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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 1
Average Mileage:
84,981 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2017 Toyota RAV4 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #46

Jan 012024

RAV4

  • miles

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

Fuel pump has small leak causing evaporative emissions codes and fuel to accumulate on top of the pump. This is the same concern which there is a recall for the 2018 models and beyond. They equipment is the same between the years and 2017 should be included in the recall as well.

- Ludlow, MA, USA

problem #45

Jan 182024

RAV4

  • miles
This vehicle was involved in a T-Bone crash, where the battery came out and the vehicle caught fire. The driver of this vehicle died at the scene. This involves NHTSA recall number 23V734 & Manufacturer Recall number 23TB13.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #44

May 012023

RAV4

  • miles
Battery became disabled without any warning. Safety of driving down the road and battery stop working is an issue. I replaced battery through no help of Toyota. Only person to inspect was person replacing battery.

- West Paducah, KY, USA

problem #43

Sep 252023

RAV4

  • miles

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

The car was sitting in the driveway and caught fire around 11:29am. The car had not been driven or moved from the driveway for at least 2 days, and is up to date on all maintenance. The fire inspectors hypothesize the fire began from the battery and spread. After Googling, I have learned that Toyota Rav 4s from 2013 to 2018 had a large recall; 1.8 million vehicles taken because of the battery catching fire randomly. The remains of the vehicle are in the driveway of the residence. Both the police and fire department came to the scene. The safety of others was put at risk because it is only luck that nobody was in the car, or going to drive the vehicle as it caught fire randomly, bringing the residents of the home and owner of the car in extreme risk from both the fire and any explosions, damage to the house, and damage to others.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

problem #42

Sep 102023

RAV4

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 mph, fire was detected near the engine and front of the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries, crash, es or air bag deployment. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent towing lot. The contact called the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

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problem #41

Jul 222023

RAV4

  • miles
I was in the third, leftmost, lane on an urban highway coming out of a gentle turn going about 40-45 miles an hour. There was a loud metallic clank or bang and the vehicle pulled sharply to the right. I hit the brakes hard, the vehicle crossed two lanes and came to rest on the shoulder about 18 inches from the concrete barrier, having turned about 170 degrees. There was very little traffic and so there was no accident or injuries but had there been normal traffic it would have been a disaster. There were no indicator lights showing any problem, I examined the tires and underside and could not see any damage. I was able to drive away from the site. I took the car in to my regular Toyota dealer (Toyota of Lincoln Park, they perform all my service) and they test drove it, examined it closely, checked the computer, and could find nothing wrong. No other parties have examined the car. However, I would be afraid to drive it and need to dispose of the car without exposing anyone else to what might happen.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #40

Feb 112023

RAV4

  • miles

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

Both of my headlights burned out at the same time. I was driving on a rural mountain highway at about 7:30pm and was using my adaptive headlights. They were working fine, I noticed no issues, until they both burned out at the same time. It was dangerous, there was no shoulder to pull over on, and a steep drop-off i couldn't see and no warning whatsoever I'd be in pitch black dark in the middle of the road. Thankfully there was very little traffic, it could have been much worse. My dash camera captured the event and I've shared it to YouTube. https://youtu.be/plJlQYcA8-A No indicator lights ever came on, before or after. I had to drive the last hour to my destination through the mountains in the dark with only fog and running lights. I had been to the dealership for scheduled interval maintenance just the week before. A multi point inspection evidently didn't catch that both headlights were about to go out at the same time. Bulbs" Wiring? Relay" Not sure what happened.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #39

