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What 194 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Toyota RAV4 Prime

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (194)Crash / fire / injury (48)Electrical system (69)Engine (31)Transmission & drivetrain (20)Steering (19)Body & structure (17)Brakes (16)Airbags (11)Lights (8)Visibility & wipers (8)Fuel system (7)

8 of 194 complaints match · Visibility & wipers · clear filters

Dec 28, 2023Electrical systemLightsVisibility & wipers

2014 Toyota RAV4 perfectly good headlight bulb stops working on low beam selection, severely limiting visibility for night-time driving. Looks like everyone on the internet is having the same problem.

NHTSA ODI 11562386

Sep 30, 2018Visibility & wipers

TOP OF WINDSHIELD IS COMPLETELY BLACK WHEN DRIVING IN THE DARK AT NIGHT. VISIBILITY IS SPECIFICALLY IMPAIRED WHEN TRAVELING DOWN A HILL IN THE DARK.

NHTSA ODI 11132378

Aug 10, 2018Visibility & wipers

CONSTRUCTION ON 59/20 BROKEN WINDSHIELD

NHTSA ODI 11119277

Jul 30, 2018Visibility & wipers

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK THIS MORNING IN MY RAV 4, I HEARD AN INCREDIBLY LOUD BOOM THAT STARTLED ME. IT SOUNDED AS THOUGH SOMEONE HAD FIRED A GUN JUST OUTSIDE MY CAR. I THEN FELT SOME GLASS SHOWERING DOWN ON ME. I QUICKLY LOOKED AROUND TO SEE IF SOMEONE HAD THROWN A ROCK THROUGH A WINDOW OR SHOT AT MY CAR, BUT ALL WINDOWS WERE INTACT. I THEN LOOKED UP AND SAW THAT MY SUNROOF WAS SHATTERED AND MOST OF THE GLASS WAS GONE. LOOKING IN FRONT OF MY CAR, THERE WEREN'T ANY TRUCKS FROM WHICH ROCKS MIGHT'VE FALLEN. AND LOOKING BEHIND ME, I HADN'T DRIVEN UNDER ANY BRIDGES FROM WHICH SOMETHING MIGHT'VE FALLEN OR BEEN THROWN. I PULLED OFF AT THE NEXT EXIT TO SEE WHAT MIGHT'VE CAUSED THE SUNROOF TO SHATTER. THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE FOUND IN MY CAR TO EXPLAIN IT (NO ROCKS OR OTHER OBJECTS THAT MIGHT'VE FALLEN INTO THE CAR). I THEN NOTICED SOMETHING STRANGE - THE GLASS THAT REMAINED ON THE SUNROOF WAS BENDING UPWARD (AWAY FROM THE CAR) AS THOUGH SOMETHING INSIDE THE CAR CAUSED THE GLASS TO SHATTER. HERE'S A VIDEO I RECORDED SHOWING THE REMAINING GLASS: HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/NZE6NT829TM IT WAS A SCARY EXPERIENCE. I'M GLAD I WASN'T HURT, AND I THANK G-D THAT MY KIDS WEREN'T IN THE BACK SEAT WHEN THIS HAPPENED.

NHTSA ODI 11114603

Mar 22, 2018Visibility & wipers

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, AN ABNORMAL NOISE WAS HEARD. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SUN ROOF FRACTURED AND EXPLODED. GLASS PIECES SHATTERED BETWEEN THE HEAD LINER AND THE METAL ROOFING. THE SOFT COVER WAS CLOSED AND PREVENTED GLASS FROM ENTERING THE INNER PART OF THE VEHICLE AND INJURING THE CONTACT. THE DEALER (TOYOTA OF BOERNE, 31205 FRONTAGE RD, BOERNE, TX 78006, (888) 311-6058) REPLACED THE PART AND CLEANED THE INTERIOR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ODI 11080943

Apr 28, 2016Visibility & wipers1 injury

I WAS DRIVING ON I-82 BETWEEN SELAH AND YAKIMA AT APPROXIMATELY 65 MILES PER HOUR. THE WIND WAS BLOWING FAIRLY AGGRESSIVELY OUTSIDE THAT DAY AND THE TEMPERATURE WAS ROUGHLY 70 - 75 DEGREES. WHILE DRIVING MY SUNROOF SUDDENLY EXPLODED. NO ROCK HIT THE CAR AND I WAS NOT DRIVING UNDER AN UNDERPASS WHERE ANYONE COULD HAVE THROWN SOMETHING AT MY CAR. THE SOUND WAS LIKE A GUNSHOT. I SINCERELY THOUGHT I HAD BEEN SHOT AT. GLASS FLEW EVERY WHERE. MY SUNROOF VISOR WAS OPEN SO THE SHARDS RAINED DOWN INTO MY CAR AND ALL OVER ME. I HAD GLASS DOWN MY NECK, IN MY HAIR, AND EVEN FOUND A PIECE ON MY EYELID WHEN I RUBBED MY EYE AND CUT MY EYELID AND THE SKIN NEAR MY INNER EYE. THERE WAS NOTHING I WAS AWARE OF THAT OCCURRED ON THE ROAD THAT DAY THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED THE SUNROOF TO BREAK. BUT IT BLEW OUT WITH EXTREME FORCE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10861920

Apr 7, 2016Visibility & wipers

REMEDY FOR THIS PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN FORTHCOMING IN A TIMELY MANNER. WHAT'S THE POINT OF ALERTING OWNERS THAT THEY HAVE A PROBLEM THAT NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION ONLY TO HAVE NO CORRESPONDING SOLUTION AVAILABLE FROM THE MANUFACTURER? THERE SHOULD BE A DEADLINE FOR THIS SORT OF THING.

NHTSA ODI 10854070

Apr 15, 2015Visibility & wipers

WHY ARE THE WIPERS AND WINDSHIELD SO BAD, I CAN SEE BETTER IN THE RAIN WITH THE WIPERS OFF. THERE IS NO DIRT ON MY WINDSHIELD OR DEAD BUGS, I CLEANED THE WINDSHIELD IN MY GARAGE AND THEN DROVE IN THE RAIN TO PROVE A POINT. WHEN THE WIPERS ARE ON IT IS VERY HARD TO SEE BECAUSE OF THE BLURRING ON THE WINDSHIELD IT IS CLEARER JUST LOOKING THROUGH THE RAIN. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10705833

Working with the data? Download all 194 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 11, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2014 Toyota RAV4 Prime verdict →