Steering Problems of Toyota RAV4 - part 2

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the steering wheel seized. The contact was able to regain control of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 222,822.

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I was driving home in exceptionally heavy rain. Before getting home, I decided to stop at a coffee drive thru. It was still raining pretty heavily as I drove up to the pick up window. I had my foot on the brake as I waited for my order. A few minutes went by when suddenly the car shook a bit and completely shut off. A warning sign came up on the dash screen that read “engine stopped, steering power low” and instructed to put the car in park. That warning message would come up every time I tried to put the gearshift back in drive. I kept trying to restart the car many times, the engine cracked but no start. At one point I even tried putting the car in neutral to attempt to push it out of drive thru lane but the car and steering wheel were locked in place. There was no way to move either. It’s still raining at this point but it has significantly lightened up. About 15 - 20 minutes later, the car started up like normal and I was able to put the gearshift in drive. The car is less than a year old and nothing like this has ever happened before. There were absolutely no warning signs prior to this happening, everything on the dashboard and the mobile app associated with the car showed the car was in “good health. ” I am so incredibly lucky this happened at a drive thru and not in the middle of a highway or busy intersection. You are left completely helpless since the engine completely shuts off and the steering wheel locks. If this happened on a highway, it would immediately create a multi vehicle accident or potentially worse. This is a huge safety risk that needs to be addressed immediately. I plan to take the vehicle into the dealership for inspection because I do not feel 100% safe anymore.

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I was sitting with the car in park. The car was running. My vehicle started shaking and said “engine stopped, steering power low”.

I was driving down [xxx] the car was moving along fine then when I pushed the gas it would jerk back and shake. I pulled off the highway and was able to coast into a gas station, but the engine stopped working as I was driving while cars were coming behind me. I could have been stopped in the middle of traffic with no way to get out. The power steering light came on as well as a light that said the engine was cut off. We just bought the car used with 22k miles on it and put an additional 3k miles on. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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Unknown: it happened during a heavy storm on my 40 miles to work and all the symbols lights suddenly lit up on the dashboard. The car died and the steering wheel got heavy when I tried to pull to the emergency lane. Luckily I was able to pull over, but it almost caused an accident as I was in the middle lane. I tried to start up the car again, but it would crank up, but died instantly and the dash would show "ignition on" on the top left and "engine stopped: power steering low". I called the dealership and talked to the service department and the service advisor think it was the battery, but he told me to try starting it after 5-10 minutes, if not, to call the tow company and tow the car to dealership for further inspection. I let it sit for 10 minutes and was able to start it back up and drove it straight to the nearest Toyota dealership. While driving to the dealership, the car kept choking/stalling when pressing on the gas after braking. They examined with their scanners and the battery was in good condition and my car has gas (about 3/4 tank full) and they said the scans reported no issues. This is a concerning issue as I could had lost my life or possibly cause major accident and involve other people life.

It’s pouring rain and my engine stopped and a message popped up saying “engine stopped power steering low”.

It’s been a year since I have owned my 2021toyota rav and it has randomly been shutting off with the notice: power steering voltage abnormality. I have taken the vehicle to get checked but nothing is coming up indicating what the issue is. The battery is fine, the alternator is fine, and there doesn’t seem to be any electrical issues with the power steering. I have seen that there has been certain recalls on the power steering voltage notice on the Toyota ravs and owners complaining about a random shut off on their vehicles. I am one of those owners and would like to know why my vehicle hasn’t been issued a recall. It is a safety hazard and concern. My vehicle has been shutting off in the middle of a busy highway. Please look into this issue.

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I was sitting in a drive trough getting breakfast, I go to pull off and my car cuts off. Couldn’t get it to restart. Had to push it out of the way. Power steering low. Granted this cat is just 2 years old. It’s done this before last year after having it one full year same thing. Luckily after letting it sit for 20-30 minutes it started and I got it to Toyota. Low power steering shouldn’t cut an engine off. If anything just be hard to drive. These new cars need to be tweaked. If Toyota can’t fix this they will not get any more business from me.

My engine shut off (would not turn back on!) and displayed message: “engine stopped. Steering power low”. I brought it to the dealership the next morning. I was told that the power steering was electric, they could not duplicate the message, and to bring it back if it does it again. I’m concerned because what happens if it occurs again while I’m driving on the interstate?.

I went to start my car , the engine turned off stating power steering low engine off . Then tried again and got more errors likes brake engaged power off also the lane monitor was not working.

While at the end of a car wash with the car in neutral, the car accelerated by itself. It reached 60 mph for over a half mile, and was unresponsive to steering and brakes. The left front wheel was severely damaged. Fortunately, there were no accidents.

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After 4 to 5 years vehicle has begun to sporadically upon the first 10 minutes of driving to show a low power steering error message. The error message turns on and turns off within one second many people have been reporting the same issue with even their newer model Rav4’s. This is not acceptable.

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I was in a parking space at the local library, waiting on my children. It was raining, and had been raining most of the day. I had driven about 60 miles in the rain before going to the library. The car was on, but in park. The car started slightly shaking (like a big truck was going by), and it looked like some smoke was coming out of the engine. The car then flashed some lights on the dash and gave the following message: engine stopped. Steering power low. It then turned off, and I tried to turn it on multiple times to no avail. After researching online while waiting for a tow truck, I saw multiple references on reddit to this problem. I waited about 20 minutes and was able to turn the car on, though it was hesitant. I was able to cancel the tow and drive the short distance home. It was scary because it came out of nowhere and this is a brand new car with only about 27,000 miles on it. I am not happy that this would be something I will have to worry about in the future. I have not reported it to the dealership, but saw online most people had no luck at the dealership and were told to report it here.

Engine shuts off on its own with the car continuing to run. No battery issue. Notice of “engine died steering power low” on the dash. Only happens in heavy rain.

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Eps warning light keeps buzzing. This has happened several times recently.

After routine service at south coast Toyota in costa mesa, CA, I unknowingly drove my 2023 Toyota Rav4 hybrid for over a week with two missing lug nuts and one extremely loose lug nut on the front passenger wheel. The service performed on April 5, 2025, included an oil change, tire rotation, and full inspection. No issues were reported to me at pickup. Over the next several days, I heard increasing thumping and metallic noises from the front right wheel area, especially at highway speeds. On [xxx], while driving with children in the car, the vehicle made loud metal screeching noises and the steering became impaired—I could not complete a basic turn. I limped the car home at 4 mph. Upon inspection, I found two lug nuts missing and one so loose I could unscrew it by hand. I had the car towed back to south coast Toyota on April 18. The dealership admitted two lug nuts were missing but failed to apologize or fully document the issue. I was told via text that the only action needed was replacing the missing lug nuts. I received no formal inspection report or confirmation that the vehicle was safe. I paid out of pocket for a third-party inspection at a separate Toyota dealership, which confirmed that the previously recommended sway bar replacement was unnecessary and that my tires and components were in better condition than initially claimed. This was a clear service-related safety failure that could have led to wheel detachment and a serious accident. I drove over 200 miles on freeways with children in the vehicle. The dealership failed to follow basic safety protocols and has not taken responsibility. I am reporting this to NHTSA in the interest of safety and accountability. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was driving over 120 mph and my car slid and hit the front car. My car later caught fire and ruptured shortly after. The fd extinguished it and it was a total loss. I have no clue as to where it was taken after the accident. Sorry :(.

This is a follow up of an incident reported on 3/30/2025, after the vehicle was driven approximately 30 miles in the rain, then stopped for 5 to 10 minutes idling with windshield wipers on intermittent setting. Engine began to shudder, engine rpms increased/decreased erratically as the engine shook. The vehicle was turned off. After approximately 5 minutes, restarted vehicle and engine again ran erratically and then stalled, displaying “engine stopped, steering power low” on the message center in the driver’s display. After the engine stalled, the vehicle would not restart and had to be towed. After being towed, the vehicle started and ran smooth. A short while later, the vehicle was started but again ran erratically, but did not stall right away and was turned off. The next day, 3/31/2025, the vehicle was taken to the dealership service department. The dealer stated that there were no diagnostic trouble codes stored in the vehicle computer, the battery was good condition, and the charging system was operating normally. They had no explanation for what happened. The service advisor suggested that when the gas tank was filled, it was overfilled after the gas pump clicked off. This, in fact is not the case. The gas tank was not overfilled. The service advisor was informed that there are other complaints online by other owners of the same symptoms under similar weather conditions while the vehicle is idling. The advisor stated that if it happens again, have it towed to the dealership service department.

On 3/30/2025, I drove my 2024 Toyota rav 4 adventure about 30 miles in the rain with the wipers on. I then put the car in park, with the wipers still on intermittent setting and the engine still running. After sitting in park like this for approximately 5 minutes, the engine began to shudder, with engine rpms decreasing and increasing erratically, and the engine was also shaking as the rpms increased and decreased. I then turned the car off for approximately 5 minutes. When I restarted the car after 5 minutes, the erratic rpm resumed, and then the engine stopped running, and my display screen showed the following message: “engine stopped, steering power low”. The check engine, check steering, and check battery lights were also illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle would not restart after several tries and ultimately ended up having the vehicle towed 30 minutes. Once the tow truck dropped it off, the engine started right up and the error messages were no longer displayed.

This vehicle is going to kill someone. Not only does it have this unintentional steering issue, but the electrical system keeps going out. The dash has been replaced and there are still issues. The adaptive cruise control used to hard brake now it pulsates when lane changing which isn’t cool if you’re passing people because then you’re turn in front of them and braking right away. The radio requires the vehicle to be turned completely off, wait, and then turn back on. The unintended steering will take you into incoming traffic, in the opposite lane, or even off-roading even when there is nothing in front of you. The compass randomly disappears. The tim roof literally exploded while we were doing 80mph down the interstate. The curtain was closed or we would have had glass all over. The window blew out and up. If something hit the window it would have blown in and down. I have reported these safety issues to Toyota and they keep telling me that nothing is wrong. The steering issue has happened at least 7 times since I owned it. I have provided Toyota with pictures and videos showing these things and they’re still telling me that nothing is wrong but they even have a form that talks about the “unintended steering” issue.

Car starts and then turns itself off immediately. It shows the message “engine stopped steering power low”. It is raining where I live and I’ve read online that this is an issue that is happening to these vehicles when it rains.

As I was driving my car jolted and I saw a message that read engine off steering power low go to safety but my car turned off shortly right after. I was lucky it wasnt a busy hour otherwise I could have been in an accident. I was driving and the car turned off on me! took it to Toyota no codes showing up and battery is 100%. This is so scary and im too scared to drive my car. Went online saw so many people reporting the same issues on Rav4 and no solutions.

I came to a stop on the highway due to a law enforcement traffic slowage. As I began moving again with the rest of traffic, my car suddenly started shaking and struggling to stay on. My check engine light came on and an alert popped up for “engine stopped, steering power low” “pre collision system malfunction”and “parking brake malfunction”. I felt fearful for my safety as I was unsure if my car would safely allow me to brake and move over to the shoulder of the road. I was really scared and had so much anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to make it out safely. The dealer was not able to find any record of these codes popping up and could not recreate the check engine. I have pictures showing the codes to support my claim.

Car shut off while driving because warning light for the power steering came on p. 451stating check power steering fluid level. Vehicle has either a sealed power steering system or its electric. It was raining at the time that this happened. This is a big risk factor that could have led to a wreck but thank god that it did not was able to get out of traffic and stop. It took an hour of waiting before the vehicle would start back up and run properly. Unable to reproduce the problem at this time.

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, she became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, and the vehicle failed to respond to the direction that the steering wheel was turned. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 15v144000 (steering); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

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It was raining and we drove about an hour, parked and shutoff car, went into the store, came back out and car would not turn on. Error message that came up was “engine stopped sterring power low” this is a brand new car just bought last year. We kept trying to turn car on and error message kept coming up. Waited for tow truck and car ended up turning on. Looked online and it seems a lot of other people are having the same issue in the rain.

While parked car engine stopped and got a message that said “ steering wheel power low”. Windshield wipers had been on for a while. Car will not start.

Car had error on dashboard of engine stopped power steering low, car is available for inspection. Car would not start in the middle of the night while raining, had smoke coming out the front. Problem not reproduced at dealership. No other warnings were shown beforehand.

It has happened two times. When is raining if you stop the car put it in park. The car starts to shake and it shuts off. Called road assistance brought it to the dealer. And they said there is nothing wrong with it. After researching it seems to be an ongoing issue several rav 4 owners 2024 xle have reported it on line. After a few minutes. The car starts up.

The electronic power steering light intermittently illuminates, particularly when the start-stop system is engaged. I recently brought my vehicle to the Toyota dealership where a diagnostic test was performed. However, no fault codes or issues were identified at that time. Despite this, the warning light continues to appear.

See all problems of the 2019 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

My Toyota rav 4 the power steering light comes on and says low & it always happens when it’s heavy raining and my wipers are on. The car just stops & wont start again for about 20 mins. This is super dangerous and has happened 4 times now.

This happened on [xxx] in oakland CA, it was a rainy day. I drove off the freeway and then parked the vehicle in the parking lot. The car was in idle mode. After about 10 minutes the engine started to stall, and then shut off completely. I tried to restart the engine but it failed. The dashboard showed an error message "engine stopped, steering power low". I suspected that rainwater entered into the engine from the air intake.   after waiting for about 2 hours, I was able to restart the vehicle, and then everything seemed to be normal. Toyota should announce a recall for this problem as this is very dangerous to operate the vehicle on the freeway on rainy days. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My 2024 rav 4 showed a power steering level low message on my dash then powered off, after I was sitting in a parking lot for 10 mins in park, windshield wipers had been going that day. Tried restarting - vehicle did restart but seemed to have issues, was shaking slightly, let me drive for about a minute more in the parking lot then had a message showing to park in safe place and power steering level low and vehicle shut off again. Started vehicle about 15 mins later and everything was fine, did not experience issue again that day or next day so far. I feel I have an unreliable vehicle - what if this happened on the highway and my car just shut off in traffic, how dangerous this issue is. Several other complaints online also regarding use of windshield wipers and electrical power steering issues happening in correlation with one another. I took my vehicle to Smart Toyota after this happened but no techs were left for day. Manager said power steering is all electrical / no actual fluid. I have appt with my Toyota dealership in town for next week but without the issues on my dashboard any longer (no error message on my dashboard now) I was told they don’t know if they’ll be able to find anything wrong. This is extremely upsetting and I worry about my safety and others that this is happening to. It is a serious concern.

While sitting idle in the parking lot at work, I suddenly got a "engine off steering power low" warning on my vehicle. The check engine and power steering warning lights came on. I could no longer operate the vehicle. When trying to restart the vehicle, it started up but the entire vehicle began shaking and the engine shut off again. I have researched this problem on Toyota and Rav4 forums online, and this problem has been happening to a lot of Rav4 owners. I had the vehicle towed. Toyota claims that everything is fine and they cannot find the cause of the problem. Some owners have reported that water is getting into the engine because of a faulty lower area intake tube. One user said that Toyota specifically told them to make a complaint here so that is what I am going to do as well. I no longer feel safe operating the vehicle and I am in a constant state of worry while I am driving. Other owners have reported near misses/accidents because of this problem. There were no symptoms/messages/warnings before this problem suddenly happened all at once.

Just a little over 33k miles, regular maintenance wit dealer, after the power steering light flashes on then goes off after auto stop of motor when stopping and stop at long intervals sometime see a battery charging at same time. Fluid is great no noise. I see a recall but not on this VIN. However I’m reading on line several of these are having the same issue, the car is too new. .