2017 Toyota RAV4

The contact owns a 2017 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the instrument cluster failed, which caused the speedometer and RPM gauge to be inoperable. Additionally, the power steering assist failed, and the steering wheel was locked up. The failure occurred on four separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and Toyota of Brookfield (20655 W Capitol Dr, Brookfield, WI 53045) however, the dealers could not duplicate the failure. Toyota of Brookfield informed the contact that there was a Manufacturer's Campaign Number: 21TG01 (Electrical System) associated with the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at Toyota of Brookfield. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

I purchased my 2017 Rav-4, brand new off the lot the end of 2017. On October 2018 my car battery was dead. NO prior indications of problems, No indicator lights. I had it towed to the dealership, they stated it was a bad cell in the battery and installed a new one. Then on Nov. 2020, once again had a dead battery, again no prior warning. I called and got a jump, took the car back to the dealership, they checked it and said I must have left a light on all night because it was completely drained. They put a 3.5 hour charge on it, check the charging system and said all was fine. Then again on 10-19-21 the battery was dead again. At that point I was pissed and just went to the parts store to get a new battery. Upon opening my hood to replace the battery I found so much corrosion on the top of the battery, cleaned it off the best I could, upon disconnecting the battery positive terminal I found the post had lifted out of the battery causing the corrosion all over the battery. I went to the dealership, they told me they were not responsible for corrosion, they did what they call a corrosion maintenance to clean the terminal, offered me a $55 credit because they said the battery was 3 years old and they would have to prorate it. Which they hadn't as of 10-23-2021. It was a 84 month battery. While there they also said my oil pan gasket was seeping and would need replaced and the front brakes will need replaced soon. I haven't even had the car 4 years, it has 15,300 miles approximately. Definitely some problems with these cars and Toyota needs to take responsibility . I bought a extended warranty, but seems none of this is covered as they say it is normal wear and tear. Never had to replace brakes on a car less then 4 yrs old. After reading all the complaints, I guess I am lucky my car didn't catch fire.

WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE ALL FRONT HEADLAMPS FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY LEAVING ME IN THE DARK. DEALER NEXT DAY FOUND BOTH FRONT HEADLAMP BULBS HAD BOTH LOW AND HIGH BEAM FILAMENTS BURNED OUT! THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A CATASTROPHIC ACCIDENT BUT FOR MY FOG LIGHTS. HOW CAN ANYONE FEEL SAFE IN A VEHICLE IN WHICH ALL LIGHTS MIGHT FAIL WHILE DRIVING UNLIT CURVY ROADWAYS?

While driving around 70-75 mph, I took my foot off gas pedal to coast, the "EV" light came on and off for about "1/2 - 1" second several times. I experienced a strong shaking, vibration, and a feeling that the car may be broken out by itself. It was very noticeable and troubling. If I waited the second for the light to go off while coasting, then no problems. It is not easy to recreate it constantly, so when I tried to show the problem to some mechanics. It could not appear. I have found many same complaints online from many years ago. But it seems no solutions yet. Dealers usually says if they cannot see/experience it, they cannot consider it is an issue. So it seems no one takes any actions to try to solve this issue.

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….

Recurring Problems with AWD Malfunction, Engine Light On. Contacted Toyota two month ago, No reply from Toyota; Description of Complaints: On March 19, 2021, I was driving my Rav4 (VIN[XXX] ) to go to Toledo Ohio. During the driving, the AWD System Malfunction/2WD Mode Engaged and the Engine Light came on (see attached). Interestingly, the warning lights came on and off three to four times and each time I felt a drag/hesitation as if the gear was changed from 4WD to 2WD (Exhibit 1) . It advised me to visit the Toyota Dealer. After arriving Toledo, OH I visited Jim White Toyota Dealer next morning and explained the situation. The dealership was very cordial and helpful. Unfortunately, they did not record any malfunctioning Code (Exhibit 2). While returning home on March 21, 2021, the AWD warning light did not come on. A few days later, these warning lights came on again, and that forced me to visit the local Toyota Dealer, Fitzgerald, for inspection again. They diagnosed the problem to Code P0456 (Exhibits 3-4). This code refers to “…that there is a small leak in the evaporative emission control system.” Today (05/31/2021), after two repairs at Fitzgerald Toyota, Gaithersburg, The "AWD malfunction came back on with the engine light on again. The code reads: P043Eand F;P2401,P2402 and P2419. Please ask Toyota to address this problem and make it as part of recall to fix this problem. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

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.