What 301 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hv

While driving the vehicle I smelled something burning and saw smoke coming out of the air vents. I immediately pulled to the side of the road and got out. I noticed fire and smoke coming from under the hood. I called 911 and the Fire Dept. arrived to put the fire out. It was towed to a nearby storage yard until the insurance company could be notified. After talking with and submitting photos to the insurance company the vehicle was considered a total loss. We are waiting to hear back from the insurance company concerning our claim. Upon researching engine fire related to defective battery in these vehicles I learned that almost 2 million 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 have been affected. I am just thankful everyone was able to get out of the vehicle safely before it caught on fire.

NHTSA ODI 11491354

Front brakes needed replacement at 40k miles. 24k miles later, I'm being told they need replacement again. At May 2022 ispection the measurements were 11/32 for all four brakes. Less than 6 months & less than 5k miles later, the right front is at 6/32, left front 9/32, rear are 11/32 & 10/32. I'm being told the right front pads & rotors are bad and the discs(?) are extremely rusty. How does this happen so quickly? Forums I've read say this is an issue with many 2017 RAVS. Apparently, Toyota used low-grade rotors on that model and year. I had complained of a slight grinding noise coming from the front wheels on several occasions only to be told they can't find anything. I've had no safety issues yet but this ongoing problem is unacceptable and may eventually result in a collision.

NHTSA ODI 11489479

Although just aligned, steering consistently pulls to the right.

NHTSA ODI 11484726

My vehicle is on it's 3rd replacement in less than 5 years because it randomly fails. It will not start. This is after I had recently taken my vehicle in for service, where the service technicians have checked the battery performance as "Good". There have never been any warnings before my vehicle would not start. Absolutely no symptoms prior to the failure. When I pressed the start button, the vehicle gave no indication that it would turn over. It's been a terrible inconvenience and very unsettling, because now that it's happened to me twice. The original battery and now the replacement in less than 5 years. I'm not sure when it will happen again.....it's so unpredictable. This last time, I was stuck in a parking lot and had to be towed to the nearest Toyota dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11481542

While traveling around 40 mph on a roadway another vehicle ran a stop sign approximately 2 feet in front of my vehicle. This vehicle came onto the roadway from a side road at a sustained speed with no braking. I swerved to avoid impact and went over an embankment. The vehicle sustained extensive damage to the front and underneath. It is a total loss. The airbags did not deploy during the accident. There were also serious injuries to the driver and passenger. The driver sustained a broken neck in 4 places. The passenger sustained massive hematomas, a fractured arm, and 7 fractured ribs in the chest and separated sternum. There were no warning lights or messages displayed. An inspection has not been performed on the airbag system. The vehicle is currently located at the insurance company's salvage yard.

NHTSA ODI 11480603

While driving the vehicle, the sun roof glass shattered. The cover of the roof was closed, so no glass spilled into the car, but could have been dangerous if it the cover was open.

NHTSA ODI 11477466

6 months after warantee expired passenger front door lock actuator failed. Dor can only be locked /unlocked from manual rocker lock inside door. Electrick lock doesnt function. Within 6 months of that failure, drivers door developed same problem. Door can only be locked from inside and unlocked from outside with key.

NHTSA ODI 11476721

Discoloration/fogging of tail light lens on driver side. Picture uploaded.

NHTSA ODI 11465710

The driver owned a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact called on behalf of her son who was driving approximately 35 MPH when he lost control of the steering due to the functionality of the steering wheel and accidentally crashed into a pole. There were no warning lights. The 2 front and 1 side air bag deployed. The police and fire and ambulance arrived on the scene. The driver was transported to the hospital where he received a CT scan for his injury. There was a police report. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000

NHTSA ODI 11465436

On Saturday, May 14, 2022, my vehicle burned. and has since been totaled. The car had been trouble-free since I bought it in 2018. I was so pleased with it that I had just paid off the balance on the loan the week before because I wanted to keep it for 10 years. Prior to it burning, I had just driven it a couple miles for the first time in 2 weeks (it had been parked in a friend's garage). There were no warning lights visible during that time. I got out of the car for 3 minutes and was about to get back in when I noticed white smoke coming out of the hood. Within 30 seconds the hood had become engulfed in flames. The entire front and interior of the car was destroyed in the blaze, which the Fire Department had to extinguish. No one was injured, but two cars on either side were damaged by the fire. The car had last been serviced by Headquarter Toyota in Miami on January 22, 2022. They had not done the government-recommended inspection of the engine area during the servicing.

NHTSA ODI 11465496

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light would activate even though the air pressure in the tires were normal. The contact indicated that the failure also occurred immediately after refueling. No further information was available. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464561

The contact owned a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact was unable to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood of the vehicle and immediately exited the vehicle. The contact then saw flames coming out from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. There were no injuries sustained. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot where it was totaled. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464584

Vehicle automatically slows down and shakes violently. We had it checked out at a Toyota dealership and they didn’t find any problems with the vehicle when they performed a diagnostic check. It continues to happen when vehicles is on the fwy. EV light appears on screen flashing on and off.

NHTSA ODI 11462841

My mechanic showed me that the axle shaft assembly on my Toyota RAV4 is leaking grease and that, if not repaired soon, could be a safety issue when driving.

