What 375 owners told NHTSA about the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid

On Nov 05, at approximately 11:10pm, I was driving my RAV4 on Alafaya Trail, Orange County, Orlando. While approaching the traffic signal which had turned red, despite multiple attempts to engage the brakes, the vehicle continued moving, ultimately leading to the collision with the traffic turning left at the signal (coming from her right). The impact of the collision resulted in significant damage to the RAV4, and unfortunately, the airbags did not deploy as they should have. As a result, I hit my face on the steering wheel, and then hit the head on the left window when a second vehicle hit my RAV4 on the passenger side. The complete failure of airbag deployment has raised serious safety concerns for me. As of 28th November, I have been informed by our insurance company that the vehicle cannot be repaired and has been totaled. Our insurance company GEICO has been requested to hold on to the vehicle for necessary investigations.

NHTSA ODI 11557504

I was traveling on a nearby road at approximately 40mph when another vehicle ran a stop sign causing me to t-bone his vehicle and spin around. There was no time for evasive measures so the vehicles collided at full speed. I hit my head on the left side as a result of the collision. The point of impact on my car was the entire front end. Neither my front nor side airbags deployed during the collision. They should have.

NHTSA ODI 11551235

While waiting at a red light with my car stationary, the lane I occupied divided into two. I gently adjusted my steering wheel to the left, and in an unexpected turn of events, a dashboard indicator illuminated before my steering wheel rapidly veered to the right. This abrupt motion resulted in a collision with another vehicle, causing damage to both cars. Despite my attempts to avert the situation, my right thumb became trapped in the wheel, leading to a fracture. Shortly after the accident, the dashboard and multimedia system displayed multiple malfunctions: a VSC, TRAC, or Hill Start Assist Control system malfunction, a rear cross traffic alert malfunction, LTA malfunction, and a PKSB malfunction, all prompting a visit to the dealer. Upon contacting Toyota, they offered no assistance, asserting that the incident occurred at an approximate speed of 22 miles per hour due to data from the EDR. However, this contradicted the facts as my vehicle was stationary at a red light. The explanations provided by Toyota's representative, Alexis Turner, appeared inconsistent with the circumstances.

NHTSA ODI 11538176

I was in a bad car accident last Wednesday July 26, 2023 It was very scary and Bizarre; My car accelerated (started racing)and when I stepped on brake, it accelerated more. I saw a message flash up on my GPS screen but obviously couldn't read it as I was trying to stop my car. The Auto brakes didn’t work, I crashed into a tree; air bags didn’t deploy and I got this message ("CHECK ENGINE! A MALFUNCTION IN THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL OF THE ENGINE,THROTTLE, OR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN DETECTED.CONTACT YOUR TOYOTA DEALER IN ORDER TO HAVE YOUR VEHICLE INSPECTED." (See attached). Luckily I was in an almost empty parking lot when this happened, if not i could have been killed or killed someone else. All the safety back ups failed. I took a picture of the message-will attach it to this report. I was taken to Huntington Hospital ER and had a cat scan to make Sure my sternum and ribs aren’t broken-showed Soft tissue abdominal swelling and bruised sternum and ribs from my seat belt. Pain to chest, ribs an right side. I believe my car is totaled Just had it inspected and serviced a few weeks ago at the Toyota dealership where I purchased it and it only has 10,000 miles on it! I am Fighting with insurance company to make sure the car's computer is interrogated before they do anything else.-The insurance company was pressuring me to release the car to Copart without this being done and I refused. My car was towed to and remains at Combined Auto Collision 4035 Jericho Tpk, East Northport, NY. This incident could have resulted in a catastrophic outcome and loss of life. Aa investigation needs to be taken to insure this does not happen to anyone else. Thank you for your kind assistance The consumer stated that the dealer identified the problem being that the water drainage pillars short out the electrical system.

NHTSA ODI 11535677

The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Rav 4. The contact stated that while sitting in traffic, the contact's vehicle was rear-ended at 45 MPH, and due to the impact, the contact rear-ended the vehicle in front. The "malfunction" warning message was displayed after the crash. The driver's side air bag did not deploy. The vehicle was declared a total loss by the insurance company. The contact stated that she suffered a concussion and memory loss due to the accident that required medical attention. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance and did not confirm the status of the black box inspection. The failure mileage was approximately 10,100.

NHTSA ODI 11534181

On May 20th, 2023 @ approximately 9:50 P.M. we struck a deer head on. Impact was severe enough that the passenger airbag should have deployed, but failed to deploy. I looked at the wiring guide for this vehicle after the incident, and I believe that in photo #4, it shows the path of the airbag wire and the airbag wire was cut at the time of impact.

NHTSA ODI 11523383

We were on a drive back from Nashville like normal. My mom had picked me up from work at around 07:15. The car started making strange sounds as we were driving down the highway. It started yelling at us to pull over to a safe spot and slowing down. All of the lights had come on flashing at this time. It didn’t even make it to the shoulder; We made a stop on the triangle area for when cars come in from the exit. As soon as we stopped, smoke started engulfing us and 2 guys who saw this happening parked on the shoulder and came running out of their van with fire extinguishers and started telling us to get out. When we went around the car to check what was going on, we noticed the fire that had started from the bottom of it. They fired the extinguishers a couple of times to the bottom of it where we could see the fire but it didn’t help much so we had to retreat to a safer spot. We called 911 to ask them to send assistance. Not long after, the front half of the car was engulfed in flames. 10-20 minutes later, the fire department came to extinguish the flames. Once they got the fire under control, they towed the car to the shoulder of the road where we proceeded to salvage anything that was salvagable from the car. Where I got my hands cut up from broken shards that were littered all over the interior. We waited for awhile for another form of transportation to be able to make it home and it took a little bit due to the traffic that this incident had caused. We got the car towed back to Toyota for evaluation of the incident. It was supposed to be done within 2 months, but we still hadn’t heard anything about it going into 3. We called them to inquire about the car and the situation, and they said that they had closed the case and had to reopen it for further investigations. They had closed the case and not told us anything about it. We received an email on the 23rd of January that stated the vehicle was too far damaged for them to be able to evaluate anything.

NHTSA ODI 11523298

While accelerating ~6ft from a complete stop, a minor collision occurred affecting the front right headlight. The air-bags did not activate and the engine compartment was immediately on fire. Within ~1minute, the fire had spread to and completely engulfed the passenger compartment. The contents were immediately destroyed. The speed with which the fire spread through the vehicle was a significant risk to my life and the motorists around me. There were no warning lights on the dashboard prior to the incident, and the car had never before experienced an accident. Witnesses and firefighters estimated that any fire barrier between the engine and passenger compartments had failed, and that a fire of that severity from such a minor accident indicated some fault with the vehicle. The vehicle was an immediate total loss as inspected by our insurer.

NHTSA ODI 11515666

Somebody just hit my car and left. My car was parked in my community.

NHTSA ODI 11515031

While driving to friends house, the collision warning popped on screen 1 or 2x but no vehicle was close to front of the car. When I turned into driveway and pulled onto yard to park the collision warning went off and red screen flased and I tried to brake but brakes would not depress. The car suddenly lurched forward quickly and I tried to steer away but it slammed into a line of cars with great force. I crashed into the parked car in front of me with such force it pushed a line of 4 cars. I had mild issues after crash: Whiplash, neck pain, head pain, and soreness. The RAV-4 had passed inspection with the dealer with no issues, The car had less than 15K miles driven. The collision warning lights seemed to start to have issues the day of the crash; approximately 15 min before the crash. Post-note for 3/27/2023 - we picked up from the collision repair and the car and the collision control was still flashing in error - and will be taken back to Toyota dealer on 3/28/2023 to have them read the computer. Other similar incidents have been reported for 2021 RAV-4 - and a similar recall went out for Toyota Prius we found after the crash.

NHTSA ODI 11514109

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NHTSA ODI 11504764

No safety devices worked during accident that cause by another vehicle driver who ran red light. Neither air bags deployed, nor safety belt worked properly during an accident. Due to these mal functions of safety devices, my wife on the passenger seat hit the dashboard badly. She was wearing the seat belt properly which was released later by the ER personal at the accident location to transfer to an ambulance.

NHTSA ODI 11501549

While pulling into what I thought was a parking spot, the left front wheel hit an 8" drop off. Almost immediately after the wheel was back up and level with the other wheels. The vehicle then began surging forward. I hit the brakes but they did not go down. Tried again and the same result. I then hit a hard plastic container and a brick wall. This stopped the vehicle and I was able to put it in park and turn off the engine. Truthfully, once the wheel fell went into the drop off, I had no control of the car. The brick wall has a crack in it and the container is ruined. Toyota Product Liability was called but they have not contacted me. Thankfully the wall did not collapse and no one else was injured. I have pain in left arm and shoulder but hopefully only bruising. The issue has not been confirmed by anyone and I do not know if there were any warnings because I was focused on trying to get the car stopped. There might have been some alarms, I am not sure.

NHTSA ODI 11500105

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while approaching a traffic light, she depressed the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle and rear-ended another vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. No air bags deployed. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. The contact stated a police officer was at the site but no police report was filed. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 33,047.

NHTSA ODI 11498272

I was parked at a store, engine off. Was in there 3 minutes and another customer ran inside and said a car was on fire, the employee asked if it was mine. I ran outside and it was indeed mine. The rear tail light was all melted and on fire, billowing smoke was coming out the sides of the hatch so I opened it quickly to get the fire out. The store employee put the fire out with his fire extinguisher. No prior warning lights were present when driving it before this occurred. The car is at Toyota dealer presently while they determine the cause.

NHTSA ODI 11491667

The contact stated that the owner of a 2021 Toyota Rav4 was driving approximately 35 mph when the odor of burning rubber was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. After stopping and exiting the vehicle flames were present coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. The vehicle was destroyed during the incident. A fire report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified. The contact indicated that the vehicle had recently been repaired after a front-end crash had occurred. The contact also references an NHTSA open investigation(PE21005) for the same failure that had occurred. The failure mileage was 30,000

NHTSA ODI 11478860

In the driver's side, rear therr was smoke coming and before that occurred the lights flickered several times. There may have been steering issues before the rear fire and blinking likes as smoke started to show. The safety is due to fire risk. There is some media information on the same vehicle yet 2017 vehicle year that similar electrical issue occurred. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone as it just occurred a few days ago. There were no warning lights or prior failures.

