general problems of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 - part 1

Upon taking my 2021 Rav4 hybrid in for the rear traction motor cable corrosion recall (25td01) on 5/7/2026, I was told there are no parts, no estimated arrival time, and therefore not even a rough estimate for a timeframe of repair. I was told that no one would inspect or evaluate the part in question to indicate if the car was safe to drive. I expressed my extreme concern given the recall includes risk of power failure, even while driving. I received inconsistent, avoidant answers and an absolute denial to remedy the situation in any way. I was told the dealership is "dolan" and not "Toyota". I again expressed my concerns about safety and the dealerships' denial to, at minimum inspect the recalled part and/or housing of the part. Emily, the service manager stated that Toyota does not "allow" loaner vehicles for this particular recall. She could not provide any sources for this information. To summarize; the dealer with not provide an inspection of the recalled part and/or housing, or give an estimated timeline for repair given I am #125 on a waitlist. There is a complete lack of regard for mine or my children's safety as the dealer will not provide any assessment of how bad the damage could be. They suggested that I continue to drive the vehicle, acknowledging all of the safety hazards that could occur. I am terrified of the possibility of having an accident with my kids in the car due to this recalled part failing, not having a vehicle to get to and from work, and the potential additional costs that this unaddressed recall issue could cause. Please advise!.

The sunroof shattered without any thing hitting the glass.

On 2/24/2026, while driving down I-5 freeway, the panoramic sun roof spontaneously shattered while I was driving. It sounded like a gunshot. Nobody was injured. There was no accident. I pulled off the freeway and the wasdot incident response truck pulled off with me to inspect. He taped the shattered and cracking glass until I could get to safelite in federal way and get a crash wrap so glass didn't continue to fly off while I was driving. I contacted my glass repair team and he reported to me that this has happened with thousands of my Toyota cars. I will be calling the dealership today.

I was driving for less than 5 minutes when my sunroof exploded and shattered out of nowhere. My safety was put at risk for several reasons - 1) it sounded like a gun shot had come at me while I was operating the vehicle which was extremely startling. 2) glass could have shattered all over me and affected my sight on the road. 3) I had to pull over on a busy road not knowing where glass was in my car. 4) this happened due to no impact, out of nowhere.

The contact owned a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that his wife had just parked the vehicle in front of the business and was about to move the shift gear lever to park(p), when the vehicle accelerated independently, jumped the cement parking block, and crashed into a tree, where it came to a stop. None of the air bags were deployed. The contact suffered minor injuries; had a bruise on the right breast, back pain, chest pain, and lower neck pain that did not require medical attention. The police were not notified. The vehicle was towed to a collision center, and the insurance company then towed to vehicle to another collision center where the vehicle was declared a total loss. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000.

While driving on the freeway at normal speed, the glass sunroof shattered. There were no other cars around and we were out in the open, not driving under an overpass or anything. It was an 80 degree day, sunny and not windy.

I was driving on the highway and my panoramic moonroof spontaneously shattered. It sounded like a gunshot and I didn't realize what had happened until I was able to pull over and examine my car several minutes later. I was very shaken up from the noise and knowing something was wrong with my vehicle but not knowing what happened. As far as I know I didn't have anything hit my vehicle/sunroof and I was driving on a stretch of road with no tree cover at the time. I had the inside sliding part of the moonroof closed so all of the broken glass was contained in there, but if it had been open the broken glass would've fallen all over my head while driving. When looking up information on this online I can see that several people have had similar issues and there looks to be a class action lawsuit in progress about this problem. Https://lemberglaw. Com/class-actions/gamez-v-Toyota-motor/ the sound of the glass shattering was alarming in itself, and also any glass on the roof needs to be laminated to reduce the risk of accidents caused by glass falling on people if they don't have the inside slider closed to catch it.

