Tail Light Switch Problems of Toyota RAV4

All 4 tail lights are developing a white haze on the inside of the lens that will eventually affect the visibility of the affected safety light. This internal lens contamination cannot be cleaned and will cause the lights to fail to meet their original dot approved specifications creating a safety/crash hazard. This defect appears to affect all 2016-2018 Rav4s supplied with light assemblies made by ichikoh/valeo. Note: this issue is not caused by isolated defective cracked or broken light assemblies contaminated by water. Based on my own vehicle and a rough parking lot survey all of these lights will develop this issue over time. My current working theory is that this inside lens fogging is caused by leaching plasticizers from the light assemblies components vaporizing and then depositing on the inside of the lens. The amount of sunlight received seems to correlate with the severity of the issue.

See all problems of the 2016 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Purchased 2016 Rav4 from local Toyota dealer in June 2019. Had badly fogged tail lights on purchase (as did four other 2016 Rav4s I looked at on dealer lots). Paid local auto repair shop $650 on 6/24/19 to replace tail lights with oem. Less than 2 months later (8/17/19) had rail storm and saw condensation inside rim of all 4 tail lights. Can replace them again but this is obviously a factory defect that Toyota has not acknowledged. It is a safety issue when lights are dimmed from fogging.

Left rear tail light - water is accumulating inside the tail light lense - potential for electrical shortage and inability to warn vehicles behind Rav4 that car is turning or braking.

See all problems of the 2014 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Repeatedly, while in motion, with the headlights in the "auto" mode, and the "automatic high beam feature enabled (which switches the headlights from high beam to low beam automatically based on the presence of oncoming headlights/tail lights ahead/ambient light levels) the auto highbeam feature will disable itself, generally tied to the passing of a car with bright lights. When this feature disables itself it prevents all use of highbeams. The only way to get highbeams while the feature is "disabled" (even in complete darkness) is to "rotate" the stalk control away from "auto headlight" to "manual headlight". The feature eventually re-enables itself, but usually takes a number of minutes, leaving me without the safety of highbeams for that period, unless I go through the cumbersome act of turning headlamps to "manual". This is particularly dangerous during my commute where I drive a number of miles on unlit state roads. I rely on highbeams to alert me to the presence of deer and other animals crossing the road which occurs routinely. Not having highbeams for a number of miles exposes me to the risk of not seeing these hazards in time to react properly. In addition, having to divert my attention to whether this feature has disabled itself and taking manual action to circumvent the issue is a distraction while my focus should be on possible hazards. I have reported the issue to Toyota. Case number 1903080524 has been assigned. A Toyota case manager contacted me and stated that she experiences the very same issue with her 2018 Rav4 but there are no fixes identified by Toyota for the issue, so therefore there is nothing she or the dealer can do. I strongly feel this is a safety issue in that there is a risk that an accident will occur, possibly the striking of a pedestrian, due to poor visibility or distraction trying to override the feature while driving.

See all problems of the 2018 Toyota RAV4 🔎.

Without cause or reason, the "brake actuator" circuit malfunctioned causing the car to lose cruise control, abs, anti-skid and sporadic tail light problems (lights will stay on or come on when the car is parked). I brought it to my Toyota dealer and they were unable to identify the problem. The next day, the roads were snow covered and the brakes locked up approaching an intersection causing the car to skid into another vehicle. When I brought the car back to the dealer, after the body was repaired, they located the problem and said it would cost $2900 to replace. Before I was able to have the vehicle repaired, the wiring caught fire, probably because the taillights came on by themselves during the night, as they occasionally did (without a key in the ignition). The car was towed to the Toyota dealer who estimates upwards of $10,000 for repairs to the computer and wiring system. The Toyota service manager recommends we sell the $19,000 car for "wholesale. " insurance will not cover the damage as it was a mechanical malfunction. Toyota corp. In California, consumer experiences department, will not give me any help as the car is 21,000 over the 36,000 mile warranty. How or where can I get a lawyer or consumer advocate to help me?.

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota RAV4 🔎.