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What 869 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid

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)

6 of 869 complaints match · Electrical system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 26, 2026Electrical systemAirbagsBrakes1 injury

Was in a front driver side T-bone @ 35 miles and hour accident and no Airbags deployed

NHTSA ODI 11740007

Apr 27, 2026Electrical systemBrakesCrash1 injury

Braking while pulling into a parking space. Instead of slowing down the car accelerated and went over the curb. Maintained pressure on the break but it did not slow the car. Instead the car kept accelerating down an embankment, across an empty street and towards a telephone pole. Turning the steering wheel to the left to avoid the telephone pole the car further descended into a ditch. The car had to be towed and is now deemed to be totaled. The brake- pads had been inspected during a routine maintenance check the day before this accident occurred and they were good. No other vehicle was involved. My personal injury was an abrasion and bruise where my seat belt did it's job. My muscles are sore. The side airbags did deploy after the car stopped. The floor mats were locked in place.

NHTSA ODI 11734121

Dec 28, 2025Electrical systemFuel systemFire

Toyota RAV4 LE gas pump burst and caught fire leading to total fire damage along with major water damage from the firefighters putting out the fire. The vehicle was idle for hours at the time of explosion of the fuel pump. This was a major safety hazard/risk especially being that myself and two others were minutes away from going out to the vehicle before it all happened as I was getting ready to take a friend home for the night. A claim representative will look into this matter in coming days.

NHTSA ODI 11707386

Dec 28, 2024Electrical systemBody & structureFire

The vehicle suddenly started to smoke and burn by itself when driving on the super crowded highway. I immediately stopped the vehicle and found that the burning site was the bottom of the front-left head of the vehicle (please see the images attached). The mechanician I visited after judged that the fire may due to failed electrical parts or system. He suggested to visit a Toyota dealer for recall. However, the Toyota dealer (Crown Toyota, 1201 Kettering Dr, Ontario, CA91761) declined my request with the reason that my vehicle has passed warranty time. The vehicle was just inspected in the Toyota dealer a few days ago. The dealer's inspection report shows that the vehicle does not have any problems besides suggesting to replace tires and front brakes.

NHTSA ODI 11632904

Dec 13, 2023Electrical systemSpeed controlCrash1 injury

The vehicle is a 2019 Hertz rental RAV4 Hertz. On October 12, 2023, when I moved the gearstick to reverse the vehicle accelerated uncontrollable at extremely high speed and crashed into a wall. Braking did not stop the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11559958

Dec 21, 2021Electrical systemBody & structureDriver assistanceCrash

Around 2:30 pm on Thursday, December 2, 2021, my wife and I were on our way to the gym for a workout. I was pulling my auto out of my garage. It was in reverse when it stopped half way and did not finish backing out. I put it in drive and then in reverse and I was able to back out. Once out of my driveway, I backed out into the street in reverse. From reverse, I put my car in Drive to start driving on the street. At this point, the car spun out of control and I could not control its movements. The car turned around on the street and drove into my yard. It ran through the yard, spun around through some hedges, onto my driveway and continued back into the yard. At this time it hit a tree in the yard, went back on the road, turned into my driveway before coming to a stop. We got out and inspected the damage. The entire front bumper and the assembly was hanging from the body of the car. The damage was extensive. Thankfully, no one was on the road and the only damage was to my car and my yard. shrubs and tree. This car is a Limited Edition with cameras and braking functions that stop the car if an object comes in its way. The car kept accelerating and did not brake to avoid collision. Note: We bought this 2019 RAV4 in March 2019. It was brand new, full loaded with many safety features. In October of 2019, we heard sounds coming from the front of the car. We took it to Toyota dealership to have it diagnosed. They determined that the Electromagnetic Clutch Assembly needed to be replaced. The car had 7100 miles on the Odometer.

NHTSA ODI 11444623

Working with the data? Download all 869 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 21, 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 Plug-in Hybrid verdict →