NHTSA ODI 11473154

The contact owned a 2021 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while driving 65 mph and attempting to merge into the next lane, he was depressing on the brake pedal but it began to accelerate independently, and lost control of the vehicle. The contact stated he crashed into a concrete shoulder off the road, bounced off the concert shoulder, and crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did deploy. The contact stated the brake malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact sustained injuries on his left shoulder left neck and right hip area. The contact sought medical attention for his injuries. The contact stated that 6 additional people from the other vehicle also sustained injuries but was unaware if they sought any medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The vehicle was towed to his residence and then to a collision center. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,322. The consumer stated his dispute is what the Event Data Recorder (EDR) indicated on May 15, 2022 prior to impact of the collision, the EDR was incorrect. He was trying to stop and slow the vehicle down, but there was in increase in acceleration.

NHTSA ODI 11470874

I was involved with an accident in May 21, 2022. The front body parts were almost destroyed (please refers to the attached photo), but the air bag still did not deployed, which is NOT a safe matter.

NHTSA ODI 11466878

I was reversing. I exited vehicle The Car was either not in park or fully In park. I got something from the back seat, turned around and the car with drivers door wide open was barreling towards me. I barely managed to get into the car. I do not think tjr car was reversing when I reached into the backseat. It appeared like it was a delayed reaction. The car door was damaged as it hit the side of the garage. I am so grateful nobody got hurt. Do not want this to happen to anyone else. (I run and miraculously made it inside the car. Most would not have.

NHTSA ODI 11466557

The 2021 Toyota RAV4 has extremely poor right forward visibility and obstruction by the hood and the A pillar. These cars are unsafe. The front hood does not slope down, so visibility is obstructed, and the A pillar and mirrors (rear view and front right side mirror) further obstruct views. I took a photograph of the right front view and 50% or more of the view when looking right is obstructed. These cars should be taken off the road.

NHTSA ODI 11462004

Lane keeping assistance over corrected and caused an accident that resulted in total loss of my vehicle. My tire crossed white line , I was trying to gradually adjust to keep from over correcting. The lane keeping assistance caused the steering to pull in the opposite direction and would not allow me to correct. The more I tried to get back in the lane the harder the lane assistance pulled in the oppposite direction. It ultimatley jerked the steeing wheel in the opposite direction a caused me to hit a tree head on.

NHTSA ODI 11452204

I had 2 sudden acceleration incidents. The first occurred 10/6/21.My car lurched forward & hit a pole. I was with my mom who saw me press the brake, which did not engage. My car has an auto-braking system which did not function as designed. I took it to Toyota.They determined there were no issues w/the vehicle. I insisted there was something wrong & warned this will happen again & could be much worse. I felt defeated but hoped it was an isolated glitch & hoped for the best. Fast forward 2 months to 12/13/21 I was in a drive-thru using the hold button, which is a feature that holds the brake in place, so my foot was not on any pedal. All of a sudden, my car began to accelerate & the brakes would not engage. An error message on the dash said “BRAKE MALFUNCTION”. I could not stop the car. I put in park, but it did not stop the car. The car jumped the curb & drove into oncoming traffic & hit two cars. They were traveling north, I was traveling west. It’s a miracle another car did not hit & kill me. The most frightening experience of my life. I had the car towed to Toyota as the front wheel blew out & could not be driven. Another inspection was done & once again Toyota came back with “they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle.” And added that the brakes were never engaged, which is an outright lie & utterly insane. I spoke to an attorney & what he told me was quite eye opening. He has been practicing product liability law for 30 years. He told me the letter received from Toyota was a standard letter that all car companies respond with. They never admit a problem unless forced to, usually by the govt, to do a recall after enough people file a complaint. I really believed Toyota would tell the truth. I never imagined they would lie & participate in a cover-up. They would rather fight you in court. As mentioned earlier, my car has an auto braking system, so why didn't it work? Clearly it malfunctioned. My hope is that this deceit by car manufacturers ends.

NHTSA ODI 11448547

The knee airbag deployed during a collision and caused devastating shin injuries. The muscle and skin was ripped off the driver's legs revealing bone.

NHTSA ODI 11435967

While using Cruse control. It did not slow the vehicle. I could not turn it off. The brakes would not work. I ran thru an intersection against the light. Bounced over the median. I turned off the ignition, still coasted about 1/2 mile. Finally I jammed the gear shift lever into Park. Toyota has the vehicle for inspection and reading of the black box. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE ANY WARNING SIGNS OF THE FAILURE. WARNING MESSAGES DID DISPLAY DURING THE FAILURE, WHICH WERE "CRUISE CONTROL INOPERATIVE", "BRAKE FAILURE", AND "LANE DEPARTURE".

NHTSA ODI 11428721