Vehicle Speed Control Related Problems of the 2023 Toyota RAV4

Table 1 shows one common vehicle speed control related problems of the 2023 Toyota RAV4.

Table 1. Vehicle Speed Control related problems of Toyota RAV4

Problem Category Number of Problems
Vehicle Speed Control problems
6

Vehicle Speed Control problem #1

My wife was going at about 10 - 15 mph coming up about 2 car lengths to a small curve in a residential area when all of a sudden she heard a pop or snap and the Rav4 went to a super high speed by itself. The acceleration could not be stopped even though she had her feet on the brakes. She had both hands on the steering wheel to avoid hitting a house and ended up going through a wall in the yard. There were no warning sounds and no signals indicating a problem. It appeared that the display was blank. There was no pre-collision warning or braking except as my wife was pushing on the brakes. She also hit the right side into side wall. No air bags deployed even though windshield and all door glass on sides shattered. My wife the driver was okay and not hurt, and the grandchild in the car seat behind my wife was fine also. Neither had injuries. There were checked by emt. The police looked but all would not try to get in except to remove my granddaughter. My wife was removed also because she could not get out the door was jammed against shed and rock, and handles broken off this happened after the recall work was done by Toyota dealer on 12/04/2025. There were no problems prior to the recall. I've listed the recall below. 25td01 rear traction motor cable corrosion - multiple model & model year Toyota hybrid (awd) vehicles NHTSA recall id awaiting# recall date dealer reference id 25td01 description the subject vehicles are equipped with a rear motor unit and an hv floor under wire that provide high voltage to operate the motor. Mud, water, or road salt could potentially enter the hv floor underwire connector housing and could cause corrosion over time. Excessive corrosion could cause am radio static during certain driving cycles, or the vehicle may not start. Status remedy available remedy any authorized Toyota dealer will apply a wire harness protector seal to the hv floor under wire connector. Toyota corporate engagement is looking into this.

Vehicle Speed Control problem #2

The vehicle was a 2023 Toyota Rav4 hybrid. When the driver attempted to park the vehicle in a parking lot, it suddenly began moving forward without use of the accelerator. The driver applied the brakes but the pedal went to the floor without braking. The vehicle seemed to be moving faster than expected without use of the gas pedal and went through the parking lot. The driver stopped the vehicle by running up over a curb, through a traffic island with soft dirt and mulch and finally crashing into a metal storage unit. Two air bags deployed. Toyota was notified of the crash and a Toyota representative made the 911 call. A new york state trooper and two fire trucks arrived. The vehicle was towed and eventually collected by our insurance company. The tow truck driver said the brake pedal went to the floor when he tried it. The car was declared a total loss. 1. The notable failure was in the braking system. The car also seemed to be traveling faster than it should and didn't slow down. The insurance company has the vehicle now. 2. The safety issue was loss of speed and braking control of the vehicle. Steering was normal. Fortunately the parking lot had few cars or people in it. 3. No investigation of the problem aside from assessment of damage that I know of. 4. Liberty mutual assessed the damage. The NY state trooper made a collision information form and gave us a copy. 5. No warning lights or related symptoms were noted prior to the car traveling on its own. After the crash, a local Toyota dealer called and said that they were notified that the check engine light was on and there was a problem with the hybrid system, along with other warnings.

Vehicle Speed Control problem #3

On 2 occasions while driving on a flat straight interstate highway using the adaptive cruise control, with no vehicle in front of me, the vehicle has suddenly tried to stop. Pressing the cancel button for the adaptive cruise control would not shut the system off. When the accelerator was depressed to attempt to get the car moving forward, it continued to try to stop the vehicle even harder. Pressing the brake pedal also did not disengage the adaptive cruise control. I had to allow the vehicle to creep off the highway, then shutdown the vehicle and then restart to resume driving.

Vehicle Speed Control problem #4

I was pulling into a parking spot and my vehicle suddenly accelerated. I slammed on the brakes and the car did stop, but not before hitting a railing in front of me. There were also trees close to the railing, so the camera should have detected those as a barrier and I believe the veauto-braked, even if I had not hit the brakes. This is a safety concern because the vehicle would have plowed over any person in front of the vehicle.

Vehicle Speed Control problem #5

Unintended sudden aggressive acceleration when I made a right as I was slowly pulling into a spot in the parking lot. Breast’s did not work fast enough and car ended up going up the hill and front colliding with it.

Vehicle Speed Control problem #6

I was pulling into a handicaped parking space and the car just jumped over the curb and hit the handicaped sign plowed into the landscapping. It went from 5miles an hour to 20miles an hour in 5 seconds by itself . Computer took over . No air bags were deployed .


Vehicle Speed Control related problems in other Toyota RAV4 model year vehicles:



RAV4 Service Bulletins
RAV4 Safety Recalls
RAV4 Defect Investigations