2017 Toyota RAV4 Complaints

I am the driver's husband and the driver was the only one in the car. I assist her to file this report The accident happened around 6 pm on 12.28.2025 My wife was involved in a single car accident in a parking lot. She made a left turn at the intersection of 192nd ave and 3rd st, and then entered into the parking lot from the north entrance. The car hit the curb as she entered the parking lot. Then the car (RAV4) started accelerating by itself, and was out of control. She cannot stop the car. To avoid going straight and hit the shops at the other end of the parking lot, she turned the wheel to one side. She hit a light post and then hit something else. The vehicle flipped over and landed on its roof. The vehicle was totaled. She was trapped inside the car unable to free herself until the ambulance, tow truck and the police arrived. By God's grace, she did not hit any other car or person and she only suffered minor injury. She was taken to the emergency room at Peace Health, exa...

My 2017 Toyota RAV4 suddenly caught fire while it was parked in front of my home. The vehicle was turned off and had been parked for several minutes. Without any warning, flames started in the battery area and rapidly spread, resulting in a total loss of the vehicle. The Wylie, Texas Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. Component or System Involved: Exact cause UNKNOWN. Fire appears to have originated from the engine compartment. The remains of the vehicle are available for inspection upon request by NHTSA, Toyota, or investigators. Safety Risk: This was a severe and unexpected fire with no warning and posed a serious risk to my family, neighbors, and surrounding property. The fire could have spread to my home and other vehicles nearby. It created a dangerous situation for anyone in the area. Reproduction / Confirmation: The problem cannot be reproduced because the vehicle is a total loss. No prior mechanical issues or symptoms suggested this could happen. Inspectio...

While driving the vehicle on an uphill stretch of highway with cruise control set at approximately 65 mph, the vehicle suddenly slowed down without warning. A distinct clunk was heard at the same moment. The cruise control system attempted to restore speed, and the engine became noticeably louder, but the vehicle struggled to return to the set speed. The driver tapped the brake to disengage cruise control and manually pressed the accelerator to resume normal speed. The trip was completed without additional events. After parking, the check engine light illuminated and the cruise control system became disabled on all subsequent drives. No warning indicators were present at the time of the initial failure, and there were no vehicles ahead that would have triggered the collision-avoidance system. Two days later, the vehicle became an intermittent no-start and eventually failed to start entirely. The vehicle was towed to a dealership for inspection. Technicians confirmed an electrical mal...

My 2017 Toyota RAV4 XLE is experiencing unsafe behavior with the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). When driving around modest or slight turns, the ACC frequently loses tracking of the vehicle ahead and suddenly accelerates, then harshly brakes once it reacquires the vehicle. This creates a jerking motion and significantly reduces my confidence in the system. On one occasion while traveling approximately 45 miles per hour on a slight curve, the ACC began rapidly accelerating toward the vehicle in front of me as if no vehicle was there, forcing me to perform an emergency manual takeover and disengage the ACC to avoid a potential rear end collision. This issue is repeatable and appears to be related to how the ACC detects vehicles ahead while cornering. I am requesting that this behavior be investigated as a potential safety defect.

The rear lift hatch on my 2017 Toyota RAV4 is not working properly. It can be raised without a problem most of the time but not lowered without a lot of effort and time. It might go down several inches and stop before going back up again causing me to have to start the process all over again. It definitely could present a danger if someone tried to force it up or down or if they got a body part under it while it was doing its weird motions. Plus it would not be safe to drive it unless it lowered all the way and latched. I did take it in to my Toyota mechanic who acknowledged the problem and said the only remedy was to replace parts at a cost of somewhere between $1200 and $1300. Since the issue with my rear lift hatch started a year ago, I have read numerous complaints from other persons who are having the same issue. My mechanic confirms that he has had a number of vehicles brought to him with the same or similar issue. I strongly feel that there should be a recall. I have be...