Apr 012022

RAV4

  • miles
The door lock actuators failed I was locked out of my car

- Woodside , NY, USA

problem #38

Sep 292022

RAV4 4-cyl

  • miles
While driving at about 55mph on an open highway, the moon roof exploded. There was a loud explosion inside the car by my right ear. The noise was deafening and distracting and caused a momentary loss of concentration on driving, a situation that was very dangerous and could have resulted in an accident with serious injury. I immediately pulled over and checked the tires, the body and underneath the vehicle, finding nothing. When I began driving again, I heard a loud wind noise and other strange noises above me. I started to open the cover of the moon roof, but shards of glass fell on me, so I closed it again. Pulling over again, I climbed on the door threshold to look at the roof of the car. Unbelievable! It looked like a volcano with the glass pointing upwards around a big hole. Toyota Corp. is claiming it was caused by an outside source. That is definitely not true. I was in the car, nothing landed on the roof. The highway I was on has no bridges, no overpass, no multi-story buildings, no schools or no place that would enable someone to drop or throw a large item on top of a car. And, there was nothing on the inside cover except broken glass. The glass on the roof was definitely pointing upwards. The result of my research on exploding roofs shows that this problem has affected multiple car brands and multiple sun/moon roof manufacturers. I'm asking the NHTSA to help protect USA drivers. If there had been a warning that the roof could suddenly explode while I was driving, I definitely would have selected a car without a glass roof. If the cover had not been closed, I would have been sprayed with glass in addition to the loud blast. Because this is a major safety issue, I'm begging the NHTSA to look into the problem and at the very least immediately issue warnings so drivers of vehicles with sun/moon roofs will be aware that this could happen. It would be much better to find out what defect is causing this to happen before anyone is killed! The consumer stated he feels that moonroof exploding

- Three Rivers, CA, USA

problem #37

Aug 032022

RAV4

  • miles
While driving the vehicle, the sun roof glass shattered. The cover of the roof was closed, so no glass spilled into the car, but could have been dangerous if it the cover was open.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

problem #36

Nov 012020

RAV4

  • miles

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

6 months after warantee expired passenger front door lock actuator failed. Dor can only be locked /unlocked from manual rocker lock inside door. Electrick lock doesnt function. Within 6 months of that failure, drivers door developed same problem. Door can only be locked from inside and unlocked from outside with key.

- Iowa City, IA, USA

problem #35

Mar 302022

RAV4

  • miles
My mechanic showed me that the axle shaft assembly on my Toyota RAV4 is leaking grease and that, if not repaired soon, could be a safety issue when driving.

- Ithaca, NY, USA

problem #34

Dec 022019

RAV4

  • miles
The axle broke while I was driving. I was on CA HWY 101 NB, it was a day after the rain so I was careful not to speed. As I was heading towards a decline the car made a loud pop sound that came from the rear left side. I looked back because my initial thought was the tire popped but as I looked at my rear view mirror the car veered rapidly to the left headed straight to the median. Safety at risk: I tried to break but it seemed like the breaks were not responding well. I turned the wheel to not hit the median and the car turned completely, facing traffic and sliding to the right side of the freeway where it stopped on its side. The car was checked and we have a letter from Toyota saying the part broke due to speeds over 80 mph. But I was not driving over 80, and and axle is probably not supposed to break at that speed. There were no warning lights, or symptoms. My vehicle seemed completely healthy.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

problem #33

Nov 222021

RAV4

  • miles
The shifter makes a irregularly rough shift out of park. It is available for inspection if possible. The safety of me or passengers has not been compromised. The problem has not been confirmed from any dealer or manufacturer. The shifter component has not been inspected or checked to confirm the issue or potential issue. There was no warning light to indicate a issue.

- Kingwood , TX, USA

problem #32

May 012018

RAV4

  • 13,900 miles
On rainy days, when I am standing at a traffic light, and starting to get out of the green light, my car becomes unstable, as if it were going to skid. This happens whenever the street is wet. Report this problem from the first inspection of the car. At that time they changed an axis, but the problem persists

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #31

Mar 142021

RAV4

  • 37,000 miles
Took my 2017 Rav4 le to Toyota for shaking/vibrating at stoplight when fully warmed up. It does this every time I stop at a light or stop sign. They cannot find any faults or codes related to the issue and claim everything is normal. The vehicle feels like it will stall at every light. However they did tell me they were able to replicate the issue on another vehicle on the lot with similar mileage, but they tell me there is nothing they can do. Seems to be on all 2017 Rav4 le's not just mine.

- Albany, NY, USA

problem #30

Apr 202021

RAV4

  • 2,862,412 miles
The vehicle is making a loud noise. When I go to turn it makes a cracking noise.

- Los Angeles, CA, 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

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 #27

Nov 122020

RAV4 4-cyl

  • 44,000 miles
Back hatch is frozen and will not open. At first it opened a few inches, now it doesn't open at all. Just purchased this used vehicle in June! very expensive repair.

- Lebanon, PA, USA

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