Electrical System Problems of Toyota RAV4 - part 1

The automatic locking system stopped working for 2 of my doors. Front passenger and back driver sides no longer lock or unlock. This poses a serious risk considering I live near the ghetto and my car has already been broken into.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the radio was inoperable. The contact stated that the gauges failed to properly operate. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. Additionally, the rearview camera image was reversed before becoming inoperable. The abs, awd, and engine warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and an undisclosed fuse was replaced. The mechanic made the contact aware of NHTSA campaign number: 15v144000 (steering). The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and scheduled an appointment with the dealer for the recall repair of NHTSA campaign number: 23v734000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was approximately 189,000.

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After driving for approximately 30-minutes in a heavy rain I pulled over and the automatic engine shutoff feature activated while I was waiting to go inside for an appointment. When attempting to restart the car, the engine would start but then shut off showing a "low power steering" warning message on my dash. The problem persisted for approximately 15-20 minutes. Eventually after about 10 attempts to restart the engine, the car started back up and drove fine the rest of the day. I have heard of this happening to many other Rav4s on the autosafety. Org website and it causes me concern, especially if this problems causes the car to stall in high speed traffic in the rain. It is my understanding that this maybe a problem with the mass airflow sensor getting wet in heavy rainfall.

Unknown - on xxx, at just 7,741 miles, my 2025 Toyota Rav4 xle premium awd (VIN: [xxx]) suffered a catastrophic and life-threatening complete mechanical and hydraulic transmission failure. The vehicle completely lost forward propulsion when placed in drive mode, rendering it entirely immobile. When placed in reverse gear, the transmission violently over-pressurized, causing the vehicle to suddenly surge and jump uncontrollably. Simultaneously, the dashboard displayed 6 critical safety system failures: 1. Check engine — electronic control malfunction 2. Vehicle stability control system (vsc/trac) malfunction 3. Secondary collision brake system malfunction 4. Pre-collision system malfunction 5. Parking brake system malfunction 6. Advanced ultrasonic detecting and ranging system malfunction ourisman Toyota chantilly (ro# xxx) has confirmed complete transmission failure. Fault codes found: p28167f — pressure control solenoid h actuator stuck off, p08ba7f — pressure control solenoid l actuator stuck off. Estimated repair cost: $11,347. 42. While this failure fortunately occurred on a local road, had it occurred while merging onto I-66 or I-95 at highway speeds, it would have inevitably caused a catastrophic high-speed collision. This represents an extreme manufacturing defect and life-threatening safety hazard. Toyota corporate cases opened: #xxx (original case) and #xxx (full replacement request). I am requesting full vehicle replacement. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2025 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Door locks failed to lock or unlock via the key fob, intermittent problem.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

My car has shut off for a second time without warning. This time was in a busy chic [xxx] drive through line in [xxx] . The car read “low power steering” and the battery and engine light came on. These have both been checked before in addition to the alternator and they cannot find an issue. I am having it taken back to the dealership tomorrow for further investigation. Given I purchased this vehicle with a little over 19k miles and the car now only has 22k miles on it. It should not have any significant issues such as cutting off while driving on the interstate or while sitting in a busy drive through lane waiting for food. Now I am wondering if the previous owner traded it in for this issue. I will say, both incidences it has been raining and the first time I could have been hit by oncoming traffic due to low visibility and I am wondering if heavy rain has something to do with this. The car has not been through any significant puddles or left out in the rain. It sits in the garage when not in use and has only been used as a work commute vehicle. Something is wrong. They need a recall! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2023 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The video display screen shuts off while driving. You end of trying to get it going again while driving and getting distracted. Ongoing issue over a dozen times in last 2 years.

