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What 869 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Toyota RAV4 Phev

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 (869)Crash / fire / injury (30)Fuel system (267)Engine (203)Electrical system (100)Body & structure (89)Transmission & drivetrain (80)Airbags (45)Brakes (35)Speed control (30)Steering (30)Visibility & wipers (21)

2 of 869 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Aug 6, 2021SteeringCrash2 injuries

Steering suddenly locked up. Car steered to the right went off the road. Turned over several times and landed upside down. Causing serious injuries to myself and the driver. I was in hospital 3 weeks total with broken ribs , broken vertabrae and dislocated shoulder. Cuts on feet from the glass. Driver had cuts on head and dislocated shoulder. Prior to accident, I had reported (twice) to dealer that steering wheel felt loose. The second time, I had him write it down on report when I came in for oil change. So I have proof that I reported it. They checked steering and said they couldn't find anything wrong; but the problem was it didn't do it all the time. Sometimes it would take quite a few seconds before it would react if I would turn it a little left or right. Eventually, it did lock up and caused the horrible accident. The accident occured on November 26, 2020. I typed that date, but somehow this report changed it to Aug 6 and I can't seem to change it.

NHTSA ODI 11428020

Oct 22, 2019SteeringSeat beltsSeatsCrash2 injuries

RENTAL VEHICLE AFTER 10/15/MINUTES OF DRIVING -YOU HAD TO USE BOTH HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL VEHICLE WANTED TO DRIFT IN AND OUT OF LANE OF TRAVEL-VERY HARD TO STEER OFTEN REFERD TO AS WHITE KNUCKLE DRIVING INTERSTATE SPEEDS 70MPH-PASSENGER SEAT WAS NOT LOCKING -SEAT WAS TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH.WE WERE HIT FROM THE REAR.ALL TRAFFIC HAD STOPPED- IT WAS THEN DISCOVERED THAT PASSENGER AND DRIVERS SEAT BELTS WERE NOT WORKING THEY WERE NOT ENGAGING LOCKING DEVICE

NHTSA ODI 11270194

Working with the data? Download all 869 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 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 2019 Toyota RAV4 Phev verdict →