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What 301 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hv

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 (301)Crash / fire / injury (57)Electrical system (105)Brakes (36)Engine (31)Lights (31)Airbags (19)Body & structure (18)Transmission & drivetrain (16)Fuel system (13)Speed control (12)Steering (12)

2 of 301 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 20, 2022SteeringEngineCrash1 injury

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

Aug 5, 2017SteeringSpeed controlBrakesCrash

AS I WAS APPROACHING THE MAIL BOX AREA IN MY APARTMENT COMPLEX AT APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE TO TURN INTO THE PARKING AREA IN FRONT OF THE FOUR METAL MAILBOXES AND PUT THE VEHICLE IN "PARK" WHEN THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY LURCHED FORWARD AND JUMPED THE SIX-INCH, BRICK-PAVER CURB. I CRASHED INTO THE MAILBOX STRUCTURE, COMPLETELY UPLIFTING THE BASE THAT WAS BOLTED INTO THE CONCRETE AND HIT A WOOD TRASH CONTAINER HOLDER. I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL HARDER BUT MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN OR STOP AND I ALSO COULD NOT CONTROL THE STEERING. I CONTINUED UP A HILL (AT 45-50 MPH) CONSISTING OF TALL GRASS, WILDFLOWERS, ROCKS, ETC., ACROSS A WALKING PATH OF WOODCHIPS AND MULCH, THEN DOWN THE HILL (STILL WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE) GRAZING THE BRANCHES AND LEAVES OF A SMALL TREE BEFORE COMING OFF THE SIX-INCH CURB AND BACK ONTO THE STREET, WHERE I HIT A LIGHT POST. I MANAGED TO LIFT THE PARKING BRAKE, SLAM ON THE BRAKE AGAIN AND THE VEHICLE ROLLED TO A STOP. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 11013006

Working with the data? Download all 301 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 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 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hv verdict →