Our 3 yrs old + Toyota Rav4 hybrid SUV with barely over 30,000 miles on it had 2 safety issues within 2 months of each other! first was the driver's side mirror- it was rattling, feeling like it might fall off! seems common issue, perhaps due to cheap plastic parts inside. We had it fixed- Toyota brand engagement center gave a 'goodwill' gesture to cover us replacing it at dealership, though it should never have happened on such a newer vehicle in the first place! then not even 2 months later, a warning flashed- "pre collision system malfunction!" also "headlights" with same warning- "see dealer now!" Toyota dealer. They said forward recognition camera had 'internal malfunction' and needed to be replaced. It was going to be quite expensive, but the camera part is not even available in foreseeable future as there's back order for hundreds and they're still in production! it seems this too is a common safety problem~ we can't understand why there's not a recall on this. Toyota took no responsibility for this issue, which is appalling as, like the first 'side driver's side mirror failure' was also a safety issue! the whole reason we bought this vehicle was for its safety features! without the front facing camera that comes with the car in same compartment as rear view mirror resides, we now have no pre-collision warnings, no headlight safety feature, no rsa (road sign assist system). It's infuriating that Toyota, who obviously is making inferior safety products, does not offer to help out in any way. We're both [xxx] and entitled to these safety features as we bought the car both new and paid top dollar! our service advisor at the Toyota dealership agrees this is 'not normal', the car is too young to have this happen! he will attest to this & we have paperwork. It stated 'no immediate remedy'. (replacement camera not available) I believe this is happening to hundreds of other Rav4 owners. It's outrageous! please help! these electronics for safety should not fail! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of infor.

If I don't drive the car for 1 to 2 weeks, the car's 12v is completely drained of power and the care needs to be jumped, otherwise, it will not start. This is consistent. I've taken this to several Toyota dealerships and they all have reported my 12v battery is healthy. However, Toyota is aware and is charging for the fix, labelled as t-sb-0089-21. The known issue is a piece of electronics in the car that continually drains power because it does not properly shut off. This should not be a paid fix. This should be a recall. When the car is jumped and the car finally starts, it reports a message saying something about some safety features not available. The car needs to be moved every 2 weeks due to mandatory city street cleaning so at least once every month the car needs to be jumped if not used the week prior.

See all problems of the 2020 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The display goes black and then will restart. It foes this over and over. The navigation and other features can’t be used and it will not stay on long enough to try and update.

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!.

See all problems of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Was in a front driver side t-bone @ 35 miles and hour accident and no airbags deployed.

The Toyota app has stopped updating vehicle data and there’s information missing entirely. The satellite symbol has a line through it on the media screen as well. When I try to opt out on the app, I get an unexpected error and to try again. It seems as though the dcm in my car has stopped communicating with Toyota’s servers.

The rear hatch hinges are undersized causing them to fail and undue stress on the motor.

Gear shift makes noise when moving it, as in you can actually hear the gears/electrical equipment moving and making noise when going from park to drive. The keyless entry when the fob is near, just doesn't work well from the drivers side. . . I can stand there trying to allow it to unlock and it just locks again or wont unlock the passenger door even if allowing it extra time to.

Severe, chronic rainwater intrusion through the vehicle's front cowl and body seams, resulting in catastrophic flooding of the passenger-side cabin floorboards. This issue occurs even when all sunroof drains are completely clear and functional. Toyota has issued technical service bulletin 0055-24 acknowledging body seam and cowl leaks for this vehicle type. The passenger-side floorboard houses critical electrical wire harnesses and sits adjacent to the supplemental restraint system (srs/airbag) control module. Chronic standing water on the floorboard presents an immediate risk of electrical short-circuits, potentially causing sudden vehicle stalling, electrical component fires, or the uncommanded deployment/failure of the vehicle's airbag safety systems. Furthermore, the thick foam insulation beneath the carpet remains saturated, creating an immediate, toxic mold hazard within an enclosed passenger cabin, severely impacting occupant health and air quality. The manufacturer and dealership have left the vehicle unrepaired for over 30 days, refusing to remediate this safety hazard.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to start the vehicle, the message to "place key fob next to start button" was displayed. The contact placed the key fob on the start button, and the vehicle started. While driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. The contact pressed the start button, but the vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that the message was displayed again, and the key fob was placed next to the start button, and the vehicle restarted. The dealer was contacted and advised to change the battery in the key fob. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Toyota made a defective coolant valve in their 2019-2021 cars that leaked spontaneously in these vehicles. Over 950,000 cars have been affected to date, including my 2020 Rav4. They are aware of the issue and made a customer support program for this issue which led to engines overheating/electrical code problems, which can cause a severe safety issue if left unrepaired. The program however has a limitation until November 2025 or 100,000 miles whichever comes first. When I was alerted of this, I brought my car to the dealer for service, but they wouldn't replace the part because it wasn't leaking too much at the time to need repair. However, just 4 months after the primary coverage expired, my engine code went off and when I brought my car, the coolant valve turned out to be defective and leaked into the electrical wire harness which then also had to be replaced in addition to the coolant valve. The repair cost was $1200 and both were required to keep the car driving safely and reliably on the road. Because my car had 120,000 miles and the known issue presented after nov2025, Toyota refuses to cover the service, although it is a known manufacturing defect. Toyota is committing fraud to avoid covering this safety issue. The repair is expensive and if left unrepaired, the cars can spontaneously catch on fire on highways and in parks leading to wild fires and endanger others on the road. The Toyota technician specifically informed me the issue was similar to other cars and known and the defect led to the destruction of the wire harness. To avoid a safety recall, Toyota reached a private settlement against class action lawsuit and created a limited csp to avoid covering the defect in cars like mine to maintain their reliability status in consumer reports so cars like mine with little higher mileage won't be reported. It is fraud. I believe they are skipping on consumer repair bills that consumers on entitled to for their manufacturing defect.