I was driving down the highway alone at speed limit, with no traffic in front of me. My sunroof, which was closed, exploded without warning. It was literally like a gun going off when this occurred. I curled up in a ball in my seat but did not jerk the steering wheel. The interior of the car was covered in small and larger glass shards. I stopped to examine the damage and found that the sunroof had exploded up like it had been under some kind of pressure. Later, when I arrived at my destination, I found many accounts online of the same "explosion" occurring in the 2021 rav 4 hybrid model like mine. In addition to the reported incidents, I found this; "is there a problem with the sunroof in the 2021 Toyota Rav4? there certainly is a problem with the 2021 Toyota Rav4 sunroof. Multiple owners of 2021 Toyota Rav4s, including the hybrid and prime, have complained to the national highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA). They say their sunroofs (or moonroofs) explode spontaneously without any impact. When this happens, the glass shatters, which is a safety issue. However, Toyota appears to be disregarding the issue. There are several reports by owners stating that dealers refuse to help. Instead, they tell them to contact their insurance companies. " it seems there was a class action lawsuit filed or being put together in 2023 but I do not know the status or result. I have exhausted talks with Toyota after paying $600 for their defective glass to be replaced. They refuse to accept responsibility. This is incredibly dangerous because of the explosion that occurs and because of the tiny slivers of glass that could blind the occupants. I question how many accidents may have actually occurred because of the blast and/or the flying glass shards. A normal reaction would be to jerk the wheel and its a surprise that I didn't. Now I am $600 out of pocket for replacing defective glass and have zero assurance that this won't occur again in the future. Thanks for your help.

Coolant bypass valve the problem has been confirmed by the dealer warning: engine maintenance required.

The glass panel of my 2021 Toyota Rav4 sunroof blew out, shattering explosively, sounded like a rifle shot going off, into hundreds of pieces of small bits of glass while traveling on a smooth interstate highway with no other vehicles in close proximity. If the interior solid panel had not been closed, I would have been showered with all the small glass particles while traveling at 65 mph. I have not been able to reproduce the shattering of the glass. I did not go to the dealer because there is hardly anything left to examine. I have read the failure of Toyota sunroofs have been reported on other models previously. The damaged sunroof has only been examined by a body shop to do an estimate of the cost of the repair. There was no warning, or symptoms of the impending failure of the glass. The vehicle only has about 22, 500 miles of use.

The steering warning light comes on in stopped traffic. It goes back off after starting to drive again. I have had the car checked 2 times and everything checks out fine with no error codes. It also says voltage abnormally steering power low when the warning light comes on. The battery power was also checked at the auto shop and is fine. It has happened multiple times over the past couple months.

Several malfunction warnings (pre-collision system malfunction, awd malfunction, engine malfunction, parking brake malfunction) as well as several warning lights appeared on my dash. Took vehicle to a Toyota dealership for repairs. Fuel pump was replaced. Drove car a few days later and all the same warnings and lights came back on and this time the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road while driving. Was able to restart but had as soon as vehicle was stopped it would stall. Had to restart the vehicle several times while driving 2 miles just to get it home.

The power lift gate started malfunctioning maybe six months after I purchased the car new. I brought it to Toyota two or three times and they cannot replicate it because it’s a random occurrence. It will either not open and beep open an inch and beep. Open foot and beep , there are no recalls. I’ve been told it happens to other people and for some reason Toyota is unable to fix this. It is very frustrating and it has been happening on a brand new car. Also, there seems to be some defect where mice are nesting and getting in to the car into the cabin air filter in quite a few Toyota models. This needs to be rectified also.

The air conditioning system did not blow cold air. The temperature in the car rose quickly without the ac working. The dealer services recharged it and tried to find leaks, but did not find them. Dye was added and I need to go back to the dealer if warm air is blown again. Recently I’ve heard ac issues from other drivers too about this model of Toyota cars.

