10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
14 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,682 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Toyota RAV4:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #41

Apr 222023

RAV4

  • 61,000 miles
The contact owned a 2016 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that due to the failure, the vehicle in front of the contact's vehicle was rear-ended. The Police and ambulance arrived on the scene. A Police report was filed. No injuries were sustained, however, the contact was later informed that a passenger who was riding in the vehicle that was rear-ended later received medical attention. The contact's vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The contact's vehicle was condemned as a total loss. The contact stated that no damage to the other vehicle had been reported. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced at the dealer for full maintenance six weeks before the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

- Rego Park, NY, USA

problem #40

Nov 082023

RAV4

  • miles
While exiting slowly from the parking lot, the Toyota started to make a beeping alarm noise, then suddenly lurched forward. Applying the brake had no effect, and the car accelerated across the LRT tracks, climbed onto the passenger platform, and only stopped when it collided with an electrical box there.

- Lynbrook, NY, USA

problem #39

Aug 082023

RAV4

  • miles
I was parking the car in a gravel parking lot. When I pressed the brakes and shifted into park it instead accelerated and went over the side of an enbankment. I could not stop it even though my foot was pressing hard on the brake. Luckily there was no other person or property affected by the error and my car did not suffer external damage. It damaged a sensor on the bottom side of the car which had to be replaced. There was no indication of any problems beforehand. My mechanic did an extensive review of the car and could not find anything that would have explained the unintended acceleration.

- Solon, OH, USA

problem #38

Feb 082023

RAV4

  • 89,500 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undetermined speed, she noticed traffic had slowed down and the driver applied the brake pedal but the brakes failed to respond and crashed into the rear of an unknown vehicle. The TPMS warning indicator light was illuminated. The contact sustained injuries to her neck, but medical attention was not provided. A police report was filed. There was no fire due to the crash. All the frontal air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated the failure was similar to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V198000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Electronic Stability Control). The approximate failure mileage was 89,500.

- Atlantic City, NJ, USA

problem #37

Oct 042021

RAV4

  • miles
I was traveling at a speed of 40 mph on a wet road. As I approached an intersection with stop sign I applied brakes about 100 feet before the stop sign. The ABS engaged shortly after I applied the brakes. I continued to keep foot on brake but was continuing to get closer to the intersection and the ABS was not disengaging. I attempted once to let off the ABS and apply the brakes but the ABS was still on disengaging. At this point I was entering the intersection and turned my wheel toward the left at an embankment and pulled up on my emergency parking brake to stop the vehicle. The incident did not result in a collision, as it was a 3 way stop and the other vehicles at the intersection was able to avoid hitting me. I called Rohrich Toyota immediately to see if there was a recall in the brakes or a known problem. I was told there wasn't any known problem. I tested out the brakes at slow speed and the problem didn't repeat itself under slow conditions so I drove home. I believe there is a problem with the ABS not disengaging.

- Leechburg, PA, USA

problem #36

Oct 312021

RAV4

  • miles
I was driving on the entrance road to a major highway, and as I approached the curve in the road and pressed on the brakes to decelerate, the vehicle began to shake, and as I pressed the brakes harder to slow down, they did not engage, the front wheels became locked in the position of the curving road at an angle and the vehicle went off road at approx 45mph down an embankment and into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle is totaled and although there were no fatalities minor injuries did occur since the airbags did not keep the passenger nor driver from hitting there head on the windows and door jam, and the steering wheel.

- University City, MO, USA

problem #35

Jan 222021

RAV4

  • 25,000 miles
Have to replace brakes only after 20K miles. Battery become dead after 25K miles

- Helendale, CA, USA

problem #34

Dec 052020

RAV4

  • 62,000 miles
Sometimes my brakes work normally. Other times, the brake pedal will be hard to push, and the brake pedal will not come back up when I release it. If I don't pull the pedal back up with my foot, brakes will continue to be applied even when I'm accelerating. I can't tell why they work sometimes and not others. I could spend 4 hours driving around with sticky brakes, and then suddenly, they're fine.