There is a parasitic drain on my battery coming from the ecm and electrical system causing it to drain my 12v battery.

Braking while pulling into a parking space. Instead of slowing down the car accelerated and went over the curb. Maintained pressure on the break but it did not slow the car. Instead the car kept accelerating down an embankment, across an empty street and towards a telephone pole. Turning the steering wheel to the left to avoid the telephone pole the car further descended into a ditch. The car had to be towed and is now deemed to be totaled. The brake- pads had been inspected during a routine maintenance check the day before this accident occurred and they were good. No other vehicle was involved. My personal injury was an abrasion and bruise where my seat belt did it's job. My muscles are sore. The side airbags did deploy after the car stopped. The floor mats were locked in place.

I have a limited service campaign from Toyota 25td01 that my local authorized Toyota dealer refuses to repair. The dealer is classic Toyota of henderson.

Safety defect: data communication module (dcm) failure affecting hands-free microphone and safety connect / sos emergency system vehicle: 2019 Toyota Rav4 hybrid le the dcm (which controls both the carplay/bluetooth hands-free microphone and the safety connect sos emergency button) suddenly failed without any warning or accident. Symptoms: - no one can hear me during carplay or bluetooth calls (microphone inoperative). - safety connect / sos light became intermittent or inoperative (directly impacts emergency calling, crash notification, and roadside assistance). This is a known recurring issue documented in Toyota tsbs t-sb-0112-20 and t-sb-0089-21. Toyota of hackensack diagnosed it and quoted $1,300 for dcm replacement/update while charging me $200 for diagnosis. They did not disclose during the multipoint inspection that this is a documented safety-related dcm fault. I performed the manufacturer-recommended 12v battery disconnect reset (standard TSB procedure), which fully restored the microphone and returned the sos light to solid green. However, this is only a temporary fix for a known defect. This failure compromises hands-free calling while driving and the emergency sos system — both critical safety features. I request NHTSA investigation and urge Toyota to issue a recall or service campaign for all affected 2019–2025 Rav4 hybrids.

When I put my car on park. The driver side (left door) lock actuator makes a long click noise. Also when I press on unlock it makes that sound as well.

This 2025 Rav4 hybrid xle premium is in permanent shape of inoperable due to continues electrical system that drains the 12v battery. Anytime I want to drive the car I have to charge the 12v battery for 3-4 hours before I can attempt to drive the car. This is all the time problems that start about 2 weeks into the purchase of the vehicle.

On two separate occasions, my car has shaken violently and stopped both times while idling one in my driveway one at a stoplight and then an alert that says engine stopped steering power low came on.

After turning my car on and the car running for several minutes, the engine shut off on its own and it said “engine stopped steering power low”. This is the second time this has happened. The vehicle is available for inspection. My safety was put at risk because I am concerned about this happening while driving, or being stranded somewhere. I have not taken my vehicle in yet, but many other Rav4 owners have this issue from my internet searches. This has happened twice to me in the past two weeks. The vehicle has not been inspected. There were no warning lamps/messages/lights prior to failure.

Please see attached complaint letter. Overall, this is related to the 2022 Toyota Rav4 hybrid electronic hybrid system. This issue related to campaign 25td01. The issue can cause the car to not start at any time because of the vehicle's start/stop hybrid system. If this happens in traffic, you could cause a safety issue that could lead to an accident and possibly fatalities.

See attached document for complaint.

