general problems of the 2012 Toyota RAV4

Over the last 4 years I have had 2 prior occurrence where I've lost power turning or stopping, causing the engine to stall. Both times the vehicle was taken to our mechanic and he replaced the connectors to the battery. On January 18th, 2024, while turning off of a rural highway onto the street we live on I again lost power and the engine stalled and smelled a faint electrical smell. I called my mechanic and he said he could get it in on January 22nd. We checked all connections to the battery, made sure the battery terminals were clean. The morning of January 22nd, while on my way to the mechanic the vehicle in front of me stopped quickly. I started to stop a little quicker than normal, causing the front of the vehicle to tip down. I immediately lost power and the engine died, causing me to rear end the vehicle in front of me. The collisions was at slow speed, but it also caused disproportionate damage to my vehicle. Over the weekend of January 20th, we became aware if a recall for 2013 to 2018 Rav4s regarding the tops of newer batteries being smaller and causing problems with the battery shifting causing loss of power and potential fires. We strongly believe this recall needs to be extended to the 2012s.

Check ev system - have your vehicle checked by a dealership immediately warning has come on several times in the past few days. Rav4 ev forum indicates this is a problem that can make the vehicle stop while driving - very dangerous. There was a recall issued for this problem in 2015, and your site indicates there are no outstanding recalls on this vehicle. Please help resolve this potentially severe problem. Thanks.

Inaudible turn signal prompt: older drivers who drive for miles with their turn signal on is the subject of many a cartoon and common source of highway frustration. It is also a safety issue when a vehicle does not perform the turn that it is apparently signaling to make. I find myself being one of those older drivers who leaves their turn signal on. I have moderate hearing loss and do wear hearing aids, but not all the time. Perhaps my Rav4's audible prompt is quieter than others, but with road noise and the radio on I often do not hear it. A simple solution to this problem would be the ability to control the volume of the audible turn signal prompt so it could be "cranked up" to be easily heard. If dashboard lights have a dimmer control, why don't turn signal prompts have a volume control? it seems like a simple solution and with today's touch control panels one that could be added for very little cost. Thanks for considering my recommendation. It is a common safety problem that has a simple and low-cost solution.

My Rav4 caught fire by its self not running in the battery compartment and burned completely to the metal.

My 4wheel drive light traction light and engine light cone on. I was afraid to drive it but I had it checked out and it's a sensor problem . This has been a problem since 2007.

2012 Rav4 - for no apparent reason my check engine light, trac off light and 4x4 light have been coming on for a few days, then off, then on, etc. We got a code of p0607, but the car is showing no symptoms associated with that code error. The vehicle is driving fine. I have checked the battery connection and the gas cap. Based on a large number of online complaints, I would ask that NHTSA seriously look into this issue and strongly consider a recall that will actually fix the problem for owners. There have been a number who have taken the vehicle in for repair, only to have the lights back on a few days later. Please hold Toyota accountable for this.

Four-wheel drive, traction stability, check engine light all went on and will not shut off. Driving in 4-wheel drive put strain on engine. Plus there are many complaints about this situation. $545 for service is cost for common to this car issue. . Read more...

I could not start my vehicle on 7/26/2018. I called road side assistance and got a jump start from a power device. I was driving towards Toyota service. Suddenly my vehicle stopped on the middle of the road. It was completely disabled: no power stirring, not even alarm signal working. If this happened on a highway, more likely, I would not be alive today. Same driver who would hit me from behind, because disabled vehical stoped in a moment. I am sure, nobody must drive Toyota Rav4 2012. If battery is not functioning, there must be indication on the dashboard before the vehicle get disabled, but there was nothing to tell me that vehicle is not drivable. For reference : a) battery. True star battery. Waranty 2 years. Died in 10 months. B) the incident filed in Toyota as #1808151393. No resolution. C) service. Fred haas Toyota. 22435 sh 249, houston, TX 77070. C) attached: Toyota owner's manual malfanctioned battery indicator.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 30 mph, the 4-wheel drive, traction control, and the check engine indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to capitol Toyota (783 auto group Ave, ne, salem, oregon 97301) where the technician turned off the check engine indicator and performed an oil change; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 62,655.

The check engine, trac off and 4wd lights will all come on together and stay on for a day or two and then go off again. This keeps happening.

2013 Toyota Rav4 w/ 40k miles had third actuator power door latch fail on a third door in 5 months. Looking at other recent complaints, of a similar nature, this may indeed be the result of a manufacturing defect. Please consider issuing a recall. Most recent failure is the door my 2 year old uses, I would hate to think of an emergency where I couldn't get her out of the car because it was locked. When the first door, driver, went out (Dec 2016), I had it fixed at my mechanic thinking it was a fluke. When the second door, passenger, went out Mar 2017, I contacted Toyota & was told to get the problem confirmed by the dealership, which I did. They offered me a goodwill pymt for the second door only, not the first, despite how recently the first door failed. In may 2017 the third door, back driver, is now failing & the Toyota customer service rep said they "are declining to offer me any assistance in fixing this actuator or any future actuator locks because they go out like lightbulbs every 4 years. " I cannot believe Toyota knowingly manufactures vehicles w/ a part that it 'expects' to fail every 4 years, leaving their customers with a $2500 bill that frequently. We escalated this from the initial "cust service" rep, alex s. , to his supervisor, ashley, and they both said they are choosing not to help us any further with this problem on door number 3 (or 1) or doors 4 and 5 when they inevitably go out as well. My husband also owns a 2013 Rav4, so we are being told to expect to pay $5000 every 4 years if we want our doors to lock. We have purchased Toyotas based on their reputation of quality and I am baffled Toyota is knowingly sticking their customers with expensive parts that fail with this frequency. It is also worth noting, my car isn't even 4 years old yet and was just over 3 years old when the I experienced the first failure Dec 2016.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. When the contact attempted to drive the vehicle, the check engine, trac off, and 4wd warning indicators remained illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 108,000.

Power door lock actuators in all doors have failed. The drivers door actuator failed first. The actuators in each remaining door including the tailgate door have subsequently failed as well. (the date used in this report to indicate when the problem happened is approximate and refers to the initial problem with the driver's door. ) two different Toyota service centers have determined the actuators need to be replaced. One dealer noted that they had seen this issue in many other Toyota vehicles. A quick internet search turns up several pages discussing this issue. A search of this site also revealed similar complaints with other model year Rav4's. Each Toyota service center estimated a cost of approximately $400 for each actuator plus labor costs to replace the part. It is important to note that while the front and rear drivers-side and passenger-side doors have manual latches inside the vehicle, the tailgate door does not. The lack of a manual latch and keyed lock in the tailgate door means that the tailgate door cannot be opened at all. This is very problematic for both convenience and safety, particularly in those Rav4's with the third row seat. In the event of an accident or vehicle fire, passengers in the third-row seat would be forced to either exit through one of the other doors or break a window to exit the vehicle. When I contacted Toyota regarding this issue, I was told initially to have my local Toyota service center evaluate the problem and call back to Toyota to discuss and see if Toyota would be able to help at all. When I called back to Toyota, I was put on hold for an inconvenient amount of time, then simply told that Toyota would not help, presumably because my vehicle's warranty has expired. I hope that Toyota will work with the NHTSA to take a proactive approach to rectify this problem for all affected Toyota vehicles and owners.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the air conditioning unit failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was discovered that the parts needed for the repair were not available. The contact was advised by the dealer that the vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15v577000 (visibility). The dealer stated that the parts were not yet available to any of the dealers. A recall notice was also received for NHTSA campaign number: 16v096000 (seat belts). The contact called the dealer and was advised that the parts for the recall were also not available and could not provide a time frame in which the parts would become available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the avs warning light remained illuminated. The failure recurred once. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v054000 (electronic stability control, service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 19,000.

This problem has to do with the Rav4 gear shifter sticking and/or deformed. The problem is addressed for years 2013-2015 in Toyota TSB 0145-14; however, the problem also exists in the 2012 model. The 2012 Rav4 can have a sticking or deformed gear shifter. This could be caused by coffee having been spilled into the area.

While foot was one the brake and vehicle was stopped the engine accelerated by itself. The car lurched forward I slapped the shifter into neutral and shut the vehicle off. This has happened two other times since. I took the vehicle to the Toyota dealer the last time this occurred 9/13/14 they put it on the computer and could not detect any faults. I googled this condition and found similar complaints online. Note each time this has occurred prior to the acceleration the anti skid light has come on as I was applying the brake.

At first 3 warning lights were on where I was driving at speed around 10mph: check, 4wd, trac off. Then suddenly I could not turn the steering wheel easily, and I realized I was loosing control of the vehicle. I made a decision to move out of the busy road and turn into a small street. This I did, but only was able to stop the car on the other side of the street. As there were no car driving on the street, I did not crash my car. After the car was stopped, I noticed that an additional warning was electric powering steering system warning light. The car was towed to Toyota dealership.

I drove vehicle in the morning, no indications of any steering problems. During my drive in the late afternoon, the power steering assist stopped working. I was stopped at a left turn lane and heard a faint "click" sound from below the steering wheel area at around knee level. This sound was not that of a "turn signal switch" click, it was just a "click". The engine stayed running, the eps warning light came on, the steering wheel was very hard to turn (I have carpel tunnel in my right hand), with assistance from my passenger we were able to complete the turn. We drove vehicle home without power steering and parked it. My brother-in-law came that evening to inspect for failure. Vehicle started up and power steering worked without problems. Since no eps warning light came on, he volunteered to take vehicle home to test drive until problem recurred. The dealer told him to drive the vehicle to them to have problem evaluated. He has put 500 miles on the odometer so far and problem has not recurred. He said the dealer will just give me the run around if no "hard code" is set and condition of no" power assist" is present. I am afraid of driving this vehicle now because of this problem.

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Rav4. While driving 40 mph and attempting to clean the windshield, the fluid failed to exit the windshield washer reservoir. Also, while attempting to brake in the snow at 5 mph, the abs failed to engage and the contact had to repeatedly depress the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. Additionally, the tire pressure indicator remained illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000.

Abrupt speed changes in normal speed and cruise control, radio and clock flashing occasionally, low tire pressure constantly, damage in air conditioning.