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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 9
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 1
Average Mileage:
15,325 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2017 Toyota RAV4 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2017 Toyota RAV4 Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #33

Sep 012021

RAV4

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The door does not lock/unlock when you press the button to unlock doors.The individual lock on inside needs to be manually pressed to lock and unlock. My Passenger side went about two years ago. And now the lever on my driver side is not working.

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #32

Sep 082021

RAV4

  • miles
Upon starting the car at night both headlights failed to go on. Only the fog lights would work. Headlights failed in both auto and manual mode.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #31

May 122021

RAV4

  • miles
I bought my Rav4 in September of 2017 brand new and within 6 months I had a dead battery needing replacement so I replaced it via AAA. Since then, I have had the battery replaced an additional 3 times! I always serviced my car at the dealer and took very good care of it. Then after 50k miles, I started having odd lighting issues-€¦both headlight bulbs had to be replaced within 3 weeks of each other and one high beam bulb, and then my tail lights went out! Then I would occasionally have trouble starting the car and with a natural gas smell, rotten eggs. Which could be a catalytic converter or fuel pump issue but can also be the battery. Well, my Rav was in the driveway with a dead battery and with no tail lights and had been sitting there for a month since I mainly drive our Sienna.My Rav just caught on fire and was completely destroyed. No one was hurt but if the Sienna had been out there it would-€™ve caught on fire and it burned the garage door-€¦Rav totaled! I also had a very expensive brake job last year and think those are faulty too. But this fire-€¦.was bad and I can-€™t get a car of equal value with what i received for the total loss. What is Toyota doing about this? Less than 4 yr old well taken cared of Rav 4 XLE that I paid cash for and now can-€™t even replace with a Corolla! There were no warning lights ever, not even for the dead battery-€™s. And less than 6 months prior to the fire, it was serviced at my Toyota dealer and they said all was good. The firemen that came also told me that Rav4 fires have increased and I searched on Consumer Reports and sure enough-€¦what was explained was a carbon copy of my experiences. Thank god no one was in it when it started, but the house could-€™ve caught fire as well. Toyota needs to do something for those of us who had their cars totaled due to fire-€¦just the time invested finding a replacement is worth something-€¦.not to mention the time vested researching vehicles before I bought the Rav4. plus the depreciation, etc-€¦.

- Goodyear , AZ, USA

problem #30

Oct 152020

RAV4

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We purchased this Toyota RAV4 car new in 2017, for our daughter. It has driven problem free, until the car was 3 years and 3 months old. At 3 years and 3 months from purchase, in October, 2020, my daughter took it into the Toyota dealership, in the morning, for a routine oil change. She hasn't had any problems with the car, and has only had it serviced at the Toyota dealership. She drove it in, and got a ride home, and was waiting for the call to come pick up her car. In the afternoon, the dealership called to say her 2017 RAV4 have severe engine damage from the batter exploding, while it had been sitting at the dealership. They told her it was 3 months past the warranty, and Toyota wouldn't pay for any repairs. It sat at Toyota for a week, until our auto insurance representative went and looked. He called us to say that: " he had never seen soo much engine damage." He told us that our auto insurance was -- "totaling the car, that the engine was unrepairable, and that they were going to take it to the auto dump." Our insurance company hauled it away, and determined its remaining value and paid us, in October, 2020. My daughter chose a new car, we purchased it for her, with the insurance money, covering part of the purchase. It cost us thousands more, to cover the cost of the new replacement car. I told my daughter that we had bought her a "dud of a gift", and would pay for the new car. Our auto insurance confirmed what the dealership said, that the battery had exploded.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #29

Apr 092021

RAV4

  • 45,472 miles
Three days ago, I parked my 2017 Rav4 limited in my driveway, stopped the engine, got out, locked the door and went in to my house. Several hours later I went outside and found my Rav4 running. For how long I don't know. I thought I may have done something incorrect. Now being very careful about shut down procedure, yesterday I parked the Rav4 in the same driveway. Two hours later, I went ouside to check and again found the Rav4 running, with the lights on. I found several reports on-line about others having the same experience with their Rav4S. I called several Toyota dealers to report the incident and see if they had experienced this problem with other customers. None did. It appears that I can't be confident that my Rav4 will be wherever I parked it when I return to it.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #28

Mar 192021

RAV4

  • 80,000 miles
While stopped at a stoplight, my Rav4 completely shut down and the dashboard flashed the warning "charging malfunction; see owner's manual". I took my Rav4 to the dealership where they ran a full inspection and found zero issues. It has happened once since, as well. I believe it to be related to the overarching Toyota Rav4 battery/electrical issue as listed in other complaints.

