2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime

The instrument cluster (combination meter) failed completely and without warning, going entirely blank. This eliminated all speedometer, warning light, and indicator functionality. The failure began occurring intermittently before becoming persistent. No warning lamps or messages preceded the failure — the cluster simply went dark. The loss of speedometer functionality made the vehicle unsafe to operate, as the driver had no means of monitoring vehicle speed. The loss of all warning indicators eliminated visibility into any safety-critical vehicle alerts that may have been active during the failure periods. The problem was confirmed by the dealership and is the subject of Safety Recall 25TA08 (Combination Meter May Go Blank). The vehicle was brought to a Toyota dealership where the recall was documented and the repair was eventually completed. The replacement part required VIN-specific production and programming by Toyota, resulting in an extended out-of-service period of nearly two months at the dealership, and approximately five months from the first occurrence of the failure. During the out-of-service period, the vehicle could not pass state inspection and was legally inoperable. The component has been replaced and is no longer available for inspection.

On Friday Jan 30 around 3pm, this Rav 4 entered the short drive way in front of the garage. The car stopped, the automatic garage door was engaged. Suddenly, the car advanced, passing through the opening garage door and into and through the back wall of the garage. This is a sustaining way for the second storey. The front of the car displaced the counters inside, demolished the kitchen, almost toppling the fridge. Given the damage to the garage done and the damage inflicted, my interpretation is that an unintended acceleration event occurred. The airbags did not deploy. My wife, [XXX] , was driving at the time and was alone in the car. The air bags did not deploy Significant damage was done to the kitchen. And because the wall was a sustaining wall, there was serious damage to the support beams throughout the house. Estimate is $118,770 plus $30,000 for the repair work in the attic. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The digital instrument cluster display failed completely while the vehicle was in operation. The speedometer, warning indicators, and safety alerts were not visible, making it unsafe to drive due to inability to monitor speed or receive critical warnings. There were no prior warning messages before the failure occurred. The vehicle was inspected by an authorized Toyota dealer, Toyota of Temecula, who confirmed instrument cluster failure. The vehicle has been out of service since November 25, 2025. The dealership has ordered a replacement instrument cluster, but the current estimated availability is May 2026. The vehicle remains unusable due to the safety risk created by the failed display.

I am reporting an unresolved safety defect involving the 12.3-inch instrument panel display on my Toyota RAV4 Prime, which is the subject of NHTSA Recall 25V595 (Manufacturer Recall 25TB08). The defect affects the LED digital display that provides critical driver information, including vehicle speed, warning indicators, and operating status. Initially, the display would intermittently go blank at startup and sometimes return during the drive. However, the condition has progressively worsened. The instrument panel display has now been completely blank and unresponsive for over three consecutive days and has not returned at all, including after multiple drive cycles. As a result, the vehicle cannot display critical operating information or malfunction indicators. This issue was first reported to an authorized Toyota dealer in August, prior to the recall being issued. At that time, I was informed that I would be responsible for replacing the entire display/instrument system at my own expense. On September 11, 2025, Toyota issued Recall 25V595 acknowledging that the instrument panel display may be blank at startup and stating that operating the vehicle in this condition reduces the ability to see malfunction indicators and could increase the risk of a crash or injury. The vehicle was most recently serviced on December 19, at which time the dealer confirmed that the issue is related to the recall and that no remedy is currently available. The recall remains incomplete, and Toyota has not provided a repair, interim solution, loaner vehicle, or timeline for resolution. Because the instrument panel display is completely nonfunctional, the vehicle cannot be safely operated. The lack of a remedy for a safety-related defect affecting a core vehicle safety system has exceeded a reasonable timeframe. I am requesting NHTSA review and intervention.

Driver was parking the car in a parking lot at a very slow speed. The car suddenly shot forward at a very high rate of speed, requiring evasive steering from trees and a fence, until the car crashed head-on into another vehicle. The driver is very certain the brakes only were applied during the entire time the car shot forward. Airbags were not deployed. Bystanders were within six feet of the car at one point during the acceleration, prior to the crash. There were no injuries. Earlier, on the day of the crash, the car had a sudden, strong, yet brief acceleration of the vehicle during normal braking while approaching a rotary, unlike normal ABS. ABS itself seemed unneeded (the approach to the rotary was well within the speed limit, on dry condition roads). This issue occurred twice in the two months prior to the accident. There were no known warning messages in the car or the phone app for the car in any of these cases or at the time of the crash. The manufacturer has been notified of the crash, a product liability case has been opened, and an engineer was sent to look at the car. A data download from the airbag event data recorder (Bosch CDR) was done, a report was generated, and the report was provided to the car owner. No data in the formatted report is provided regarding Vehicle Speed, Accelerator Pedal, Cruise Control Status, Brake Torque, etc. Unformatted hexadecimal data is included in the report, without a data schema to decipher the data. It is not known if any other analysis or information about the car was reported by the engineer, beyond the Bosch CDR report. The owner is not aware that the problem has been reproduced or confirmed by anyone involved, or of any other inspections than the one described here. Manufacturer has not yet provided the owner with a report response. The car is currently at an auto repair shop and no repairs have begun. The shop is awaiting an appraisal by the insurance company before doing the repairs.