Complaint volume
130 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2023 Toyota RAV4 Complaints
130 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Toyota RAV4, grouped by component category.
130 Total complaints
18 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
8 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are unknown or other, electrical system, steering,electrical system,engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 18 crash reports, 1 fire report, 8 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 9 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 36,891 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, steering,electrical system,engine?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2023 Toyota RAV4?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2023 Toyota RAV4
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Toyota RAV4 complaints?
18 Crash
1 Fire
8 Injury
0 Fatality
9 Towed
7 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Toyota RAV4 complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 21
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 7
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6
STEERING 5
STEERING,ENGINE 5
STRUCTURE 4
TIRES 4
AIR BAGS 3
BACK OVER PREVENTION 3
130 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2024 | WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES | I was turning left pulling into my carport with my foot lightly on brake and the car suddenly accelerated forward !!! I slammed the break hard and was able to stop the car from hitting the concrete wall because my front tire hit the wall to the left and the car hit the cement parking bumper in my carport!! It scared me so bad I am afraid to drive the car in fear I could hurt someone. The dealer could not replicate the problem and sent me home with the car. I am not happy with Toyota !! The car is 8 months old with 7,000 miles on it!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Vehicle will shut off while in “drive” gear after a complete stop and will report on the dash screen “ Engine stopped. Steering power low.” All other alert lights will be on and unable to change the gear into neutral to move the vehicle into a safe location. This vehicle has already done this exact issue twice and it’s currently less than 10,000 miles on the vehicle. First incident was 2k mileage in a safe environment however the next incident was at 6880 miles. Vehicle shut down in the middle of a highway and I was unable to place the car into neutral gear to move the car to safety. Dealership has not been successful to find the source of the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My 2023 Rav4 is having same or similar issues previously described on tsb 010920 for models 2019 to 2021. Toyota of Iowa city is saying issue is under investigation for the last 5 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I was pulling into a handicaped parking space and the car just jumped over the curb and hit the handicaped sign plowed into the landscapping. it went from 5miles an hour to 20miles an hour in 5 seconds by itself . computer took over . no air bags were deployed . | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Car loses traction over minor imperfections in the road. When braking and dropping speeds to 20-30 MPH, car will lose traction over imperfection in the road, causing the ABS to engage. The car shutters and grinds/vibrates until traction is regained. With an AWD system, a minor 6-inch drop in the road due to a pot hole or dip should not cause traction to be lost. The car consistently loses traction when braking and 1 tire runs over imperfection in the road (pot hole, dip, uneven pavement, etc.). If car drives over speed bump (which keeps tires aligned), car does not lose traction. Issue is only present if 1 tire different than the other 3 which shows instability of the vehicle. Issue has been verified by manufacturer and has shown up in the car log. Dealer said that the car recorded a loss of traction 4 times in the last month. Issue has been escalated to Toyota corporate and they do not see the sensitivity of the traction control as an issue. Issue has been persistent since the purchase of the car in early 2023. All components on the car are OEM and have only been looked at by Toyota dealers. Multiple online forums have shown that other owners face the same issues. Video proof of the issue can be provided. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | POWER TRAIN | I am an owner of new 2023 RAV4 and believe some of the newer 2023 & 2024 Toyota Rav4 models with ICE (non-hybrid) have a potentially dangerous defect with the transmission system, which causes these cars to jerk and stutter when the gas pedal is lightly depressed (light acceleration) when the car speed is between 15 and 40 mph and tachometer is between 1500 and 2500 RPM. The reason I believe this defect is potentially dangerous is that a few weeks ago I was going through a school zone with an active 20mph limit, and when trying to keep the speed at 20mph, experienced jerkiness, RPM jump and sudden speed bouncing (momentary jerking from lower to faster and back to lower speeds a few times in a row). Typically this issue is a lot more subtle but occasionally it is so bad that I have a momentary feeling of loosing control over the speed of the car and active school zone is the least place I'd like that to happen. Besides, these stutters are pretty bad disturbers when they occur drawing focus away from the road and onto the car itself, since it does feel like the car is about to stall. I have visited the dealership twice regarding this concern, however since these stuttering have a random nature I was not able to replicate the issue during my visits to the dealership. I have also passed this concern to Toyota USA Corporate office and they in fact have acknowledged that they received numerous complaints on the same matter and suspect the issue is in the newer 8 speed transmission system they are now installing. Unfortunately there has been no further action taken by Toyota to remedy this issue, although they are fully aware of it. Hoping you get more complains on this matter and force Toyota to take action. Thank you! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The vehicle several occasions been unresponsive to accelerate. This has happened on two separate occasions (days) in which the vehicle would not accelerate. The first occurrence was right after I purchased the car and drove it the first full day I owned it in September 2023. The second time was on Saturday December 16, 2023. When the vehicle is driven under 40 mph such as slowing for a turn, braking for a traffic light, picking up speed to enter onto a highway this problem occurs. It is when the gas is pressed down to accelerate, the vehicle does not respond by increasing the speed. The RPM's would go really high and the vehicle would receive the gas but would not "shift" and felt stuck. And the transmission was very loud. It felt like the vehicle transmission was slipping or not engaging/shifting. Adding more gas was not beneficial. The gas pedal could be pressed down to the floor and the vehicle was not responsive by shifting "gears" or picking up speed. The vehicle would not accelerate above 20 mph and the RPMs would go up. No lights or warnings were produced. The only way to get the vehicle to act normally once again was to pull the car over into a safe location, shift the car into park, shut the car off, wait for a few seconds, restart the car and proceed. In one session (driving the same day) the car repeated the inability to accelerate each time the vehicle was slowed down below 40 mph to come to a stop at a stop sign, take a turn, stop at a traffic light etc. This was dangerous as I was not able to proceed in traffic and caused other drivers to honk their horns at me, and left me stuck in intersections. This was very disconcerting and left me feeling endangered by not being able to follow the flow of traffic. Toyota Service did a diagnostic test on it twice now. The first time had torque converter codes. This 2nd time they claim there were no codes on the diagnostic test. They dropped the transmission pan and found no metal shavings. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Screen used for backup camera and radio was intermittently non-responsive. Issue has been seen/confirmed at the dealership. Safety concern is the failure/inaccessibility to the safety/visibility feature associated with the reverse camera. (Issue was intermittent upon ignition and remain non functional until vehicle would be powered off and back on again.) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The navigation system very frequently loses your location and begins jumping all over the place searching. I've been complaining to Toyota about since the day after I purchased my 2023 RAV4 Hybrid and at first they blamed my iPhone, then claimed they knew nothing about the problem, only after months of complaining do they now acknowledge that there is an issue and they are working to fix it. In addition to the navigation issues with the new head unit, it also no longer pauses or mutes music when reading text messages or dictating text messages. I previously had a 2019 RAV4 Hybrid and didn't have either of these issues. Now I am no longer able to handsfree listen to or respond to text messages and the navigation system is so faulty it is virtually useless. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Media system is used prevalently to navigate in cities like Dallas and can be considered a crucial part of the car. However in all Toyotas this is a defective part and often disconnects while driving making it difficult and often unsafe due to the sudden interruptions especially when you are traveling at on highways or city streets. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | When I drive this vehicle i have to be very careful. The moment you take break pedal the vehicle doesn't stop, It started shuffling and showing a warning sign of slippery road. It takes extra couple space to fully complete stop. It is summer time there is not slippery road road around. I hope they will fix this issue before it gets bad or kill someone. This is a dangerous act when you can not control your break pedal. All break pads are new this is 2023 vehicle built in June. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was coasting into a parking space (at 6.8 mph) and as I attempted to park, the car suddenly accelerated and went up and over the concrete rectangle park stop and smashed into a brick building (12.4 mph) and went back over the park stop before the engine in the vehicle finally died. During the acceleration, I was trying to brake the car, but the car wouldn’t stop. I was yelling to my husband that the car wouldn’t stop. The driver airbags deployed as well as the knee air bag. The passenger airbags did not deploy as there was not a passenger in the front seat. The car had 4258 miles and was totaled. My husband and I both sustained injuries. According to the Toyota app, the vehicle had a “0” rating for fast acceleration and a “1” rating for harsh braking during this particular trip. I contacted Toyota and an investigation was conducted using Bosch Crash Data Retrieval Tool 23.2.1. The data shows a 5 second timeframe with .50 second intervals. The vehicle speed at the 5 second mark was 6.8mph with 0% accelerator pedal. At 2 seconds, the speed was 5.0mph with 8.5% accelerator pedal. And, at the crash point the vehicle speed was 12.4mph with 100% accelerator pedal. Toyota product liability contacted me with their report stating that there was no brake pedal application prior to the impact and that pressure was applied to the accelerator pedal at wide open throttle seconds prior to the impact, and they found no obstructions or interference with the operation of the accelerator pedal. Further, they found the brakes to be operational However, the vehicle could not be test test driven as it would not turn on. In summary they did not find any evidence of an issue or defect with the vehicle based on inspection and electronic data. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | BACK OVER PREVENTION | Backed into a mailbox on the passenger side rear taillight. Car did not detect the mailbox and give any warning to the driver. Mckinnon Toyota in Clanton Alabama advised that this vehicle is not equipped to detect a stationary object behind the vehicle. Three individuals at Toyota customer service advised that it did. R/O Number for the visit is [XXX]. The reference number from Toyota customer service is [XXX]. Car was purchased on 6/2/23. Car was purchased with the expectation that it was equipped to detect rear stationary objects when in reverse. I consider this a safety issue if it will not detect a person behind the car in reverse. This is my daughter's car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I bought a 2023 Rav4 Hybrid XLE brand new. On my first refill of the gas tank, I noticed that the gas needle would only go a smidge over the 3/4 mark. The RAV4 hybrid is supposed to have 14.5 gallons and around 540 miles per tank but I estimate it to fill around 10.5 gallons and the car shows around 413 miles per tank. I've attached two images I took when I filled up the tank, the car showed around 36 miles left to empty and it only pumped 8.8 gals. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | TIRES | The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at 75 MPH, the vehicles front driver side tire had a blowout. Both sidewalls exploded outward. (Original Tires) No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The mechanic suggested that the contact had hit a pothole. The front driver-side tire was replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 895. The contact will update the complaint with the Tire information | Crash: No Fire: No | 895 |
