10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 0 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.
There seems to be an issue on these body styles on Toyota Rav4 where there is an opening in lower bumper and rocks and road debris come in and put a hole in the AC Condenser. Toyota is aware of these issues but will not address and the customer is out $1500 repairs. I consider this a safety issue because every time this happens Freon is released into the atmosphere and the government is very concerned with this as is evident by the license and safety mechanisms in place for technicians handling the freon and repairs.
- Atkins, AR, USA
I was driving on I-91 in stop-and-go traffic when, all of a sudden, my RAV4 stalled. A warning chime sounded and the battery light, check engine light, and power steering light all illuminated. In the 4.2 inch screen in the gauge cluster, the following message displayed: "Steering Power Low"..."Shift to P". A second message displayed and said: "Engine Stopped"..."Shift to P". I attempted to restart the vehicle up to 8 times and it finally restarted. I quickly drove the car to the shoulder and out of the way of traffic. There were three of us in the car (myself and my two kids) and we almost got hit two times because visibility was poor due to rainy conditions and mist from passing cars. Throughout all this, I had the Auto Start/Stop feature disabled, so the car should not have shut off on its own. We had to get the car towed because we were worried that the problem would reoccur. We hope the problem could be rectified by our local Toyota dealer, because we do not want to drive it again in fear of the problem reoccurring while on the roadway. We are reporting this to bring awareness to this issue, and to make sure nobody else will have to face this situation and potentially be put in harm's way. (The attached photo is a general picture from somebody else, but my car had the same EXACT warning lights and messages. We could not take a picture because we were focusing on trying to get the car to turn on and move it to the shoulder by any means possible).
- East Haven, CT, USA
I purchased the car last July. Up to December, the car performed fine. Starting in December when I used the car heater repeatedly due to subzero temperatures, I noticed a burning smell coming from the vents. I was afraid that the engine or car would catch fire. I called the Tansky Toyota dealership and was told to bring the car in. They checked the car and I was told the smell was identified as engine coating which is burning off and it may take up to 4-6 month for the smell to go away. When I asked about the effects of the burning smell on my health, the assigned service adviser told me that -??if Toyota put it there, it is fine-??. In February, the smell in the enclosed car cabin got so bad that I felt nauseous, my eyes were burning, and I had metallic after taste in my mouth. When I took my car to the Tansky dealership, I was told that what I am smelling is a new car smell. Just to prove it, the assigned service advisor asked random dealership employees to sit in my car and to confirm that the car has a so called -??new car smell-??. When I asked if they could do something about the smell I was told to take the car to an independent car shop. The dealership was dismissive of my concerns. I had new cars before and none of them produced the so called -??new car smell-?? when I used the heater. I contacted Toyota and requested an independent inspection. The inspection was scheduled at the same dealership and when I received the report, it basically said that the inspector could not duplicate the problem so my concern was dismissed. Unfortunately, during independent inspection, my car was not tested in subzero temperature to replicate the problem. My main concern is the effect of the burning chemicals on my health and possibly ability to operate the car safely. No one was able to tell me what kind of chemicals are in the engine coating. At the time of purchase, I was not told that the car has engine coating which will gradually burn off via heater vent into the cabin.
- Columbus, OH, USA
No incident occurred. Received Customer Notification. Not sure if this should be a recall and how big of a problem it could cause
- Zachary, LA, USA
Audio system is dead
- Gainesville, FL, USA
The moonroof glass shattered unexpectedly with no impact or previous damage while driving on the Highway. The vehicle is only 3 months old has not been involved in any accidents or incidents. If the interior moonroof shade was not closed the glass would have dropped all over the interior potentially harming myself and any other passengers in the vehicle.
- Golden, CO, USA
On 11-9 the vehicle had an unintended acceleration that resulted in a collision. The vehicle was brand new. On 11-8 the vehicle had another unintended acceleration with a different driver where no collision was involved. Toyota is ignoring the problem.
- Timonium, MD, USA
When driving the car on a highway around 45 mph or above you can hear a excessive wind noise near driver window. There are several posts about this issue reported by various owners. This excessive wind noise makes fatigue and tiredness which can have impact on drivers ability and may result in health issues.
- Wilmington, DE, USA
Unknown crack on exterior front windshield. The vehicle is nearly a month old and always garage kept. Discovered hairline crack from drivers pillar to halfway towards the rear view mirror.
- Middleburg, FL, USA
On May 13th, 2022, I was in my garage and inside the vehicle in park mode, when I suddenly heard a little crack sound coming from the windshield. It was very faint, but I heard it. Then I noticed that it was the windshield and it had a little crack. On May 19, 2022, I took the vehicle to Elmhurst Toyota and they stated that a rock hit the windshield which is false. I am certain that it is a defect of the windshield in the RAV4's. I am not the first person to complain about the faulty windshield on these models and truly believe that is very unsafe. This needs to be investigated as it can cause a car accident if cracked on the highway.
- Cicero, IL, USA
- Kaysville, UT, USA