On [xxx] I discovered and reported the unauthorized and unlawful installation of a wifi screw spy camera in my vehicle to officer palamcci from the danvers police station located in danvers, MA. The wifi screw spy camera is discreetly installed in my vehicle. Which was recently purchased at ira Toyota danvers, m. The wifi screw spy camera installed by a Toyota employee has the presence of a led in the center of the black wifi screw which is currently screwed inside the mount of the rear view mirror. This is in violation of Toyota’s code of conduct safe practices and procedures and privacy laws and regulations. I have submitted the criminal complaint to the fbi, danvers police station, woburn Toyota and woburn police station. The national highway traffic safety administration information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Manufacture r sold us a car with faulty falcon tires. At 2. 5 years 50k miles, tire blew out completely on highway, with no previous service warning duriing regular maintenance check-ups. Tires were problematic at less than 36k miles, but dealer did not mention anything other than a need to rotate and balance the tires.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? the air conditioning condenser was damaged due to impact from a rock, resulting in a loss of cooling function. The damaged condenser is still installed in the vehicle and is available for inspection upon request. • how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the damage to the air condenser caused the air conditioning system to stop functioning, which posed a potential safety risk by reducing visibility due to fogging of windows and contributing to driver fatigue or discomfort during hot weather conditions. • has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes, the issue was confirmed by a certified service center. Upon inspection, they verified that a rock had punctured the air condenser, causing refrigerant loss and disabling the air conditioning system. • has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? the damage has been inspected by an independent service center. It has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives, but it is available for review if needed. • were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no warning lamps or messages appeared. The first symptom was a noticeable loss of cool air from the vents, which occurred immediately following the incident with the rock. Every mechanic I talk to says they see this all the time. Clearly this is a design flaw and should be a recall. This vehicle is supposed to be an off roading vehicle. How do rocks even get there and damage it? I have to use my insurance to cover this claim as my warranty won’t cover this damage.

Today, July 17, 2024, I received a text message from Toyota of glendale: "there is a safety recall on your Toyota. Please call to schedule an appointment. " I called Toyota of glendale a few minutes after I had received the text message to make the appointment. However, the representative informed me that I could not make an appointment, because there still is no remedy for a possible airbag failure. They were not able to give me more specific information, so they referred me to the "Toyota customer experience center" (800) 331-4331. There the representative was also unable to give me satisfactory information, except that there was a problem with the airbags and no remedy was available yet. I was told "the airbag(s) may not deploy as they are supposed to”. Regarding my obviously very justified concern that in case my vehicle gets into an accident and the airbag does not deploy, the representative continued to repeat that there was no remedy yet. I would be informed via a letter or other means once the remedy becomes available. I am completely shocked that in case of an accident there might be a problem with an airbag and Toyota can take all the time in the world to find a remedy for it. How is the possible? something has to be done immediately about this obviously life-threatening situation.

I own a 2021 Rav4 which I routinely get serviced at the passport Toyota. On June 29, I took my car to passport Toyota for service because the maintenance required message appeared on my car’s dashboard. The service advisor texted me a list of recommended services for my Rav4. One of recommended services was to replace the coolant bypass valve. I agreed to the service at $800. On July 3rd the check engine light came on and the car begin to overheat. I was 2 miles away and immediately drove there to inform them of the issue. They checked my car in for service, and explained to me that a hose must have come loose and was the cause of a coolant leak. When I received my vehicle, the check engine light was off, and the car seemed to be in working condition. On July 23 the maintenance required message returned. Again, I immediately drove my vehicle to the dealership and checked it into the service department. My service advisor notified me that they needed to reset the maintenance required message, and it would go away. I received my car back and the maintenance required message was no longer there and seemed to be in working conditioned. The next morning, July 24 while driving to an appointment, my car started to overheat and the check engine light came on again. This time the car was smoking. I was less than 5 miles from the dealership so I took it back to the them and checked it in for service. After having my car in for service for one week, they called me and stated that the issue was related to me having blown a head gasket, and I would need a new engine. The service department continued to do test as required by Toyota to determine the cost of a engine and how much they would cover. Three weeks later, they told me that Toyota will pay half the cost and I have to pay $3200 out of pocket with only about year warranty. I brought my car in several times and clearly mistakes and misdiagnosis were made on their part which led to the destruction of my vehicle.