| Sep 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The moonroof on this vehicle shattered without warning as I was driving on the freeway. It sounded like a loud boom and when i looked up the tempered glass was falling on me and inside my 2023 Rav4. This is a huge safety issue and im not only concerned about my safety but how much glass is in my car - I take my kids to school in this car. Im going to take it to the dealership today to have them repair it - this should br a warrantied item but I have read there are multiple issues in other Rav4's. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | TIRES | Firestone Destination LE 2. 225/65R17. Tire has exploded on highway. This is a brand new car purchased 3 weeks ago and has 1584 mile on it. Tire run only about 1575 mile. When inflated the tire again, it had multiple bubbles, ball shaped swellings. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | As I was entering a covered parking structure, I came to a complete stop at the entrance of the gate to obtain my parking ticket. I was driving very slow less than 5 mph, and engaged the brakes as to stop to get my parking ticket before entering the parking garage. I have my foot on the brake pedal, I am at a complete stop of 0mph for several seconds now, and suddenly the engine revved and my car lunged forward a bit. I had not lifted my foot from the brake pedal, and yet the engine revved and my car lunged forwards. My passenger at the time yelled, WHOAA why are you pressing on the gas!!? So my passenger in the car at the time was also startled by this incident and felt the car surge forward. He thought that I had pressed on the gas pedal. If someone was to be in front of my vehicle they would have potentially been hit with my car, or if I had been closer to the parking entrance gate my car could have hit the gate. I am highly concerned this just occurred as this could cause a great accident or injury. I have 1,100 miles on the car. It was purchased brand new. Another issue I have been experiencing is when I engage the gas pedal, it does not accelerate and takes a few seconds to accelerate causing my forward momentum to stall out, this is an issue when I have been trying to merge into traffic and my car does not drive as I have anticipated. I am not sure if this is an issue with it being in "ECO" mode or not, but there is a stalled acceleration issue, that happens sometimes, but not always and I cannot pin point why it is happening at certain moments. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | In short: My car only fills up to less than 10.5 gallons on an empty tank of gas when the fuel capacity of the tank is 14.5. Toyota is aware of this issue on their RAV4 hybrids and they're not doing anything to fix this consumer issue. This is dangerous for many reasons. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | TIRES | At approximately 11:30 AM on Saturday, August 5, 2023 I was traveling northbound on I-17 just before exit number 278 for State Route 179. I felt the vehicle shake violently and my wife saw a portion of a tire rolling along the side of the road into the desert. I was able to safely pull off to the shoulder, it was then that I noticed the driver side rear tire had completely separated from the rim. There were no warnings I had recently had my 5000 mile inspection/oil change performed at Right Toyota. At the time of the incident there was approximately 5355 miles on the vehicle which was purchased new in January 2023. I was luckily able to bring the vehicle to a complete stop without incident and notified Roadside Assistance. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Driver side and passenger side mirror, as well as rearview mirror vibrate. Driver, side mirror, and rearview mirror are the worst with the passenger rear view mirror better than the other two. Brought into Toyota of Dothan couple of times, and they say it’s normal. This is not normal. It is a safety hazard. It started on day one that I own the car, which was July 3, 2023. There is known problems with previous models, as well as with the Lexus NX and RX models, which is based off of Toyota. This needs to be addressed and fixed. There were previous announcements made for 2019 year I believe of the RAV4, but there still is a problem with the 2023 models. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Have had the vehicle three weeks and only drive on paved roadways. Visible chip cracked instantly during drive. Windshield seems weaker than our 2 4Runners and VW. I’ve never seen a crack instantly occur without a large rock or hail. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When the AC is turned on, the AC is not blowing cold AC air. Have turned on the AC to the lowest temperature setting, turned the fan to high, activated the circulation button and it’s only blowing room temperature/warm air. Have tried different combinations of the settings and the AC quality is still only blowing room temperature/warm air. Have driven car to hotter temperature areas and the AC, at this point, is blowing warm/hot air. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When using an Apple iPhone 12 connected to the vehicle's head unit with CarPlay, and when using any navigation application (Apple Maps, Waze, Google Maps), the car's GPS position on the map randomly becomes extremely inaccurate. The car's map cursor suddenly jumps to a different road than the one the vehicle is on, heads in the wrong direction, or circles wildly. If using the GPS application for directions, the directions suddenly become incorrect. The issue never occurs when the iPhone is not connected to the vehicle's CarPlay display. This is a safety issue because it is extremely distracting or dangerous if the driver is using the GPS application for navigation and is directed to the wrong road or becomes lost in an unknown area due to failure of the navigation application on CarPlay. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | SEATS | Passenger seat is too high even for a short person and cannot be adjusted.when i get out of the car i hit my head and this can happen often. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |