general problems of the 2017 Toyota RAV4 - part 1

Yesterday March 25th 2026 I went to work and parked my 2017 Toyota Rav4 and about 30minutes later it was on fire in the parking lot. The fire happened around the battery area.

My 2017 Toyota Rav4 suddenly caught fire while it was parked in front of my home. The vehicle was turned off and had been parked for several minutes. Without any warning, flames started in the battery area and rapidly spread, resulting in a total loss of the vehicle. The wylie, texas fire department responded and extinguished the fire. Component or system involved: exact cause unknown. Fire appears to have originated from the engine compartment. The remains of the vehicle are available for inspection upon request by NHTSA, Toyota, or investigators. Safety risk: this was a severe and unexpected fire with no warning and posed a serious risk to my family, neighbors, and surrounding property. The fire could have spread to my home and other vehicles nearby. It created a dangerous situation for anyone in the area. Reproduction / confirmation: the problem cannot be reproduced because the vehicle is a total loss. No prior mechanical issues or symptoms suggested this could happen. Inspection status: the vehicle has been inspected by the wylie fire department, and my insurance company has opened a case and is investigating. Toyota USA has also opened a case (# [insert case number]) and is expected to review the incident. No final cause has been determined yet. Warning lamps or symptoms: there were no warning lights, messages, unusual smells, smoke, or performance issues before the fire. The vehicle showed no signs of trouble prior to the incident. Additional details: I later verified that my VIN is included in an open recall related to potential fire risk. I believe this issue may be connected, but the cause is still unknown pending investigation.

The rear lift hatch on my 2017 Toyota Rav4 is not working properly. It can be raised without a problem most of the time but not lowered without a lot of effort and time. It might go down several inches and stop before going back up again causing me to have to start the process all over again. It definitely could present a danger if someone tried to force it up or down or if they got a body part under it while it was doing its weird motions. Plus it would not be safe to drive it unless it lowered all the way and latched. I did take it in to my Toyota mechanic who acknowledged the problem and said the only remedy was to replace parts at a cost of somewhere between $1200 and $1300. Since the issue with my rear lift hatch started a year ago, I have read numerous complaints from other persons who are having the same issue. My mechanic confirms that he has had a number of vehicles brought to him with the same or similar issue. I strongly feel that there should be a recall. I have been a loyal Toyota owner for many years and over the years have steered numerous persons toward purchasing a Toyota. My Rav4 is available for inspection if that is necessary.

My lift gate hinges on my trunk have both bent, making my trunk unable to open. This is a known issue that they have a lawsuit against them for. This is available for inspection upon request. This vehicle has been inspected and diagnosed at a certified Toyota dealership. No warning signs.

While driving on or around 6/5/25, an active recall on my vehicle caused damage to my battery connections causing my vehicle to completely shut off while driving on an highway exit ramp. I almost lost complete control of the vehicle. Thankfully, the vehicle turned back on and I was able to get the vehicle to safety. I had to get the car towed and repaired. The repair was directly related to the damage from an active recall issue being open without remedy for over 3 years on my vehicle. When I asked Toyota for reimbursement of under $200 they refused. This is a safety issue beyond the recall and I am concerned this is going to happen to someone else and there are going to be deaths. Toyota needs to stand by their recall too and may the financial aspect correct with me. Other members of the public need to be aware of the issues beyond their recall that can affect their cars and that Toyota is requiring them to be responsible for the damage that was caused while waiting on a remedy to the recall.

I have a 2017 Rav4 with less than 60k miles and the factory back up camera stopped working.

Toyota has not provided an update to its customers on when remedy will be fixed. It still reports that remedy will be available mid 2024. Whenever I call Toyota they have no answers. I have made numerous complaints with no real update. This is severely affecting my business as my car cannot be rented out due to an active recall.

Toyota Rav4 sunroof shattered for no reason. Car was sitting all day under my carport. I opened driver door. Needed to go back in the house. I closed the driver door. Sunroof shattered. If I had been in the car, or driving, it could have caused very serious cuts, or a deadly accident. No warning signs at all. Car is presently at clearwater Toyota being fixed. Insurance (state farm) has been contacted and is taking care of my claim.

