Steering Problems of Toyota RAV4 - part 2

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.

See all problems of the 2024 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2022 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

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

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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).

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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. .

The eps system light came up creating a very dangerous driving situation, unable to turn the wheel. Car was taken to the dealer. Replaced computer assy. . Replaced negative terminal voltage sensor. Dealer stated that problem was taken care off. Problem persisted, brought car back three times. Keeps doing the same thing , warning light coming on , wheel no moving. First time it happened was on November 2024. At this time and date ( 5/6/2025) the car is located at the Toyota dealer in hollywood florida, being evaluated again.

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Abs lights have been on since I bought vehicle the dealership that sold it to me cleared the code and did not fix vehicle.

Unknown. I drove my car off the dealership lot and not even 10 minutes into my ride home, as I pulled of the highway, I noticed that the rpm of the vehicle was slowing down. I pressed down harder on the gas to get it to accelerate but it just kept jerking and slowing down. Eventually I tried to get off to the side of the road and the car stopped in the middle of two lanes. The check engine, battery warning and electric power steering lights all came on the dashboard. There was also another error message: engine stopped steering power low. I called the dealership and they came and towed the car. Not sure what the issue is but saw on some forums that this has happened to other Rav4 owners on used and brand new cars as well. Someone encouraged users to report it to the NHTSA so Toyota is aware of the issue.

The contact owns a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 50-55 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road by using physical strength to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the power steering became functional. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the failure was linked to NHTSA campaign number: 15v144000 (steering); however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and several unknown messages were displayed. The contact stated that the transmission and steering wheel seized during the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that unknown parts were replaced. The contact stated that the failure persisted and worsened during the cold months. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

While I was driving the power steering light came on and lost power. A message came on the vehicle history alert. After driving slowly for 2 miles it when away and got power back on the steering.

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There is an issue that seems to be plaguing certain 2021+ Toyota models after a lot of research on this topic. My Rav4 has been operating perfectly and around 42k the voltage abnormality: power steering low warning came on. I've had the alternator, starter, and battery tested. Alternator and starter were given a good bill of health, the battery was given a full recharge as it outputting a bit low. The battery was put back into my car and the issue still persists. The issue only occurs after the automatic shut off feature engages when fully stopped at a light or in traffic. If I drive with the feature turned off (something I have to do every time I turn the car on now) the issue doesn't happen. If the issue persists the car can become "locked" and either completely undriveable or a safety hazard to drive if the issue/warning light take full effect and engage the safety features of the car to prevent dangerous driving. Multiple people online are reporting instances of full vehicle seizure on the highway due to this issue and it is becoming a growing safety concern as most cars encountering this issue are reaching 35k+ miles when the issue seems to start occurring on certain vehicles.

The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 23v734000 (electrical system); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver while turning. There were unknown warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 126,258. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

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On July 13th I was driving at a slow speed and I was making a right turn and the steering wheel felt like it was locked in not being able to turn into my lane and so a car coming into my direction, so quickly I had to stop across the opposite lane to let the car go by me, then I looked at the dashboard it had the steering wheel and brake symbol illuminated, so I tried to restart the motor but it made the clinching noise telling me that still running so I stopped and restarted the motor and the symbols went off and continued driving with caution, made it home safe.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Rack and pinion stiff steering, noisy steering, diagnostic from Toyota dealer : rack and pinion damage , recomended a replacement.

The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with power steering failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was also taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and confirmed the failure. The contact related the failure to the NHTSA campaign number: 15v144000 (steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 109,003.

The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 40 mph and driving over a bump in the roadway, the steering wheel seized, and the information system rebooted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 99,388.