This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Cruise control suddenly quit working, alarms for hybrid system malfunction, cruise control malfunction. This is a known issue for Toyota, high voltage leaking out because of a corroded ground. This repair is going to cost around $7,000 out of pocket.. My car is 3 years old.
We-??ve had the car for three months had it to the shop of the Toyota place seven times for the electrical issue the car will shut off going down the road when you give a gas when you let off the gas, it will start back up spitting sputter, the instrument cluster The gauges will stick in one spot and not budge and you lose all power to the vehicle to drive
A warning message came up that the HYBRID SYSTEM MALFUNCTION contact dealer. This was confirmed by the dealer. According to the dealer and message boards at various web sites, the Hybrid System Malfunction is NOT uncommon. To fix the problem, a wire harness must be replaced with a replacement cost of $2000-$4000. When I asked what changes have been made to the replacement part to address the corrosion problem, the response was there might be a new coating but we do live in New Hampshire.
I received an error message -??Engine stopped, steering power low-?? after driving an hour in the rain, sat in my car for about 20 mins with wipers on, engine began to jerk aggressively then shut off. I could not gas it or move the car. I let the car sit after being towed, it ran fine as if nothing happened. I got a battery test and it was at 100% charge according to Autozone. The check engine light, battery light and steering light came on. No prior indications of this problem.
The front passenger door started to "not unlock" when using the keys or door buttons to unlock it, you would have to manually unlock the passenger door by reaching across from the driver's side of the car. For about a week, that was happening, then that same door started to "not lock" using the key fob, handle or door buttons, so both locking and unlocking could only be done manually. Then the most concerning incident, while driving and while a passenger was seated in the front seat, upon rounding a corner (moving less than 20 mph) in a very busy town full of parked cars and pedestrians, the closed front passenger door flung open while the vehicle was turning and moving, almost striking a pedestrian and parked car. The passenger was able to safely close the door, but this would have been impossible had there only been a driver in the car at the time. The door had been shut properly, and there were no indicator lights that the door was not fully closed. The door also "auto-locks" when moving, so there were multiple failures of the lock/door system when this occurred. The car was on the road more than 5 minutes when this happened with absolutely no warnings until the door flung open and the car made lots of warning noise at this point. We called the dealer and made an appointment and on the day of the appointment the locks magically started working again. The dealer just charged us $90 to perform a "lock diagnostic" to which they said there are no issues found. Well, let me just say, I feel a door randomly opening in a moving vehicle is a major safety problem and it is a grave concern for me to drive or ride in this car when I am not sure when or if this is going to reoccur at any given moment.
- Elliottsburg, PA, USA
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When driving the car and stopping at a stop sign or stop light, the engine will shut off. The automatic restart occurs and with the headlights on the climate temp control display flickers While all the other dashlights remain bright. Many people are disabling the system. Since there is a switch you can press, defeating the system. Toyota sent a technical specialist who inspected the system. And since he couldn't find how to fix it, declared it normal. Apparently toyota designed the car to do this for some unknown reason. He stated That lights will dim when the car restarts. It is not dimming as if a current draw, it flickers every time. This of course, affects the fuel economy of the car, defeating the system, which many people do and creates a concern of why that one component flickers. Toyota installs a heavy 605A battery to operate this system Since there are so many restarts. Will this create a car fire at some point? I would imagine That it makes a difference in The cafe reporting since so many people Disable the system.
The vehicle was left parked for 7 days and battery was found to have discharged and would not start or provide any displays on the dash board. No map lights were were found to have been left on and no accessories were connected.
I was in a bad car accident last Wednesday July 26, 2023 It was very scary and Bizarre; My car accelerated (started racing)and when I stepped on brake, it accelerated more. I saw a message flash up on my GPS screen but obviously couldn't read it as I was trying to stop my car. The Auto brakes didn-??t work, I crashed into a tree; air bags didn-??t deploy and I got this message ("CHECK ENGINE! A MALFUNCTION IN THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL OF THE ENGINE, THROTTLE, OR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN DETECTED.CONTACT YOUR TOYOTA DEALER IN ORDER TO HAVE YOUR VEHICLE INSPECTED." (See attached). Luckily I was in an almost empty parking lot when this happened, if not i could have been killed or killed someone else. All the safety back ups failed. I took a picture of the message-will attach it to this report. I was taken to Huntington Hospital ER and had a cat scan to make Sure my sternum and ribs aren-??t broken-showed Soft tissue abdominal swelling and bruised sternum and ribs from my seat belt. Pain to chest, ribs an right side. I believe my car is totaled Just had it inspected and serviced a few weeks ago at the Toyota dealership where I purchased it and it only has 10,000 miles on it! I am Fighting with insurance company to make sure the car's computer is interrogated before they do anything else.-The insurance company was pressuring me to release the car to Copart without this being done and I refused. My car was towed to and remains at Combined Auto Collision 4035 Jericho Tpk, East Northport, NY. This incident could have resulted in a catastrophic outcome and loss of life. Aa investigation needs to be taken to insure this does not happen to anyone else. Thank you for your kind assistance The consumer stated that the dealer identified the problem being that the water drainage pillars short out the electrical system.
The contact rented a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard a vibrating sound coming from the front driver-??s side windshield. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the contact was informed that the vehicle was a rental and could not be diagnosed. The contact was informed to return the vehicle to Avis Car Rental. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact stated that he was able to restart the vehicle after several minutes. The contact stated that due to the loss of motive power, the front driver-??s and passenger-??s side headlights failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be diagnosed since the vehicle was a rental. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
We have water becoming stuck in our back passenger door due to a weather strip design flaw in Toyota Rav4 Hybrids. This will begin to happen to all weather strips and eventually destroy the interior and electrical if not repaired. This is a common design flaw in newer Toyota Rav4 Hybrids and we are lucky it's just our one door so far.? I've been informed (by our Toyota Tech) that eventually all of the doors and the roof will leak due to this Toyota design flaw.?? When we took the car to get fixed at the dealership, they let us know it was an expensive repair, advised it was a design flaw, other customers are affected, and allowed us time to research before paying for the repair. We may attempt it ourselves since Toyota corporate has refused a reimbursement for the repair. This is a Toyota design flaw and requires a recall. They are charging hundreds to fix this. This will literally destroy the cars electrical.
We were on a drive back from Nashville like normal. My mom had picked me up from work at around 07:15. The car started making strange sounds as we were driving down the highway. It started yelling at us to pull over to a safe spot and slowing down. All of the lights had come on flashing at this time. It didn-??t even make it to the shoulder; We made a stop on the triangle area for when cars come in from the exit. As soon as we stopped, smoke started engulfing us and 2 guys who saw this happening parked on the shoulder and came running out of their van with fire extinguishers and started telling us to get out. When we went around the car to check what was going on, we noticed the fire that had started from the bottom of it. They fired the extinguishers a couple of times to the bottom of it where we could see the fire but it didn-??t help much so we had to retreat to a safer spot. We called 911 to ask them to send assistance. Not long after, the front half of the car was engulfed in flames. 10-20 minutes later, the fire department came to extinguish the flames. Once they got the fire under control, they towed the car to the shoulder of the road where we proceeded to salvage anything that was salvagable from the car. Where I got my hands cut up from broken shards that were littered all over the interior. We waited for awhile for another form of transportation to be able to make it home and it took a little bit due to the traffic that this incident had caused. We got the car towed back to Toyota for evaluation of the incident. It was supposed to be done within 2 months, but we still hadn-??t heard anything about it going into 3. We called them to inquire about the car and the situation, and they said that they had closed the case and had to reopen it for further investigations. They had closed the case and not told us anything about it. We received an email on the 23rd of January that stated the vehicle was too far damaged for them to be able to evaluate anything.
I have a 2021 Rav4 gas LE. I bought it new in May 2021 and have 38,000 miles on it. I was casually driving the car going 30-40mph when the car dashboard lit up. The first notification I got was on the screen display saying a malfunction in the charging system was detected and to stop in a safe location. Next, all my dashboard lights turned on (tire pressure, traction control, check engine, ABS, brake, battery light, etc.) and got the following messages on the dashboard: - parking brake malfunction - pre collision malfunction - brake power low - stop in a safe place - secondary collision brake system malfunction - antilock brake system malfunction voltage ability - Voltage abnormality - steering power low And then finally, the -??engine stopped-?? message when the emergency brakes engaged on their own while I was slowing down at a red light. Before this, I never got any warning lights or messages. I tried to get the car towed since jump starting the car didn-??t work. The emergency brakes would not disengage in neutral. I had to call a tow truck. I took the car to the Toyota dealership. They said it was the battery and replaced it, but when I went to pick it up, the dashboard lights still wouldn-??t go away even after resetting. The power locks still don-??t work when the car is off and my key fob to unlock/lock also still doesn-??t work. The display screen still isn-??t turning on and the usb plugs in the car also aren-??t drawing any power. The headlights and interior lights also don-??t work. They said it-??s an electrical problem but quoted me $520 to diagnose the problem ONLY since the car is now out of the 3 years/36k miles basic warranty. I have had this car less than two years and has 38k miles.
-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
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.
I was parked at a store, engine off. Was in there 3 minutes and another customer ran inside and said a car was on fire, the employee asked if it was mine. I ran outside and it was indeed mine. The rear tail light was all melted and on fire, billowing smoke was coming out the sides of the hatch so I opened it quickly to get the fire out. The store employee put the fire out with his fire extinguisher. No prior warning lights were present when driving it before this occurred. The car is at Toyota dealer presently while they determine the cause.
The contact stated that the owner of a 2021 Toyota Rav4 was driving approximately 35 mph when the odor of burning rubber was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. After stopping and exiting the vehicle flames were present coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed during the incident. A fire report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified. The contact indicated that the vehicle had recently been repaired after a front-end crash had occurred. The contact also references an NHTSA open investigation(PE21005) for the same failure that had occurred. The failure mileage was 30,000
In the driver's side, rear therr was smoke coming and before that occurred the lights flickered several times. There may have been steering issues before the rear fire and blinking likes as smoke started to show. The safety is due to fire risk. There is some media information on the same vehicle yet 2017 vehicle year that similar electrical issue occurred. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone as it just occurred a few days ago. There were no warning lights or prior failures.
I had 2 sudden acceleration incidents. The first occurred 10/6/21.My car lurched forward & hit a pole. I was with my mom who saw me press the brake, which did not engage. My car has an auto-braking system which did not function as designed. I took it to Toyota.They determined there were no issues w/the vehicle. I insisted there was something wrong & warned this will happen again & could be much worse. I felt defeated but hoped it was an isolated glitch & hoped for the best. Fast forward 2 months to 12/13/21 I was in a drive-thru using the hold button, which is a feature that holds the brake in place, so my foot was not on any pedal. All of a sudden, my car began to accelerate & the brakes would not engage. An error message on the dash said -??BRAKE MALFUNCTION-??. I could not stop the car. I put in park, but it did not stop the car. The car jumped the curb & drove into oncoming traffic & hit two cars. They were traveling north, I was traveling west. It-??s a miracle another car did not hit & kill me. The most frightening experience of my life. I had the car towed to Toyota as the front wheel blew out & could not be driven. Another inspection was done & once again Toyota came back with -??they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle.-?? And added that the brakes were never engaged, which is an outright lie & utterly insane. I spoke to an attorney & what he told me was quite eye opening. He has been practicing product liability law for 30 years. He told me the letter received from Toyota was a standard letter that all car companies respond with. They never admit a problem unless forced to, usually by the govt, to do a recall after enough people file a complaint. I really believed Toyota would tell the truth. I never imagined they would lie & participate in a cover-up. They would rather fight you in court. As mentioned earlier, my car has an auto braking system, so why didn't it work? Clearly it malfunctioned. My hope is that this deceit by car manufacturers ends.
To whom this may concern, I have had many problems with the Toyota Rav-4. I had so many problems with my 2017 Rav 4, that I under pressure upgraded to the 2021 LE version. I have had many problems with the breaks. I have brought it in (3) times to be serviced since I purchased it in March of 2021. The breaks are still squeaking. I have also had problems with the electrical system. The dash panel comes on, and abruptly shuts down when it feels like it. My wipers also come on intermittently. Every time I try and talk to Toyota about this they tell me there is nothing wrong. This same thing happens with the 2017, until my breaking mechanism stopped. I am looking for someone to look into this matter because these are dangerous conditions and unacceptable especially for new cars.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dollar Bay, MI, USA