I purchased this vehicle used in July of 2023. There had been a persistant clunking noise in the rear when the road is bumpy along with some stabilty or swaying feeling. I had it inspected by independant mechanical shops. I was advised to replace the shock absorbers and the stabilizer links which I did. The rt rear shock abosborber was bad. March of 2024 I took a road trip to florida. First long trip since replacing the parts. On the drive down I was by myself and felt as though the rear of the vehicle was swaying back and forth a lot worse than before changing the parts listed above. I thought maybe it was the condition of the roads. On the way home my son was following me in his vehcle. He had told me that when the "swaying" feeling is happening the rear of the vehicle is moving separate to the front. The clunking sound is still there and that stability issue seems to have worsen since changing the suspension parts previously listed. There was a point in driving home in the rain where I definitely felt the abitlity to control the vehicle was difficult and dangerous. I will be taking the vehicle to be inspected further. I've read information on a Toyota forum that there are other owners experiencing this issue. I do have vidio and you can see my body rocking back and forth in the driver seat while it's happening and the hood swaying but am unable to upload it.

About two months ago (March 2024), a smell started to appear in the vehicle cabin whenever the vehicle is being driven. It became stronger over time and is particularly strong when the hvac system was being used. I took the vehicle to a reputed independent repair shop who diagnosed the problem as leaking ac coolant within the passenger cabin. They gave a printed diagnosis that I then shared with Toyota because the vehicle mileage is under 35,000, for assistance in fixing this problem. However, Toyota north America manager michael from their corporate headquarters in plano, texas informed me today (may 24, 2024) that Toyota does not want to help me with the repair because I had been using an independent repair shop instead of the Toyota dealership for regular maintenance on my vehicle. I am stuck with a vehicle that cannot be used due to a strong odor of ac coolant which is potentially hazardous. An internet search reveals numerous others who have experienced similar issues with their Rav4 vehicles, so it would be in the interests of the general public to report this to the NHTSA so that action can be taken if this problem is found to be widespread.

I received this recall notice several months ago, and the letter stated that the remedy would be available in middle of 2024. I have had an inspection that confirmed I have a replacement battery, not an original. If there is a potential that the vehicle could catch on fire, it seems as though waiting until the middle of 2024 is an unreasonable amount of time.

I would like to report my safety concerns from the crash accident. Feb. 14 Wednesday I drove my wife’s car 2017 Toyota Rav4 xle. On intersection l stop completely on red stop lights. L was first, had no car up front of me. Than from behind other car Ford focus fit me with a full speed 45. I was only in the car. On the hit my seat slid forward causing my knees to hit the dashboard. Then the seat flattened causing me to fall backward. Also the cover of moonroof got opened. While lying back on flat seat l saw sky. I was able to self extricate. L was in shock from what just happened. 3 hours after the accident l had gradual onset neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, and a generalized headache. After 5 hours l went to er on same day , than again er next Monday , than l saw my primary care doctor a week later-next Wednesday. Now if l will have a child in baby seat or teenager or adult seating behind driver , for sure they will get hurt badly or injured or killed. I have reported this situation to Toyota hq. They responded that this accident will be under investigation. P. S. Takata airbags did not blow out.

This vehicle was involved in a t-bone crash, where the battery came out and the vehicle caught fire. The driver of this vehicle died at the scene. This involves NHTSA recall number 23v734 & manufacturer recall number 23tb13.

Fuel pump has small leak causing evaporative emissions codes and fuel to accumulate on top of the pump. This is the same concern which there is a recall for the 2018 models and beyond. They equipment is the same between the years and 2017 should be included in the recall as well.

The car was sitting in the driveway and caught fire around 11:29am. The car had not been driven or moved from the driveway for at least 2 days, and is up to date on all maintenance. The fire inspectors hypothesize the fire began from the battery and spread. After googling, I have learned that Toyota rav 4s from 2013 to 2018 had a large recall; 1. 8 million vehicles taken because of the battery catching fire randomly. The remains of the vehicle are in the driveway of the residence. Both the police and fire department came to the scene. The safety of others was put at risk because it is only luck that nobody was in the car, or going to drive the vehicle as it caught fire randomly, bringing the residents of the home and owner of the car in extreme risk from both the fire and any explosions, damage to the house, and damage to others.