Sunroof shattered suddenly while driving down a freeway. It sounded like an explosion, and my passenger riding and I were concerned it was gunshots when we slightly moved the sun shade cover, we realized it was the exploded sunroof. There have been no prior incidents or found debris anywhere that could have caused the sudden explosion of the glass. We had some glass fell on us , and if not for the sun cover blocking us from harm, we could have been seriously injured .

This not problem.

Vehicle loses traction regularly. In dry conditions, on paved roads, almost always when using the brakes. Vehicle is awd and traction control loss is happening more and more often even on small bumps. I alerted Toyota to this issue, there are many others in online forums who have also alerted to this issue, however Toyota takes no responsibility. Issue happens every day. Videos have been shared with Toyota.

I received an error message “engine stopped, steering power low” after driving an hour in the rain, sat in my car for about 20 mins with wipers on, engine began to jerk aggressively then shut off. I could not gas it or move the car. I let the car sit after being towed, it ran fine as if nothing happened. I got a battery test and it was at 100% charge according to autozone. The check engine light, battery light and steering light came on. No prior indications of this problem.

1. Most recent. 03/01/2024 sunroof spontaneously exploded during my drive to work. Broken glass fell on me as I drove. No bad weather. Nothing hit it. Just spontaneous explosion. 2. Older claim. About a year of having purchased the car the front windshield cracked while parked at work. Like the other incident no accident. I had that fixed. But the wipers do not work properly. Toyota charged me to have them check but did not fix it. To this day they only work at medium or maximum speed. Wipers do not work on low or intermittent. After doing some research on the internet and youtube it seems that this is becoming common with this model car.

The front passenger door started to "not unlock" when using the keys or door buttons to unlock it, you would have to manually unlock the passenger door by reaching across from the driver's side of the car. For about a week, that was happening, then that same door started to "not lock" using the key fob, handle or door buttons, so both locking and unlocking could only be done manually. Then the most concerning incident, while driving and while a passenger was seated in the front seat, upon rounding a corner (moving less than 20 mph) in a very busy town full of parked cars and pedestrians, the closed front passenger door flung open while the vehicle was turning and moving, almost striking a pedestrian and parked car. The passenger was able to safely close the door, but this would have been impossible had there only been a driver in the car at the time. The door had been shut properly, and there were no indicator lights that the door was not fully closed. The door also "auto-locks" when moving, so there were multiple failures of the lock/door system when this occurred. The car was on the road more than 5 minutes when this happened with absolutely no warnings until the door flung open and the car made lots of warning noise at this point. We called the dealer and made an appointment and on the day of the appointment the locks magically started working again. The dealer just charged us $90 to perform a "lock diagnostic" to which they said there are no issues found. Well, let me just say, I feel a door randomly opening in a moving vehicle is a major safety problem and it is a grave concern for me to drive or ride in this car when I am not sure when or if this is going to reoccur at any given moment.

Driving home at 3:30 on 2/5/2024 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.

Toyota issued a preliminary recall in December 2023. I visited my dealership in January 2024, where I purchased my car and learned that there was no fix. Given I use my car to transport my twin babies, I asked for a loaner since they confirmed (at that time) that my car would have a fix later in 2024. I repeatedly checked in on the vehicle and to date, there is no fix. I am paying my car note and do not have possession of my car. I have been told my NY state that since this is a recall, it is not subject to the lemon law program. I've tried working with Toyota and they refuse to rebuy the car or fix the car. They also refuse to release the car to me. I am being forced to drive a loaner vehicle and pay a car note with no fixes or repairs being done to the vehicle. I need assistance getting my car fixed or refunded for the purchase. It's been over a year that they've held the car and they have no plans to fix it. I'm including a letter that details the incident. I'm happy to follow up with other materials (copy of repair slip when the car was taken by Toyota, proof of ownership, etc. ) this should not be allowed to continue. Toyota has had over a year to fix this and we've passed their scheduled remedy month by over 4 months. Thank you for your consideration.

