There are 4 stored owner reports matching the brakes leading-label group for the 1997 Toyota RAV4 in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 4 of 4 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)FRONT BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE, AND THE BRAKES WENT TO METAL TO METAL. CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
IT WAS RAINING, NOT HEAVY, THOUGH. I WAS GOING ABOUT 65 MPH ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND TRIED TO BRAKE BECAUSE THE TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF ME WAS SLOWING DOWN. THE CAR STARTED LOSING CONTROL AND I COULDN'T BRAKE AND STOP THE CAR AT ALL. THEN THE CAR STARTED MOVING TOWARDS THE LEFT QUICKLY AND SPINNED FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 TIMES. THE REAR END ON THE RIGHT SIDE FINALLY HIT THE MIDDLE BARRIER ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE CAR TURNED OUT TO BE FACING THE INCOMING TRAFFIC. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. I WASN'T HURT TOO BADLY BECAUSE I DIDN'T HIT ANY OTHER CARS (LUCKILY) AND IT WAS THE REAR END THAT GOT HIT. I GOT A BIG BRUISE ON MY THIGH AND MY WHOLE BODY WAS SORE FOR 3 DAYS. THE CAR WAS TOTALED. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A DEFECT WITH THE BRAKE OR THE WHEELS OR NOT, BUT I THOUGHT I'D REPORT THIS FOR OTHER OWNERS TO BE AWARE OF. *AK
BRAKE PADS WORE PREMATURELY. NLM
BRAKE SYSTEM MAKES GRINDING NOISE. YH
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: May 4, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.