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What 70 owners told NHTSA about the 2025 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 (70)Crash / fire / injury (8)Electrical system (13)Engine (9)Visibility & wipers (8)Body & structure (6)Brakes (6)Speed control (6)Transmission & drivetrain (6)Driver assistance (5)Tires (5)Backup camera & sensors (4)

1 of 70 complaints match · Backup camera & sensors · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jan 15, 2026EngineBackup camera & sensorsCrash

On [XXX], at approximately [XXX], in Greenwich CT, while I was very slowly driving into a parking space, the engine suddenly and unexpectedly surged,. The vehicle overcame the brakes and raced forward and collided with a stone wall, about 3 ft away. This was a new (since May 2025) vehicle with only approx 3,500 miles on it. I had not had any previous problems with it and there were no warning lights on the instrument panel. At the time, I was proceeding at a very low rate of speed, 1 - 3 mph. I drive only with my right foot which was on the brake, not on the gas. The vehicle accelerated with NO action on my part and collided with a stone wall approx 3 ft away and bounced back several feet. Fortunately I was close to the wall so the vehicle did not have a long distance to accelerate and I was wearing my seat belt which probably protected me from injury. No other vehicle was involved. I was the sole occupant of the vehicle. I was wearing my seat-belt, the OEM rubber mats were securely in place. The airbags did not deploy and I was not injured. I had the car towed to the Toyota dealership by AAA because I was afraid it might accelerate into traffic at a red light or stop sign if I drove it before the problem was repaired. I have reported this incident to Toyota Motor Corporation USA, through their Brand Engagement Center (as instructed by the dealership) and they are sending out an engineer to the dealership to inspect the vehicle. I do not know which part malfunctioned or failed. The vehicle is at a Toyota dealership and presumably could be inspected (unless they replace some parts). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11711231

Working with the data? Download all 70 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 2025 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid verdict →