This is an online complaint because the manufacturer has failed to remedy the safety recall for the occupant classification system (OCS) in a timely manner. The recall was announced in December 2023 and they still don’t have a remedy - this is unacceptable because in a crash, the airbag may not deploy and there is a risk of injury.

The sunroof on my 2021 Rav4 hybrid exploded as I was driving to work today, October 26, 2023. I've already reported the incident to my insurance provider and started to file a claim. Hopefully it will get fixed soon. The explosion startled me because I was driving on the freeway at 65 mph. I stopped onto the emergency lane to check around my vehicle and to my surprised, I didn't see anything amissed. I thought it was my tire. I continued driving because I didn't want to be late for work. As I continue to drive, I heard noises above my head. When I arrived at work and parked, I check my roof to discover my sunroof was shattered. Is there a recall for the sunroof exploding?.

I don’t know if this is a safety issue, but it is an issue with my car and others with this type of vehicle. The lift gate does not always open. It makes no difference if you use the inside button the outside button or the key fob. It will either open about an inch just enough to unlock it or it will open about 6 inches and then it will stop and beep it has to be manually closed and try again anywhere from 1 to 5 times to get it open. There is no rhyme or reason as when it happens. I’ve taken it to the dealer two times and they tell me they have to replicate the problem at the dealership but of course it doesn’t happen there. I’ve also written to Toyota company and all they tell me to do is reset liftgate. I have done this about five times it does not help. It’s obviously an electronic or something else problem that Toyota is not addressing. If I am contacting the wrong place and there was somewhere else to make consumer complaints. Please let me know.

My vehicle leaks water after it’s gone through the car wash or when there’s heavy rains.

We have water becoming stuck in our back passenger door due to a weather strip design flaw in Toyota Rav4 hybrids. This will begin to happen to all weather strips and eventually destroy the interior and electrical if not repaired. This is a common design flaw in newer Toyota Rav4 hybrids and we are lucky it's just our one door so far.   I've been informed (by our Toyota tech) that eventually all of the doors and the roof will leak due to this Toyota design flaw.    when we took the car to get fixed at the dealership, they let us know it was an expensive repair, advised it was a design flaw, other customers are affected, and allowed us time to research before paying for the repair. We may attempt it ourselves since Toyota corporate has refused a reimbursement for the repair. This is a Toyota design flaw and requires a recall. They are charging hundreds to fix this. This will literally destroy the cars electrical.

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.

Roof leak causing water damage to headliner. Dealership won’t fix because they ran water on it and it didn’t leak but didn’t apply pressure.

On April 29, 2023 I notice that there was a bad chemical smell in my car. I continued to try to find the issue and then I went to the back seat and discovered the floor of my 2021 Rav4 was completely flooded with water. I attempted to call Toyota but the service department was closed. I went to the local car wash to have them suck up the water in the meantime. I scheduled an appointment with Toyota on 5/1/2023 @3:45 to explain the issue that was going on. When I got there they serviced my vehicle and informed me that they weren’t able to find the source of a leak and they would need to keep my car. I asked would I be provided with a rental and the service advisor victoria told me no as this would need to be paid out of pocket. I didn’t agree and told them I’d have to bring it back. The following week I still noticed that there was water somewhere in my vehicle so I called to schedule another appointment on 5/10/2023 @3:45. This time I was connected with david who was very accommodating and set me up with a rental for one day. On 5/11/2023 I was contacted by david and he informed that they would need to keep my car for 3 weeks. He informed me that there was a lot of damage to the car and it would be fully covered. On 5/27/23 I was called and brandon told me I could pick up my vehicle. When I left on 5/27/23 I drove the car and when I put it in reverse my steering wheeled locked up and a message came across the screw saying “low voltage power steering. ” I called the service department but they were closed until 5/30/23 for the holiday. I also contacted my service provider david and left a voicemail. He called me back 5/28/23 and informed me that he was out of town and to drop the car back of 5/30/23. I dropped the car off and they put me in another vehicle. 5/31/23 david called me back to inform me that the car was ready. I pick it up and it flooded in the inside again. I discovered there was a recall that it was never informed about and now they want me to pay.