- Coventry, RI, USA

problem #33

Sep 162020

RAV4

  • 40,132 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 65 mph and approaching an exit off the freeway ramp, the contact depressed the brake pedal which failed to engage properly as the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard. The contacts husband pumped the brake pedal a couple of times but failed to respond causing the vehicle to crossover a 4 lane highway, onto a uphill onramp where it came to a stop after crashing into a curb. The vehicle was restarted and the vehicle resumed to normal. The vehicle received minor damage to the passenger front tire, and the rim was cracked. The vehicle was towed to a dealer (balise Toyota 1399 riverdale St, West springfield, MA 01089 (413) 306-3037) however the vehicle was not diagnosed or seen. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that a technician would go out to the dealer and inspected the vehicle recorders which determined no faulty codes. The failure mileage was approximately 40,132.

- West Springfield, MA, USA

problem #32

Aug 232020

RAV4

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the brake system failed. The contact stated when the driver drove at 60 mph, the vehicle in front made a sudden stop and when the driver engaged the brake pedal it went to the floor board and caused the driver to crash into the truck's rear end. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer for inspection. However, the dealer test drove the vehicle and was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact also wanted to advise that the brake pads was previously replaced by an unknown dealer because the contact had noticed that took a longer time for the brake to engage when the vehicle was driven over 60 mph. There were no injuries to report. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Brenham, TX, USA

problem #31

Nov 092019

RAV4

  • 49,623 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota rav-4. the contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle at a low rate of speed, the brakes failed without warning and the vehicle drove into a brick pillar. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. Police were called and a report was filed; no medical assistance was given at the scene. The contact's wife suffered bruising across her chest due to the seat belt. The vehicle was towed from the scene to the contact's home and was repaired at an independent auto body shop. The manufacturer was notified of the matter and was informed that an internal investigation would be launched. The failure mileage was 49,623.

- Germantown, WI, USA

problem #30

Jul 312019

RAV4

  • 65,000 miles
ABS system light is on and there is no coverage plus I did not get the recall of 2016. I am on long-term disability and this is expensive to repair.

- Chester, VA, USA

problem #29

Jan 092019

RAV4

  • miles
Brakes are squeaky at a low rate of speed (20 mph and less) at approximately 20K miles.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #28

Aug 262019

RAV4

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle did not stop when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. In turn, the second vehicle crashed into a third vehicle. The contact's air bags did not deploy. The driver and the two occupants in the second vehicle sustained minor neck injuries. Medical attention was received. Police report number: 197537 was filed and the vehicle was towed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and an unknown dealer were notified. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Hemet, CA, USA

problem #27

Jul 272019

RAV4

  • 47,000 miles
Started my 2016 Rav4 limited on 7/27/2019. After starting it none of the safety features are working. This appears to be a known issue among other Toyota owners. The vehicle was fine when I shut it off the night before. Now anti lock braking, lane departure alert, pre-collision system, and adaptive cruise control are all failing.

- Hutchinson, KS, USA

problem #26

Jun 182019

RAV4

  • 21,000 miles
My brakes seem to scrape about the first 5 times I use them then the sound goes away

- Lakewood, NJ, USA

problem #25

May 182019

RAV4

  • 22,700 miles
My car has only 22,700 miles. Fronts end brakes and rotor are totally worn out. The car was driven normally.

- Clifton, VA, USA

problem #24

Mar 302019

RAV4

  • 36,100 miles
While stopped at a red light the vehicle accelerated and lunged forward. Brakes would not hold the vehicle from going forward. Had to turn the vehicle off.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #23

Sep 262018

RAV4

  • 41,000 miles
I was driving my car in the rain, and a warning came on that the antilock brake system was malfunctioning. I kept driving, and all ther dashboard lights flashed off then back on twice. I pulled over to the side of the road, turned the car off and back on and it stopped. This isn't the first time I've had problems with the ABS not working right in the rain. I was driving on the interstate when this happened.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #22

May 172018

RAV4

  • 10,900 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 65 mph, two deer suddenly emerged from the woods. When the contact depressed the brake pedal, the vehicle did not stop and struck one of the deer. The front driver's side of the vehicle was damaged. A police report was filed (number: 18-05410) and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to cedar rapids Toyota (1190 boyson road, hiawatha, Iowa 52233), but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was then towed to a body shop. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,900.

- Marion, IA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »