2023 Toyota RAV4 Complaint Log

Backed into a mailbox on the passenger side rear taillight. Car did not detect the mailbox and give any warning to the driver. Mckinnon Toyota in Clanton Alabama advised that this vehicle is not equipped to detect a stationary object behind the vehicle. Three individuals at Toyota customer service advised that it did. R/O Number for the visit is [XXX]. The reference number from Toyota customer service is [XXX]. Car was purchased on 6/2/23. Car was purchased with the expectation that it was equipped to detect rear stationary objects when in reverse. I consider this a safety issue if it will not detect a person behind the car in reverse. This is my daughter's car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was sitting in a drive thru with my car in drive , foot on break and all of a sudden it starts to shake and struggle to stay on . Then it stalls out , engine shuts completely off and my check engine light came on! The error messages on the screen read : Engine stopped , power steering low , precollision system malfunction , and parking brake malfunction. As I tried to restart it , It wouldn’t start back up and stay on at all. After a good 20 min or so , and after being pushed out of the drive thru and my order canceled, my car starts back up as if nothing happened. Had my car checked for codes , and guess what ? NOTHING ! It’s happened to me about 6 times in about a year and two month of owning it ! Nobody can figure out what the problem is . I also have issues randomly with my radio screen . When my phone is hooked up to CarPlay , it will sometimes kick me out and reconnect by itself , the screen completely shutting off and turning back on by itself , there’s times I was listening to pandora and it won’t allow me to click my station and show the song playing , and other issues. Had this happen too many times to count and within the first couple months of owning it , I took it back and they couldn’t figure out the issue. It never happened while they had it .

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicles front driver side tire had a blowout. Both sidewalls exploded outward. (Original Tires) No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The mechanic suggested that the contact had hit a pothole. The front driver-side tire was replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 895. The contact will update the complaint with the Tire information

The vehicle several occasions been unresponsive to accelerate. This has happened on two separate occasions (days) in which the vehicle would not accelerate. The first occurrence was right after I purchased the car and drove it the first full day I owned it in September 2023. The second time was on Saturday December 16, 2023. When the vehicle is driven under 40 mph such as slowing for a turn, braking for a traffic light, picking up speed to enter onto a highway this problem occurs. It is when the gas is pressed down to accelerate, the vehicle does not respond by increasing the speed. The RPM's would go really high and the vehicle would receive the gas but would not "shift" and felt stuck. And the transmission was very loud. It felt like the vehicle transmission was slipping or not engaging/shifting. Adding more gas was not beneficial. The gas pedal could be pressed down to the floor and the vehicle was not responsive by shifting "gears" or picking up speed. The vehicle would not accelerate above 20 mph and the RPMs would go up. No lights or warnings were produced. The only way to get the vehicle to act normally once again was to pull the car over into a safe location, shift the car into park, shut the car off, wait for a few seconds, restart the car and proceed. In one session (driving the same day) the car repeated the inability to accelerate each time the vehicle was slowed down below 40 mph to come to a stop at a stop sign, take a turn, stop at a traffic light etc. This was dangerous as I was not able to proceed in traffic and caused other drivers to honk their horns at me, and left me stuck in intersections. This was very disconcerting and left me feeling endangered by not being able to follow the flow of traffic. Toyota Service did a diagnostic test on it twice now. The first time had torque converter codes. This 2nd time they claim there were no codes on the diagnostic test. They dropped the transmission pan and found no metal shavings.

The moonroof on this vehicle shattered without warning as I was driving on the freeway. It sounded like a loud boom and when i looked up the tempered glass was falling on me and inside my 2023 Rav4. This is a huge safety issue and im not only concerned about my safety but how much glass is in my car - I take my kids to school in this car. Im going to take it to the dealership today to have them repair it - this should br a warrantied item but I have read there are multiple issues in other Rav4's.

Firestone Destination LE 2. 225/65R17. Tire has exploded on highway. This is a brand new car purchased 3 weeks ago and has 1584 mile on it. Tire run only about 1575 mile. When inflated the tire again, it had multiple bubbles, ball shaped swellings.

I bought a 2023 Rav4 Hybrid XLE brand new. On my first refill of the gas tank, I noticed that the gas needle would only go a smidge over the 3/4 mark. The RAV4 hybrid is supposed to have 14.5 gallons and around 540 miles per tank but I estimate it to fill around 10.5 gallons and the car shows around 413 miles per tank. I've attached two images I took when I filled up the tank, the car showed around 36 miles left to empty and it only pumped 8.8 gals.

As I was entering a covered parking structure, I came to a complete stop at the entrance of the gate to obtain my parking ticket. I was driving very slow less than 5 mph, and engaged the brakes as to stop to get my parking ticket before entering the parking garage. I have my foot on the brake pedal, I am at a complete stop of 0mph for several seconds now, and suddenly the engine revved and my car lunged forward a bit. I had not lifted my foot from the brake pedal, and yet the engine revved and my car lunged forwards. My passenger at the time yelled, WHOAA why are you pressing on the gas!!? So my passenger in the car at the time was also startled by this incident and felt the car surge forward. He thought that I had pressed on the gas pedal. If someone was to be in front of my vehicle they would have potentially been hit with my car, or if I had been closer to the parking entrance gate my car could have hit the gate. I am highly concerned this just occurred as this could cause a great accident or injury. I have 1,100 miles on the car. It was purchased brand new. Another issue I have been experiencing is when I engage the gas pedal, it does not accelerate and takes a few seconds to accelerate causing my forward momentum to stall out, this is an issue when I have been trying to merge into traffic and my car does not drive as I have anticipated. I am not sure if this is an issue with it being in "ECO" mode or not, but there is a stalled acceleration issue, that happens sometimes, but not always and I cannot pin point why it is happening at certain moments.

I was coasting into a parking space (at 6.8 mph) and as I attempted to park, the car suddenly accelerated and went up and over the concrete rectangle park stop and smashed into a brick building (12.4 mph) and went back over the park stop before the engine in the vehicle finally died. During the acceleration, I was trying to brake the car, but the car wouldn’t stop. I was yelling to my husband that the car wouldn’t stop. The driver airbags deployed as well as the knee air bag. The passenger airbags did not deploy as there was not a passenger in the front seat. The car had 4258 miles and was totaled. My husband and I both sustained injuries. According to the Toyota app, the vehicle had a “0” rating for fast acceleration and a “1” rating for harsh braking during this particular trip. I contacted Toyota and an investigation was conducted using Bosch Crash Data Retrieval Tool 23.2.1. The data shows a 5 second timeframe with .50 second intervals. The vehicle speed at the 5 second mark was 6.8mph with 0% accelerator pedal. At 2 seconds, the speed was 5.0mph with 8.5% accelerator pedal. And, at the crash point the vehicle speed was 12.4mph with 100% accelerator pedal. Toyota product liability contacted me with their report stating that there was no brake pedal application prior to the impact and that pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal at wide open throttle seconds prior to the impact, and they found no obstructions or interference with the operation of the accelerator pedal. Further, they found the brakes to be operational However, the vehicle could not be test test driven as it would not turn on. In summary they did not find any evidence of an issue or defect with the vehicle based on inspection and electronic data.

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s side blind spot warning system located on the exterior side mirror failed to function as intended. The light flashed on the side mirror; however, the beeping sound was inaudible. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that the failure had occurred the same month the vehicle was purchased. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20.

When I drive this vehicle i have to be very careful. The moment you take break pedal the vehicle doesn't stop, It started shuffling and showing a warning sign of slippery road. It takes extra couple space to fully complete stop. It is summer time there is not slippery road road around. I hope they will fix this issue before it gets bad or kill someone. This is a dangerous act when you can not control your break pedal. All break pads are new this is 2023 vehicle built in June.

At approximately 11:30 AM on Saturday, August 5, 2023 I was traveling northbound on I-17 just before exit number 278 for State Route 179. I felt the vehicle shake violently and my wife saw a portion of a tire rolling along the side of the road into the desert. I was able to safely pull off to the shoulder, it was then that I noticed the driver side rear tire had completely separated from the rim. There were no warnings I had recently had my 5000 mile inspection/oil change performed at Right Toyota. At the time of the incident there was approximately 5355 miles on the vehicle which was purchased new in January 2023. I was luckily able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop without incident and notified Roadside Assistance.

Have had the vehicle three weeks and only drive on paved roadways. Visible chip cracked instantly during drive. Windshield seems weaker than our 2 4Runners and VW. I’ve never seen a crack instantly occur without a large rock or hail.

When the AC is turned on, the AC is not blowing cold AC air. Have turned on the AC to the lowest temperature setting, turned the fan to high, activated the circulation button and it’s only blowing room temperature/warm air. Have tried different combinations of the settings and the AC quality is still only blowing room temperature/warm air. Have driven car to hotter temperature areas and the AC, at this point, is blowing warm/hot air.

In short: My car only fills up to less than 10.5 gallons on an empty tank of gas when the fuel capacity of the tank is 14.5. Toyota is aware of this issue on their RAV4 hybrids and they're not doing anything to fix this consumer issue. This is dangerous for many reasons.

Driver side and passenger side mirror, as well as rearview mirror vibrate. Driver, side mirror, and rearview mirror are the worst with the passenger rear view mirror better than the other two. Brought into Toyota of Dothan couple of times, and they say it’s normal. This is not normal. It is a safety hazard. It started on day one that I own the car, which was July 3, 2023. There is known problems with previous models, as well as with the Lexus NX and RX models, which is based off of Toyota. This needs to be addressed and fixed. There were previous announcements made for 2019 year I believe of the RAV4, but there still is a problem with the 2023 models.

When using an Apple iPhone 12 connected to the vehicle's head unit with CarPlay, and when using any navigation application (Apple Maps, Waze, Google Maps), the car's GPS position on the map randomly becomes extremely inaccurate. The car's map cursor suddenly jumps to a different road than the one the vehicle is on, heads in the wrong direction, or circles wildly. If using the GPS application for directions, the directions suddenly become incorrect. The issue never occurs when the iPhone is not connected to the vehicle's CarPlay display. This is a safety issue because it is extremely distracting or dangerous if the driver is using the GPS application for navigation and is directed to the wrong road or becomes lost in an unknown area due to failure of the navigation application on CarPlay.

Passenger seat is too high even for a short person and cannot be adjusted.when i get out of the car i hit my head and this can happen often.

The vehicle exhibits a consistent and reproducible malfunction in the powertrain system, specifically related to acceleration response and drivetrain engagement. While driving at a steady speed, when the accelerator is pressed gradually (approximately 50–60%), the engine RPM increases but the vehicle does not accelerate accordingly. There is a delay in power delivery. When the accelerator is released, the engine may continue revving briefly, followed by a sudden and jerky engagement of the drivetrain. This issue occurs consistently under the same driving conditions and can be reproduced every time. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This malfunction creates a safety risk when merging into traffic, entering intersections, or making turns. The vehicle does not respond when acceleration is required, which can lead to dangerous situations where other vehicles may approach at higher speeds. After the delay, the vehicle may surge forward unexpectedly, increasing the risk of collision. The issue has been reported to multiple authorized Toyota dealerships on several occasions within the first 15 months of ownership. The vehicle has been inspected by dealership technicians, but the concern has not been diagnosed or repaired. Dealerships have stated that the behavior is normal, despite the repeatable nature of the issue. No warning lights, error messages, or diagnostic indicators have appeared at any time. No diagnostic trouble codes have been reported. The vehicle is equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission, and the behavior appears consistent with a possible transmission, torque converter, or drivetrain control malfunction affecting acceleration response. The condition is not related to driver input and occurs under controlled, repeatable conditions.

The navigation system very frequently loses your location and begins jumping all over the place searching. I've been complaining to Toyota about since the day after I purchased my 2023 RAV4 Hybrid and at first they blamed my iPhone, then claimed they knew nothing about the problem, only after months of complaining do they now acknowledge that there is an issue and they are working to fix it. In addition to the navigation issues with the new head unit, it also no longer pauses or mutes music when reading text messages or dictating text messages. I previously had a 2019 RAV4 Hybrid and didn't have either of these issues. Now I am no longer able to handsfree listen to or respond to text messages and the navigation system is so faulty it is virtually useless.

For the last six months our vehicle has had it's infotainment system malfunction. It shuts off unexpectedly while driving or stopped. It shuts off and on repeatedly as if car is turning on and off. The bright warning sign will show and proceed to act normal then again 5-10 seconds later it shuts off again. This issue happens with and without a phone connected to it via bluetooth. While screen off the rear view camera does not work and nothing else is operable within the screen/ infotainment system. We've brough car to dealership three times in six months.

