2017 Toyota RAV4 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"summary some replacement 12-volt batteries of the size specified for the subject vehicles have smaller top dimensions than others. if a small-top battery is used for replacement and the hold-down clamp is not tightened correctly, the battery could move when the vehicle is driven with forceful turns. safety risk the movement could cause the positive battery terminal to contact the hold-down clamp and short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire."

"a fire occurred in the engine compartment of the vehicle while the vehicle was parked in a garage with the engine off. fire patterns and physical evidence suggest the fire originated as a result of a high resistance connection between the positive battery terminal and conductor to the power distribution center. the battery is original. the vehicle has not had any repairs beyond normal maintenance. the vehicle was not involved in a crash."

"i was driving coming from the store with my grand kids and my truck stalled on me so i turned if off and turned it back on but it killed on me again and this point my grand baby said he smelled smoke so i looked up and the hodd was smoking so i got my babies and myself out the truck and ran to the other side of the street and there i watched my truck start a fire so i call the police and the fire people , my truck was totaled i contacted toyota main office to let them know they sented our theire people to look at the truck and decided that it was not there fault and there was nothing they could do for me , my truck caught on fire i did not set it on my fire my grand kids were in that truck what would have happen had he not smalled smoed and it did not stall but caught on fire while i was driving it . but no one was to deal with it you whether just walk away what if was someone in your family then what"

"went out to the vehicle one day to run an errand and the warning light came on and said electrical system malfunction. i took it into the repair facility and was told at first it was the battery then was told no it's the alternator. i remembered i had an extended warranty on the vehicle so i took it into the dealership. they said it's the wire harness and it's not covered due to corrosion. i have put less than 20, 000 miles on this vehicle. this needs to be addressed by the manufacturer toyota. i am asking nhtsa to do a recall on this vehicle."

"my vehicle is on it's 3rd replacement in less than 5 years because it randomly fails. it will not start. this is after i had recently taken my vehicle in for service, where the service technicians have checked the battery performance as "good". there have never been any warnings before my vehicle would not start. absolutely no symptoms prior to the failure. when i pressed the start button, the vehicle gave no indication that it would turn over. it's been a terrible inconvenience and very unsettling, because now that it's happened to me twice. the original battery and now the replacement in less than 5 years. i'm not sure when it will happen again.....it's so unpredictable. this last time, i was stuck in a parking lot and had to be towed to the nearest toyota dealership."

"the contact owns a 2017 toyota rav4. the contact stated that occasionally the vehicle would not immediately start-up, or would take multiple attempts before starting. the vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the manufacturer was also notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 66,000."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."