NHTSA ODI 11458923

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle started making a rumbling sound and was also shuddering. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who test drove the vehicle, and the tires were balanced and rotated; however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine block stabilizers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had become significantly worse while driving between 25-30 MPH and 45-50 MPH. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

NHTSA ODI 11458367

on a nice clear spring day in california, driving on the 101 freeway my 2017 toyota rav4 xle sun roof just Exploded..no trucks around me...and no overpasses...it just exploded outwards i belive....no warning .....could have very easily cause a serrious accident/injury...some glass dropped on driver/passanger...dome rolloed off top of the car.

NHTSA ODI 11457210

The axle broke while I was driving. I was on CA HWY 101 NB, it was a day after the rain so I was careful not to speed. As I was heading towards a decline the car made a loud pop sound that came from the rear left side. I looked back because my initial thought was the tire popped but as I looked at my rear view mirror the car veered rapidly to the left headed straight to the median. Safety at risk: I tried to break but it seemed like the breaks were not responding well. I turned the wheel to not hit the median and the car turned completely, facing traffic and sliding to the right side of the freeway where it stopped on its side. The car was checked and we have a letter from Toyota saying the part broke due to speeds over 80 mph. But I was not driving over 80, and and axle is probably not supposed to break at that speed. There were no warning lights, or symptoms. My vehicle seemed completely healthy.

NHTSA ODI 11451016

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle would not immediately start-up, or would take multiple attempts before starting. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.

NHTSA ODI 11446929

The shifter makes a irregularly rough shift out of park . It is available for inspection if possible. The safety of me or passengers has not been compromised. The problem has not been confirmed from any dealer or manufacturer. The shifter component has not been inspected or checked to confirm the issue or potential issue. There was no warning light to indicate a issue.

NHTSA ODI 11446108

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument cluster failed, which caused the speedometer and RPM gauge to be inoperable. Additionally, the power steering assist failed, and the steering wheel was locked up. The failure occurred on four separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and Toyota of Brookfield (20655 W Capitol Dr, Brookfield, WI 53045) however, the dealers could not duplicate the failure. Toyota of Brookfield informed the contact that there was a Manufacturer's Campaign Number: 21TG01 (Electrical System) associated with the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at Toyota of Brookfield. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11445128

I purchased my 2017 Rav-4, brand new off the lot the end of 2017. On October 2018 my car battery was dead. NO prior indications of problems, No indicator lights. I had it towed to the dealership, they stated it was a bad cell in the battery and installed a new one. Then on Nov. 2020, once again had a dead battery, again no prior warning. I called and got a jump, took the car back to the dealership, they checked it and said I must have left a light on all night because it was completely drained. They put a 3.5 hour charge on it, check the charging system and said all was fine. Then again on 10-19-21 the battery was dead again. At that point I was pissed and just went to the parts store to get a new battery. Upon opening my hood to replace the battery I found so much corrosion on the top of the battery, cleaned it off the best I could, upon disconnecting the battery positive terminal I found the post had lifted out of the battery causing the corrosion all over the battery. I went to the dealership, they told me they were not responsible for corrosion, they did what they call a corrosion maintenance to clean the terminal, offered me a $55 credit because they said the battery was 3 years old and they would have to prorate it. Which they hadn't as of 10-23-2021. It was a 84 month battery. While there they also said my oil pan gasket was seeping and would need replaced and the front brakes will need replaced soon. I haven't even had the car 4 years, it has 15,300 miles approximately. Definitely some problems with these cars and Toyota needs to take responsibility . I bought a extended warranty, but seems none of this is covered as they say it is normal wear and tear. Never had to replace brakes on a car less then 4 yrs old. After reading all the complaints, I guess I am lucky my car didn't catch fire.

NHTSA ODI 11437941

The door does not lock/unlock when you press the button to unlock doors.The individual lock on inside needs to be manually pressed to lock and unlock. My Passenger side went about two years ago. And now the lever on my driver side is not working.

NHTSA ODI 11437137

WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE ALL FRONT HEADLAMPS FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY LEAVING ME IN THE DARK. DEALER NEXT DAY FOUND BOTH FRONT HEADLAMP BULBS HAD BOTH LOW AND HIGH BEAM FILAMENTS BURNED OUT! THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT BUT FOR MY FOG LIGHTS. HOW CAN ANYONE FEEL SAFE IN A VEHICLE IN WHICH ALL LIGHTS MIGHT FAIL WHILE DRIVING UNLIT CURVY ROADWAYS?

NHTSA ODI 11432373

Upon starting the car at night both headlights failed to go on. Only the fog lights would work. Headlights failed in both auto and manual mode.

NHTSA ODI 11432226

While driving around 70-75 mph, I took my foot off gas pedal to coast, the "EV" light came on and off for about "1/2 - 1" second several times. I experienced a strong shaking, vibration, and a feeling that the car may be broken out by itself. It was very noticeable and troubling. If I waited the second for the light to go off while coasting, then no problems. It is not easy to recreate it constantly, so when I tried to show the problem to some mechanics. It could not appear. I have found many same complaints online from many years ago. But it seems no solutions yet. Dealers usually says if they cannot see/experience it, they cannot consider it is an issue. So it seems no one takes any actions to try to solve this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11428393