Was driving in heavy rain after about a 35 mile commute and put the car in park. After about 5 minutes of sitting in park the car turned completely off by itself for a couple of seconds and restarted. Warning message -??engine stopped steering power low-?? popped up on dash and was visible smoke coming from under the hood with a slight burning smell. This is a first incident for the car as it has been driven for about 2 years with a little over 35,100 miles on it.

- Scottsville, VA, USA

My Toyota RAV 4 the power steering light comes on and says low & it always happens when it-??s heavy raining and my wipers are on. The car just stops & wont start again for about 20 mins. This is super dangerous and has happened 4 times now

- Durham, NC, USA

I was driving down [XXX] The car was moving along fine then when I pushed the gas it would jerk back and shake. I pulled off the highway and was able to coast into a gas station, but the engine stopped working as I was driving while cars were coming behind me. I could have been stopped in the middle of traffic with no way to get out. The power steering light came on as well as a light that said the engine was cut off. We just bought the car used with 22k miles on it and put an additional 3k miles on. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Highwood, IL, USA

After routine service at South Coast Toyota in Costa Mesa, CA, I unknowingly drove my 2023 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid for over a week with two missing lug nuts and one extremely loose lug nut on the front passenger wheel. The service performed on April 5, 2025, included an oil change, tire rotation, and full inspection. No issues were reported to me at pickup. Over the next several days, I heard increasing thumping and metallic noises from the front right wheel area, especially at highway speeds. On [XXX], while driving with children in the car, the vehicle made loud metal screeching noises and the steering became impaired-?"I could not complete a basic turn. I limped the car home at 4 mph. Upon inspection, I found two lug nuts missing and one so loose I could unscrew it by hand. I had the car towed back to South Coast Toyota on April 18. The dealership admitted two lug nuts were missing but failed to apologize or fully document the issue. I was told via text that the only action needed was replacing the missing lug nuts. I received no formal inspection report or confirmation that the vehicle was safe. I paid out of pocket for a third-party inspection at a separate Toyota dealership, which confirmed that the previously recommended sway bar replacement was unnecessary and that my tires and components were in better condition than initially claimed. This was a clear service-related safety failure that could have led to wheel detachment and a serious accident. I drove over 200 miles on freeways with children in the vehicle. The dealership failed to follow basic safety protocols and has not taken responsibility. I am reporting this to NHTSA in the interest of safety and accountability. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

UNKNOWN: It happened during a heavy storm on my 40 miles to work and all the symbols lights suddenly lit up on the dashboard. The car died and the steering wheel got heavy when I tried to pull to the emergency lane. Luckily I was able to pull over, but it almost caused an accident as I was in the middle lane. I tried to start up the car again, but it would crank up, but died instantly and the dash would show "Ignition on" on the top left and "Engine Stopped: Power Steering Low". I called the dealership and talked to the service department and the service advisor think it was the battery, but he told me to try starting it after 5-10 minutes, if not, to call the tow company and tow the car to dealership for further inspection. I let it sit for 10 minutes and was able to start it back up and drove it straight to the nearest Toyota Dealership. While driving to the dealership, the car kept choking/stalling when pressing on the gas after braking. They examined with their scanners and the battery was in good condition and my car has gas (about 3/4 tank full) and they said the scans reported no issues. This is a concerning issue as I could had lost my life or possibly cause major accident and involve other people life.

- Grand Prairie, TX, USA

It-??s pouring rain and my engine stopped and a message popped up saying -??engine stopped power steering low-??

- Birmingham , AL, USA

My engine shut off (would not turn back on!) and displayed message: -??Engine Stopped. Steering Power Low-??. I brought it to the dealership the next morning. I was told that the power steering was electric, they could not duplicate the message, and to bring it back if it does it again. I-??m concerned because what happens if it occurs again while I-??m driving on the interstate?

- Prairieville, LA, USA

Was driving to work, pulled in put the car in gear. The car turns off staying low power steering fluid. Couldn-??t get it to start. I go in work my shift have my brother meet me. The car starts after sitting 9 hrs and I took it to Toyota. I have only had this car a month and it does this. Low power steering shouldn-??t cut an engine off. If anything it should just be hard to steer. These new cars need to be tweaked. If Toyota can-??t fix this they will not get any more business from me.

- Lawrenceburg , TN, USA

I was sitting in a drive trough getting breakfast, I go to pull off and my car cuts off. Couldn-??t get it to restart. Had to push it out of the way. Power steering low. Granted this cat is just 2 years old. It-??s done this before last year after having it one full year same thing. Luckily after letting it sit for 20-30 minutes it started and I got it to Toyota. Low power steering shouldn-??t cut an engine off. If anything just be hard to drive. These new cars need to be tweaked. If Toyota can-??t fix this they will not get any more business from me.

- Lawrenceburg , TN, USA

I went to start my car, the engine turned off stating power steering low engine off. Then tried again and got more errors likes brake engaged power off also the lane monitor was not working.