Was driving to work, pulled in put the car in gear. The car turns off staying low power steering fluid. Couldn’t get it to start. I go in work my shift have my brother meet me. The car starts after sitting 9 hrs and I took it to Toyota. I have only had this car a month and it does this. Low power steering shouldn’t cut an engine off. If anything it should just be hard to steer. These new cars need to be tweaked. If Toyota can’t fix this they will not get any more business from me.

Panoramic sunroof. First one is fine, back one exploded. All around the edges is a very distinct crack in a connected line. There was minimal traffic, and I was the only other vehicle on the interstate with a good 4 car length between me and the next car which was 2 lanes over. I didn’t see or hear anything other than the “gunshot” sounding explosion. No wind or hail or anything, skies were clear, I was going about 60 on the interstate. It freaked me out. Luckily, I did not swerve or change my driving (slam on brakes etc), but with another person driving, this could have caused an accident. Toyota claims it was a piece of debris or rock that hit it so they say it is not under warranty. $14k repair price which is almost a quarter of what I am paying for the vehicle. Waiting to see if my insurance covers it.

I paid for option on my vehicle but it was not installed in the factory. The software shows to be installed on my car. I alerted the sales person numerous times. I told the car had to be moving faster than 40 miles per hour to activate the pre- collision system and it still doesn’t work. This safety issue of the vehicle.

Was driving and made a stop at the stop sign. Vehicle stalled, got a message that the engine had shut off. Would not restart in the middle of an intersection. Engine would not turn over after stall.. Dealer was unable to replicate issue but said that the computer had thrown codes.

I purchased my 2023 Toyota RAV4 new back on March 13,2023. 10 days later on March 23 it was raining as I pulled into BJ’s parking lot, I parked and began fumbling around getting my bag and keys together when my car started shaking and sputtering eventually shutting down with an error message engine stopped steering power low. After a call to the salesman I was able to get my car restarted after 15minutes and many failed attempts. Car was bought back to service the following week and I was told car was not properly programmed at delivery, it was now programmed correctly and this should not happen again. April 17,2023 my son pulling into Tractor supply , raining out, pulls into spot and car again shakes, sputters and shuts off, same message engine stopped steering power low. After many attempts car restarts approximately 20 minutes later. Car serviced codes ARE FOUND and cleared, road tested and told car was ok. May 31,2025 I was driving down Rt 80, pouring rain when traffic comes to a complete stop due to accident ahead. Car starts shaking, sputtering and shuts down. Same message code as always. I turned the car completely off as not to kill battery and started to goggle the RAV4. I attempted to restart the car numerous times. Called for a tow, prayed that I didn’t get killed once traffic started to move. Finally 1-1/2 hours later it started. Traffic began moving 15 minutes after I got it started. Took in for service, charged $199.61 only to be told there were no codes. Problem could not be duplicated and in the future to always disable the start/stop button while using the vehicle. October30, 2025 raining, I stopped at Panera drive thru. Placed an order waiting in line and car shuts down, same error code, couldn’t restart car for 20 minutes. Took to Toyota November 5th same response no codes and cannot replicate issue, car is ok. Please help rectify this before someone gets killed!

Yesterday I drove an hour in the rain for the first time in my brand new 2023 rav4. I pulled into a parking lot, put it in park and all of the sudden my car starting stuttering/jerking/jolting the whole car, the rpm's were fluttering up and down between 2-3, the car engine turned on and off and car felt very weird. Check engine light and yellow explanation symbol came on with message " Engine stopped steering power low" and turned car off. Then I turned it back on and it was doing the same thing jolting me forward with the same message and also the message "Not Ready to drive" and shut the whole car back off. I could barely make it out of the drive thru to park it out of the way in a spot to wait for a tow truck. It wouldn't drive. I had to get it towed to dealership and of course when it got there it was acting normal. I got it brand new 3 weeks ago. The dealership had it for just over a day and said nothing was wrong and no codes were showing that anything happened. I am extremely concerned since something did happen! This seems dangerous especially since the codes did not record. I told them I had a trip to go on up north and there was rain/snow anticipated and they said they would be okay sending their family off in this car since everything with the car says it’s fine