the car seat was located in the back seat on the passenger side. The manufacturer requested that the seat be sent back. The contact was refunded the purchase amount.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11506872February 12, 2023
SUSPENSION
Rust under the hood just where the front suspension mounted.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11504764January 31, 2023
AIR BAGS, SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
and Brakes202022 HighlandAR of Th RcosearhostEN9 & Brake& steercar was freewheeling,ENg.LOST stee and slbeingr
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11504262January 29, 2023
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I was pulling into a parking space with my foot on the brake, had just touched the parking bar, and the engine started racing. The car went forward over the parking bar before I cold stop it by stomping on the brake. The only thing stopping me from going over the side of the hill was a chain link fence. Luckily the brakes worked. This is a 2021 RAV4 and I have never had this problem before. I am scheduled to go into the Toyota dealer to have them look at it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502993January 21, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
-Rear passenger door lock actuator fails -Safety risk of door not automatically locking when driving -Problem has been reproduced because it has occurred more than once -No inspection has taken place -No warning lamps or messages
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502086January 17, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
When I took My 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime in for a dealer service at 18,000 miles they told me my factory tires were badly cupped due to the car needing an alignment. I thought this was strange because I drive carefully, and have not hit any large potholes, and the car is practically new. I then looked on Toyota forums online and there were many reports of same tire cupping with new 2021 RAV4 Primes because they were not aligned correctly before shipping out to dealers. I asked my Toyota dealer about this, thinking they should address the issue by aligning my vehicle for no charge. They said I only had an alignment covered until 12000 miles. I think since this is a safety issue and many people have reported the same cupping issue Toyota should do something about this. This is the reason for this report.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501889January 15, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
The glass of the sunroof exploded and shattered when I was driving on the highway from Chicago to South Bend at normal speed on January 13, 2023, around 4 pm. I heard a loud explosion sound and found the sunroof glass shattered and falling. There was no vehicle around me, no impact with any objects, and the vehicle was not passing under any structures at the time of explosion. I was not injured by the incident but was really scared and had to pullover to the side. After recovering from shock, I managed to drive home with the shattered sunroof and could feel glass pieces falling on my right shoulder when I was driving. This was the first time for the issue to appear and there was no sign or symptom prior to the problem. I purchased this brand new vehicle one year ago. I found other similar complaints online on spontaneous sunroof explosion of Toyota RAV4 and they looked similar to what I experienced. I contacted my dealer and they told me to go to a Body Shop on Monday (closed on weekends) for an inspection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501549January 12, 2023
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
No safety devices worked during accident that cause by another vehicle driver who ran red light. Neither air bags deployed, nor safety belt worked properly during an accident. Due to these mal functions of safety devices, my wife on the passenger seat hit the dashboard badly. She was wearing the seat belt properly which was released later by the ER personal at the accident location to transfer to an ambulance.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11500105January 4, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While pulling into what I thought was a parking spot, the left front wheel hit an 8" drop off. Almost immediately after the wheel was back up and level with the other wheels. The vehicle then began surging forward. I hit the brakes but they did not go down. Tried again and the same result. I then hit a hard plastic container and a brick wall. This stopped the vehicle and I was able to put it in park and turn off the engine. Truthfully, once the wheel fell went into the drop off, I had no control of the car. The brick wall has a crack in it and the container is ruined. Toyota Product Liability was called but they have not contacted me. Thankfully the wall did not collapse and no one else was injured. I have pain in left arm and shoulder but hopefully only bruising. The issue has not been confirmed by anyone and I do not know if there were any warnings because I was focused on trying to get the car stopped. There might have been some alarms, I am not sure.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11499197December 28, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Husband and I bought our 2021 RAV4 Prime from Toyota last Jan, brand new and I’ve had no complaints. On Dec 27, 2022 we were running errands and all of a sudden our sunroof EXPLODED. It sounded like a gun went off right in between us and then showered us with glass residue. There were no cars around us so we immediately pull into a parking lot and notice the glass exploded up and out. We took our car immediately to a Toyota dealership within half a mile—they contacted the main Toyota office with our situation and Toyota insisted it must’ve been from road debris hitting the sunroof and then the internal cabin pressure caused the glass to go up/out. However, we were driving with our sunroof tilted up and our windows down so that would’ve been impossible as internal pressure was equilibrated with outside the vehicle. Additionally the tension point was located directly under our roof rack so would’ve been impossible for debris to hit it at that point since it would’ve been protected by the roof rack itself. There was no other damage done to our car. Toyota is not helping us with this situation and we are having to use insurance. After reading other similar incidences, I was shocked how many others have experienced this on Toyota nation, Reddit, and NHTSA. It’s dangerous and is a safety concern for drivers, passengers and other vehicles on the road specifically the loud explosion sound itself, the risk for glass residue to impair vision of the driver and glass shards flying off the roof and hitting other vehicles on the road.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498272December 20, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2021 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while approaching a traffic light, she depressed the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle and rear-ended another vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. No air bags deployed. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. The contact stated a police officer was at the site but no police report was filed. The contact called the local dealer and made them 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 33,047.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11497430December 14, 2022
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Since I bought my brand-new car 1. the engine has stopped 5 times. 2. My windshield cracked. 3. There is low tire air pressure indicator that appears once in a while. A new battery was replaced, and it now cannot start. The message on the screen indicates: "IGNITION ON, Voltage abnormality steering power Low. Visit your Dealer." I took it the Dealer and now they are not able to find out what the problem is because I had to jam started the car for it to be towed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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