- Orange, CA, USA

This vehicle is going to kill someone. Not only does it have this unintentional steering issue, but the electrical system keeps going out. The dash has been replaced and there are still issues. The adaptive cruise control used to hard brake now it pulsates when lane changing which isn-??t cool if you-??re passing people because then you-??re turn in front of them and braking right away. The radio requires the vehicle to be turned completely off, wait, and then turn back on. The unintended steering will take you into incoming traffic, in the opposite lane, or even off-roading even when there is nothing in front of you. The compass randomly disappears. The Tim roof literally exploded while we were doing 80mph down the interstate. The curtain was closed or we would have had glass all over. The window blew out and up. If something hit the window it would have blown in and down. I have reported these safety issues to Toyota and they keep telling me that nothing is wrong. The steering issue has happened at least 7 times since I owned it. I have provided Toyota with pictures and videos showing these things and they-??re still telling me that nothing is wrong but they even have a form that talks about the -??unintended steering-?? issue.

- Janesville, WI, USA

I was driving over 120 MPH and my car slid and hit the front car. My car later caught fire and ruptured shortly after. The FD extinguished it and it was a total loss. I have no clue as to where it was taken after the accident. Sorry :(

- Sterling, VA, USA

I came to a stop on the highway due to a law enforcement traffic slowage. As I began moving again with the rest of traffic, my car suddenly started shaking and struggling to stay on. My check engine light came on and an alert popped up for -??Engine stopped, steering power low-?? -??pre collision system malfunction-?? and -??parking brake malfunction-??. I felt fearful for my safety as I was unsure if my car would safely allow me to brake and move over to the shoulder of the road. I was really scared and had so much anxiety that I wouldn-??t be able to make it out safely. The dealer was not able to find any record of these codes popping up and could not recreate the check engine. I have pictures showing the codes to support my claim.

- San Diego, CA, USA

Car shut off while driving because warning light for the power steering came on p.451stating check power steering fluid level. Vehicle has either a sealed power steering system or its electric. It was raining at the time that this happened. This is a big risk factor that could have led to a wreck but thank god that it did not was able to get out of traffic and stop. It took an hour of waiting before the vehicle would start back up and run properly. Unable to reproduce the problem at this time.

- Biloxi, MS, USA

Car had error on dashboard of Engine stopped power steering low, car is available for inspection. Car would not start in the middle of the night while raining, had smoke coming out the front. Problem not reproduced at dealership. No other warnings were shown beforehand.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

This happened?on [XXX] in Oakland CA, it was a rainy day. I drove off the freeway and then parked the vehicle in the parking lot. The car was in idle mode. After about 10 minutes?the engine started to?stall, and then shut off completely. I tried to restart the engine but it failed. The dashboard showed an error message "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low". I suspected?that rainwater entered into the engine from the air intake.? After waiting for about 2 hours, I was able to restart the vehicle, and then everything seemed to be normal. Toyota should?announce?a recall for this problem as this is very dangerous to operate the vehicle?on the freeway?on rainy?days. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Fremont, CA, USA

UNKNOWN. I drove my car off the dealership lot and not even 10 minutes into my ride home, as I pulled of the highway, I noticed that the RPM of the vehicle was slowing down. I pressed down harder on the gas to get it to accelerate but it just kept jerking and slowing down. Eventually I tried to get off to the side of the road and the car stopped in the middle of two lanes. The Check Engine, Battery warning and Electric Power Steering lights all came on the dashboard. There was also another error message: Engine Stopped Steering Power Low. I called the dealership and they came and towed the car. Not sure what the issue is but saw on some forums that this has happened to other RAV4 owners on used and brand new cars as well. Someone encouraged users to report it to the NHTSA so Toyota is aware of the issue.

- Dallas, TX, USA

Toyota RAV4 2023, had it not even a whole year bought it from the dealer 0miles. Today while running errands parked on the side of the road, car started to vibrate weirdly and then it shut off. I try starting the vehicle again and it just keep showing the same message -??Engine Stopped Steering Power Low-?? with the check engine light and steering wheel light on. After 30minutes I let it sit and when I tried turning the car on again, it ran perfectly but I wasn-??t risking it happening again. So I had to call Toyota roadside to tow it since the warranty still covers it. And now I gotta wait to see what-??s going on. I did my research on google and a lot of people have the same problem going on with RAV4s.

- Fredonia, NY, USA

I was sitting in line at a drive-thru with my wiper blades on the intermittent setting when suddenly the engine shut off and I got an error message that said -??engine shut off steering power low-??. The check engine light, battery, and steering light all came on. I turned the car off and then on again. It rumbled and then shut off again with the same message. I had to shift to neutral and push into a parking spot.

- Chesapeake , VA, USA

Vehicle will shut off while in -??drive-?? gear after a complete stop and will report on the dash screen -?? Engine stopped. Steering power low.-?? All other alert lights will be on and unable to change the gear into neutral to move the vehicle into a safe location. This vehicle has already done this exact issue twice and it-??s currently less than 10,000 miles on the vehicle. First incident was 2k mileage in a safe environment however the next incident was at 6880 miles. Vehicle shut down in the middle of a highway and I was unable to place the car into neutral gear to move the car to safety. Dealership has not been successful to find the source of the issue.

- Spring, TX, USA