Few days back got a message "voltage abnormality steering power low" a few times. Today, got a message saying the sensors indicated on the form are malfunctioning. Car is 2. 5 yrs old with 23. 5k miles on it.

Everything working properly and just fine until Monday 3/2/26 when I started the vehicle to go to work, the main radio multimedia screen was black and did not display anything. No sound was playing either along with when I placed the car in reverse, there was not the backup camera display as well. Everything was pitch black. I then proceeded to drive the car to work and then decided to take it to the Toyota dealership near my house at the earliest convenience which was today (3/4/26). In the mean time until I brought the car to the dealership, I researched information and videos on how to diagnose it myself and try troubleshooting my self. Also, when car is running, I got a message stating malfunction with aeb/fcw. Tried the fuse route and tried disconnecting the negative battery terminal for 15 minutes and tried holding the main power knob for 30 plus seconds. All of those did not work. I then took into dealership and once I got there, the service technician saw the screen working and then also saw the screen acting up and turned on but had lines in the middle of the screen. The technician had me turn vehicle off and once we turned back on it went back to the black screen. So once I went the route of having them diagnose it, they said they could not duplicate concern that we saw with the lines in the screen etc. , therefore the technician gave the vehicle back with the screen not working still until we do have it working with the lines. I was about to leave and then the issue with the screen and lines cam up on the screen and I was able to have the technician look at it and diagnose. That is when advisor came to me and said the radio head is completely not working and cannot be fixed or saved. Repair is $2,769 with labor for a new radio head per the advisor. Car is not under warranty because of how many miles are currently on vehicle so I cannot get this fixed for free under warranty. Would have to be out of pocket and I denied that. Please help me get this fixed.

The driver side door lock actuator makes a long click noise. Also when I unlock my car it makes the same sound.

On Friday February 27, 2026 as the vehicle was being driven it caught fire. Fire department and sheriffs office was called to the scene. Vehicle fire was put out but the whole front end burned.

My infotainment screen went black while I was driving at night and it will not come back on. There was no warning. I took it to the dealer and they said that the system had failed. I saw on line that there was a recall for this very issue but my car is a '22 and not included in the recall, but I think it should be. This poses a safety hazard and I don't believe that this should happen under normal circumstances for a car of its age and relatively low mileage. I think this model year should be included in the recall and that Toyota should pay for the repair, which is quite expensive. The receipt on the diagnostic says the radio works, but it does not. It goes on when you push the power and immediately goes off.

I was driving home in the rain for about 75 minutes and when I arrived in my driveway I saw steam coming from the front grille area. It wasn't due to a high engine coolant temperature so I decided to carefully open the hood and check for the source. I saw water inside the bottom of the engine bay behind the radiator steaming from the heat of the engine. A few seconds later, the engine stalled and the following message appeared: "engine stopped, steering power low" which came on with a check engine light, red battery light, and steering light. I used my scan tool and obtained the code: p0171, system too lean. After doing research, I've come up with a conclusion to the potential cause. Starting with the 2022 model year Rav4 non-hybrid (and onwards to the 2025 model year Rav4), the air intake inlet was redesigned from the prior one in the 2019-2021 Rav4 non-hybrid models, as seen in numerous comparison images online. This new design presents a dangerous fault. When driving in rainy conditions, especially at higher speeds with mist kicked up from cars in front, the air intake will take in water. The water will flow to the air filter and then reach the mass air flow sensor (maf). The maf sensor monitors the amount of air entering the engine and sends signals to the car's computer to help determine how much fuel to send to the engine to maintain an ideal ratio for optimal efficiency. Considering that water is getting to the maf sensor, it thinks that the water is excess air, so less fuel is sent to the engine as a result. Since I came to a stop in my driveway, the engine is now at its idle speed and only commands a small amount of fuel to remain running. Now, when combined with the water, that lower fuel flow is practically cut off, leading to the stall. This happened to me before when driving in the rain, but in more dangerous conditions in stop-and-go traffic. Toyota must follow up on t-tt-0763-24 because it has been well over a year since their initial investigation.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while seated in the vehicle, while the vehicle was parked, there was an abnormally strong plastic burning odor inside the vehicle. The contact stated that a top light was plugged in the trunk, but the light was turned off. After opening the trunk, the contact became aware that the wiring in the trunk had overheated and burned the laundry that was inside the vehicle and the rear passenger's side seat. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.