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

The car had to be resealed and had water damage. The car smelled like mildew when I purchased it. Water was getting in the car and they resealed it but it does not rectify that the car had water damage due to the leak in the seals

NHTSA ODI 11737611

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a swishing sound coming from the front passenger’s side door. There was water inside the door's body cavity. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11728913

This complaint is being filed as a follow-up to a previously submitted NHTSA complaint regarding door lock failures on my 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Since the original complaint, a second door has now failed. In addition to the front passenger door, the rear passenger-side door will no longer lock or unlock electronically using the key fob or interior power lock button and must be locked manually. When attempting to lock the vehicle, the vehicle emits a warning beep indicating a door is unsecured, even though some doors appear locked. Upon inspection, the rear passenger door was found unlocked. This issue appears to be progressive, affecting multiple doors. Doors may appear locked when they are not, creating a security concern.

NHTSA ODI 11717435

I am reporting a safety defect involving the front passenger door lock actuator on my 2021 Toyota RAV4 XLE Hybrid. The front passenger door will not lock or unlock using the key fob or the interior power door lock button. The door must now be locked manually. This defeats the vehicle’s automatic locking system and creates a safety and security concern. This condition prevents all doors from being secured properly when driving or when parked. A passenger may believe the door is locked when it is not, increasing the risk of unauthorized entry, theft, or passenger safety issues. The failure occurred during normal use and without warning. The vehicle has been properly maintained. I have learned that multiple Toyota RAV4 owners have reported similar door lock actuator failures, indicating a potential widespread defect. This issue occurred shortly after the factory warranty expired. Due to the safety implications, I believe this issue warrants investigation and possible recall or manufacturer repair program. “This failure occurred without warning and with no dashboard alerts.”

NHTSA ODI 11716368

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while attempting to roll up the front driver's side window, the contact noticed water on the window. The contact then inspected the rear driver's side and passenger's side windows and noticed that water was clogging the doors. No warning light was illuminated. Neither the dealer nor an independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that it was a known issue but there was no related recall. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.

NHTSA ODI 11701198

The driver door on my 2021 Toyota RAV4 has an automatic unlock feature that unlocks the door when you approach the car with the key in your pocket. This feature has malfunctioned to the point that I cannot open the door at all, even with the key fob. I have to either manually remove the physical key from the fob and open the door that way, or else enter the vehicle from a different door and unlock manually from inside. This causes a significant delay in my ability to enter the vehicle and could pose a safety risk if I or my wife (who usually drives it) needed to exit a dangerous situation quickly. I’m told this malfunction is the result of a faulty door actuator, and repairs would cost over $300. I’m also told it’s a common bug among RAV4’s from 2018 to 2024. It seems there’s no recall because Toyota is under the impression that it isn’t common enough. Well I’m reporting to let someone know that it is at least one vehicle more common than you previously believed. Also, it’s 2025. I don’t think I should have to pay over $300 for doors that work.

NHTSA ODI 11698329

The component that failed/malfunctioned is the rear hatch. The hinges seem to have misaligned and result in the rear hatch not closing properly. Safety is put at risk because the vehicle notifies the driver through a beep system that the rear door is not fully closed properly and does not shut off until forcefully closed manually. The problem has been produced both by the dealership at an AutoNation and an independent autobody repair shop. The vehicle/component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance, representatives, or others besides the ones mentioned in the previous sentence. There were no apparent symptoms or problems prior to the failure. The misalignment appeared approximately two years after the original purchased from the dealership and is an ongoing issue.

NHTSA ODI 11682231

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear passenger's side door made an abnormal sloshing sound. Upon inspection, the contact discovered water inside the door. The contact unplugged the rubber seal under the rear passenger door to release the water. The contact was concerned about corrosion of the door and an electrical system failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

NHTSA ODI 11659054

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle after a rainstorm, there was an abnormal water swishing sound inside the vehicle. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact discovered water leakage coming from the bottom of both the rear driver’s and passenger’s side doors. The contact stated that the windows and doors were closed during the rainstorm. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

NHTSA ODI 11607281

While driving on the freeway with outside temperatures of about 89/90F, at about 67-68 mph, our passenger window randomly exploded and shattered. There was no prior damage to the window or any indication that a rock, projectile or other debris had hit the window. Prior to this incident, we had observed that the passenger window would rattle inside the door pocket/window frame when the car was in motion. When the window shattered, it did so instantly without any warning, as if it had exploded, startling us. As we continued driving, the outside air started pulling apart the shattered window, causing the broken window glass to fall apart into thousands of little pieces that ended up all over the passenger, driver, and back seats, which were also occupied with children [XXX] and [XXX] old). This was a very scary and traumatic experience for us, as things could have taken a turn for the worse and we could have been seriously injured. Luckily, we had nothing more serious than minor cuts in the aftermath. However, our family and especially our children were very affected by this incident and our car suffered damage to the outside body and some more minor damage on the inside from the glass flying off from the shattered window. We believe the rattling of the window caused it to eventually explode and shatter. We believe the rattling is due to some kind of manufacturing error: either improper installation or possibly low quality glass material or incorrect size to match the door frame or a missing part that should hold the window securely. We would like our car inspected for any further damage not visible to the eye (such as glass inside the door pocket and the safety of the door window retainer of the passenger door as well as a check of the integrity of the rest of the car’s windows to check that they are property installed and secured in place to prevent rattling. The driver side window in the car continues to rattle and we fear that this incident may occur again. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11599844

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the liftgate was making an abnormal rubbing sound while being closed manually or automatically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that fluid was leaking from the left liftgate bar which had caused the failure. The mechanic reached out to the parts department and was provided an estimate for the replacement parts. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

NHTSA ODI 11591250

- Hinges could tear off and cause door to collapse on someone standing underneath - Hinges could tear off while vehicle is in motion and into traffic - Hinges could tear off while vehicle is motion and objects in the rear could go into traffic - The struts/actuators could fail while the gate is up and it could collapse on someone standing underneath

NHTSA ODI 11574907

Driving home at [XXX] on [XXX] from Winters CA to Davis CA with a temperature of 55 degrees F and some rain in the area. The sunroof exploded. A large bang happened. Pulled over nothing hit the sunroof, and the glass was protruding outward (not inward which would have happened if the glass was hit from an object from above). The sunroof was part of the new car when we purchased it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11570130

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

NHTSA ODI 11515031

The glass of the sunroof exploded and shattered when I was driving on the highway from Chicago to South Bend at normal speed on January 13, 2023, around 4 pm. I heard a loud explosion sound and found the sunroof glass shattered and falling. There was no vehicle around me, no impact with any objects, and the vehicle was not passing under any structures at the time of explosion. I was not injured by the incident but was really scared and had to pullover to the side. After recovering from shock, I managed to drive home with the shattered sunroof and could feel glass pieces falling on my right shoulder when I was driving. This was the first time for the issue to appear and there was no sign or symptom prior to the problem. I purchased this brand new vehicle one year ago. I found other similar complaints online on spontaneous sunroof explosion of Toyota RAV4 and they looked similar to what I experienced. I contacted my dealer and they told me to go to a Body Shop on Monday (closed on weekends) for an inspection.

NHTSA ODI 11501889

I bought a 2021 Toyota RAV4 XLE Midnight Black Metallic, last year on July 2021 from Hillside Toyota in Jamaica, NYC. From the very beginning since the delivery, I was not at all happy with the build quality of the car as Toyotas used to be before. There were issues with paint finishing, noise from engine, and issue with pick up. I reported this to Toyota as well as my dealer, Hillside Toyota and no one showed any interest on addressing these issues. Yesterday, I was cleaning my car and I saw that my car paint is peeling from 3-4 areas, including the driver side door and from the left side of the hood. I was really surprised to see that happening in a brand-new car. I felt like is this really happening, is it a joke? I spent almost $40k on a car by taking out loans just to face this? I really care about my car, and I follow all the maintenance guidelines as mentioned by Toyota, but still how is this possible? I am pretty sure this is a manufacturing defect and not something that could happen from a regular wear and tear. This is the first time I am facing something from a Toyota, because I always trusted this company due to its build quality and low maintenance. I also have a 2015 Toyota Highlander LE Plus, and I have never faced any issues like my RAV4. I have been a long time user of Toyota since I also owned a 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid and both of them were reliable too and never gave me any issues. I am really concerned with my RAV4 right now because in the long run, I am not sure what else I have to face with this car. This is to kindly request you to please evaluate this matter further and please help me by fixing the paint peeling issue of the car. I have spent my hard-earned money to invest in this car and it means a lot to me. I am attaching pictures of the paint peeling as supporting evidence of my claim. Thank you for your time.

NHTSA ODI 11482197

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 bought a new car in 2021. It is 21 Toyota RAV4 . The mileage is about 3900 . Now, Its windshield is cracked . one day I parked my at outdoor parking lot. The second day I found the windshield had a long crack. After few days I drove my car to dealership, then they said that was not a quality issues and the basic warranty not covering the windshield. I am so upset now.

NHTSA ODI 11464976

While driving on the highway the sunroof spontaneously exploded outwards sending glass shards behind the vehicle and also down into the cabin. There was no impact with any objects and the vehicle was not passing under any structures. It was moderate temperature day ~60F so the roof was not especially hot or cold. There is dashcam footage available showing nothing abnormal happened at the time of glass failure.

NHTSA ODI 11459421

Vehicle's hood has adhesive separation. The defect is located at the bottom of the hood closest to the windshield. Air infiltration is causing the inside of the hood to flex at speeds higher than 40mph. This flexing will cause adhesive in other parts of the hood to separate and fail as well, which will in turn will increase the air infiltration and drag on the hood itself which will more than likely affect the hood latching system. This is a major safety concern that the company tells me is a "characteristic" of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11448976

THERE IS A RATTLING SOUND COMING FROM THE DRIVER'S DOOR WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY AND THE DOOR IS SWUNG CLOSED. THE REARVIEW MIRROR OF THE DOOR HAS SIGNIFICANT SHAKING WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION, SO THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD. THE SPEAKER IN THE DRIVER'S DOOR MAKES A STATIC OR CRACKLING SOUND WHEN MUSIC IS OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11403428