- Edwardsville, IL, USA

problem #27

Mar 012021

RAV4

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While I was at my local dealership they let me know my battery kept coming back weak. I have also noticed how my car seems to almost stall out sometimes while driving. It hasn't but this makes me very nervous while driving

- Irmo, SC, USA

problem #26

Oct 222020

RAV4

  • 30,798 miles
I was stopped at a red light and suddenly the battery light came on and the car shut down completely. I could not steer or move. After a moment I was able to start the car and proceed home. That was the only time it has happened and it occurred in October of 2020. I brought the car to my mechanic a few days later and they could not find a problem. Invoice is attached.

- West Warwick, RI, USA

problem #25

Jan 012021

RAV4

  • 75,000 miles
My car was jumped started by aaa my car sparked my fusr box was blown out have to take my car to the dealership my fuse box was blown and my heater and air blower was not working it was at my residence

- Manvel, TX, USA

problem #24

May 282020

RAV4

  • 90,000 miles
Please see attached sheet for all that has happened since I purchased the car. I've had to replace the battery 2 times in 3 years as well. I have new battery and it became corroded fast. My car kept telling me there was an electrical issue and the check engine light would come on and all of the fails led to the transmission issues.

- Cedar Hill, TX, USA

problem #23

Mar 132018

RAV4

  • 5,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

With rain and snow the sensor start beeping and warning of objects in front of the vehicle when there are nothing. Driving in snow gets the sensors blocked and you cant use the cruise control.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

problem #22

Oct 102018

RAV4

  • 15,087 miles
The contact's parents owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the vehicle was at a stand still, when he noticed yellow fluid under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer Toyota of hollywood fl located at 1841 fl-7, hollywood, fl 33021, (866) 332-6839, where it was diagnosed with needing the battery to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The contact stated the battery acid leaked and damage several components under the hood. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 15,087.

- West Park, FL, USA

problem #21

Sep 212020

RAV4

  • miles
Fan blower motor for the A/C broke down around 50,000 kms, this is a premature break down. I did'nt get a chance to bring it for repair until my odimeter reached 70,000kms so the dealership declined the warranty repair.

- Delta, WA, USA

problem #20

Apr 152020

RAV4 4-cyl

  • 18,500 miles
2017 rav 4 struck a concrete light post in parking lot. Car was moving forward approximately 20 mph, impacted driver's side front and fender. Air bags did not deploy. No collision alarm sounded. Entire front panel destroyed, major electrical sensor damage, driver's door unable to open. Hood damaged. Suspension bent. Driver suffered major bruising and chest pain. Both elbows impacted something in collision.

- Gainesville, VA, USA

problem #19

Mar 052020

RAV4

  • 16,000 miles
While I was driving home from work on Thursday, March 5, 2020, I smelled smoke. I looked at the temperature on the dashboard and it showed that the temperature was a little below the middle line indicating the vehicle was not hot. I continued driving for a couple more blocks and continued to smell smoke so attempted to pull over into a parking lot. When I tried to pull over, the vehicle stopped on its own so I was half way between the street and parking lot. I saw smoke come out from under the hood of the vehicle. About two minutes later, flames started coming out from under the hood. The vehicle caught fire.

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #18

Feb 112020

RAV4

  • 35,000 miles
Auto high beams stopped working dealer needed to replace the headlight stalk on steering wheel

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #17

Mar 012020

RAV4

  • 37,000 miles
Drivers side door lock stopped working car only has 37,000 and is 31 months old. Dealer wants $1000 to repair.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #16

Nov 102019

RAV4

  • 22,910 miles
Vehicle died in the middle of the road while driving normally. The vehicle was on a city street.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

problem #15

Aug 182019

RAV4

  • 27,220 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. While driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled. In addition, the traction control and charging system malfunction indicators illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart and was taken to Toyota of hollywood (6000 hollywood blvd, hollywood ca, 323-498-2260) to be diagnosed. The results were unknown. The vehicle was being repaired under warranty. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 27,220.

- Los Angels, CA, USA

problem #14

Jul 012019

RAV4

  • 36,000 miles
Ignition remains on when I exit vehicle if forget to push off button with my key in pocket. Car not running when I leave so it is easy to forget and engine can/will restart at later time. This has happened at least two times in driveway. If in happened when I put in garage and went to bed in room over garage it could present a carbon monoxide hazard.

- South Windsor, CT, USA

Read the next 13 complaints »

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