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota rav 4. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 mph, fire was detected near the engine and front of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries, crash or air bag deployment. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent towing lot. The contact called the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

I was in the third, leftmost, lane on an urban highway coming out of a gentle turn going about 40-45 miles an hour. There was a loud metallic clank or bang and the vehicle pulled sharply to the right. I hit the brakes hard, the vehicle crossed two lanes and came to rest on the shoulder about 18 inches from the concrete barrier, having turned about 170 degrees. There was very little traffic and so there was no accident or injuries but had there been normal traffic it would have been a disaster. There were no indicator lights showing any problem, I examined the tires and underside and could not see any damage. I was able to drive away from the site. I took the car in to my regular Toyota dealer (Toyota of Lincoln park, they perform all my service) and they test drove it, examined it closely, checked the computer, and could find nothing wrong. No other parties have examined the car. However, I would be afraid to drive it and need to dispose of the car without exposing anyone else to what might happen.

Battery became disabled without any warning. Safety of driving down the road and battery stop working is an issue. I replaced battery through no help of Toyota. Only person to inspect was person replacing battery.

Both of my headlights burned out at the same time. I was driving on a rural mountain highway at about 7:30pm and was using my adaptive headlights. They were working fine, I noticed no issues, until they both burned out at the same time. It was dangerous, there was no shoulder to pull over on, and a steep drop-off I couldn't see and no warning whatsoever I'd be in pitch black dark in the middle of the road. Thankfully there was very little traffic, it could have been much worse. My dash camera captured the event and I've shared it to youtube. Https://youtu. Be/pljlqyca8-a no indicator lights ever came on, before or after. I had to drive the last hour to my destination through the mountains in the dark with only fog and running lights. I had been to the dealership for scheduled interval maintenance just the week before. A multi point inspection evidently didn't catch that both headlights were about to go out at the same time. Bulbs? wiring? relay? not sure what happened.

Illegal odometer rollback performed at fred haas Toyota in houston, TX. It was at around 86k miles when it left donmcgill Toyota, then fred haas reported around 46k miles. I bought the vehicle in michigan. It now currently has 120k miles. I am worried it may actually have 160k. I bought the vehicle for around 20k with all the taxes and fees.

Hinge failed on the back lift gate, which in turn damaged the cylinder as well. Back lift gate would not close as a result of this failure. Back lift gate could have fallen off of vehicle, possibly resulting in injury or death to others. Multiple failure issues with the lift gate are common on internet sites and are known to dealers. The repair facility acknowledged this was a common problem with the 2017 Toyota Rav4. The vehicle was inspected and repaired by an authorized service center, as advised by hendrick Toyota of wilmington (nc). The repair was performed by jeff gordon Chevrolet/hendrick collision center in wilmington nc. There were no warning signs of this failure. The lift gate failure occurred on 11/07/2022. The dealer was notified and vehicle inspected by hendrick Toyota on 11/09/2022.

While driving at about 55mph on an open highway, the moon roof exploded. There was a loud explosion inside the car by my right ear. The noise was deafening and distracting and caused a momentary loss of concentration on driving, a situation that was very dangerous and could have resulted in an accident with serious injury. I immediately pulled over and checked the tires, the body and underneath the vehicle, finding nothing. When I began driving again, I heard a loud wind noise and other strange noises above me. I started to open the cover of the moon roof, but shards of glass fell on me, so I closed it again. Pulling over again, I climbed on the door threshold to look at the roof of the car. Unbelievable! it looked like a volcano with the glass pointing upwards around a big hole. Toyota corp. Is claiming it was caused by an outside source. That is definitely not true. I was in the car, nothing landed on the roof. The highway I was on has no bridges, no overpass, no multi-story buildings, no schools or no place that would enable someone to drop or throw a large item on top of a car. And, there was nothing on the inside cover except broken glass. The glass on the roof was definitely pointing upwards. The result of my research on exploding roofs shows that this problem has affected multiple car brands and multiple sun/moon roof manufacturers. I'm asking the NHTSA to help protect USA drivers. If there had been a warning that the roof could suddenly explode while I was driving, I definitely would have selected a car without a glass roof. If the cover had not been closed, I would have been sprayed with glass in addition to the loud blast. Because this is a major safety issue, I'm begging the NHTSA to look into the problem and at the very least immediately issue warnings so drivers of vehicles with sun/moon roofs will be aware that this could happen. It would be much better to find out what defect is causing this to happen before anyone is killed!.

While driving the vehicle, the sun roof glass shattered. The cover of the roof was closed, so no glass spilled into the car, but could have been dangerous if it the cover was open.

The door lock actuators failed I was locked out of my car.

My mechanic showed me that the axle shaft assembly on my Toyota Rav4 is leaking grease and that, if not repaired soon, could be a safety issue when driving.

The shifter makes a irregularly rough shift out of park . It is available for inspection if possible. The safety of me or passengers has not been compromised. The problem has not been confirmed from any dealer or manufacturer. The shifter component has not been inspected or checked to confirm the issue or potential issue. There was no warning light to indicate a issue.

Three days ago, I parked my 2017 Rav4 limited in my driveway, stopped the engine, got out, locked the door and went in to my house. Several hours later I went outside and found my Rav4 running. For how long I don't know. I thought I may have done something incorrect. Now being very careful about shut down procedure, yesterday I parked the Rav4 in the same driveway. Two hours later, I went ouside to check and again found the Rav4 running, with the lights on. I found several reports on-line about others having the same experience with their Rav4s. I called several Toyota dealers to report the incident and see if they had experienced this problem with other customers. None did. It appears that I can't be confident that my Rav4 will be wherever I parked it when I return to it.

Took my 2017 Rav4 le to Toyota for shaking/vibrating at stoplight when fully warmed up. It does this every time I stop at a light or stop sign. They cannot find any faults or codes related to the issue and claim everything is normal. The vehicle feels like it will stall at every light. However they did tell me they were able to replicate the issue on another vehicle on the lot with similar mileage, but they tell me there is nothing they can do. Seems to be on all 2017 Rav4 le's not just mine.

Back hatch is frozen and will not open. At first it opened a few inches, now it doesn't open at all. Just purchased this used vehicle in June! very expensive repair.

6 months after warantee expired passenger front door lock actuator failed. Dor can only be locked /unlocked from manual rocker lock inside door. Electrick lock doesnt function. Within 6 months of that failure, drivers door developed same problem. Door can only be locked from inside and unlocked from outside with key.

My husband had driven the car and had thought he had pushed the ignition button to "off". He then closed the garage door and left our home for a walk. When I came home a few hours later and opened garage door the car was running and filling our garage with carbon monoxide. This points to a serious safety issue with our hybrid Toyota , unless there is something amiss with our car, which I don't believe is the case. Specifically, the engine can be left on and the car makes no sound much of the time when it is parked. I can just imagine a parent like me leaving an infant sleeping and unattended in a closed garage while they go inside. If the car windows are left open how long would it take for a tragic ending to this scenario.

It was about 6:05 am. I was driving on 288 highway in pearland, texas. There was light rain. I heard a very loud bang on the roof and sounded of glass substance running the the back of the roof. That noise freaked me out, but I could still keep driving to my work.

Please see attached sheet for all that has happened since I purchased the car. I've had to replace the battery 2 times in 3 years as well. I have new battery and it became corroded fast. My car kept telling me there was an electrical issue and the check engine light would come on and all of the fails led to the transmission issues.

I had own 2017 Toyota Rav4le for less than 3 years and less then 25000 mile, we follow the instructions to have a schedule maintenance. We have never experience any problem at all, overall it was good driving car. However, on 5/4/2020, I parked my car at parking lot, turned off engine. I heard gentle clik clik two sound, do not realized it was from my car (other people was unload stuff). I open the driver side door get ready to off my car and go. I smelled rubber burning. I look around and see my engine had light smoke came out from engine, then became darker smoke, and follow by fire. I called 911, they send a fire department to put off the fire for me. My Toyota Rav4 le was all burned by unknow reason. I do not smoke, I paid off my car and I have no financial gain to have car burn. I just want to warning other owner, it could happened to you, I was lucky to be able to work out from my burning vehicle. My car was under warranty, but Toyota dealer stated that they would not able to honor such warranty, asked me call headquarter, I tried to email but after I upload pictures and it was suddenly intercepted in the cloud-disappear. I am report this incident to warning others.

I was stopped at a red light in a left hand turn lane. A vehicle making a left hand turn accidentally drove head first into my car. My passenger and I had seat belts on. The approximate speed of the other car was greater than 10 miles per hour. The air bags did not deploy despite considerable front end damage. A message on the dashboard says "srs airbag system malfunction. Visit your dealer". I want to make sure that the airbags were not defective. I have read that if a vehicle is stationary and the seat belts are on it may not activate. That is ok - just want to make sure that is the intent.