2017 Toyota RAV4
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 307 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 13th highest complaint count among 26 RAV4 model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 33 involved a crash and 24 involved a fire. 28 people were injured and 2 people died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Electrical system, 12v/24v/48v batteryNov 1, 2023
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles. Certain replacement 12-volt batteries may not fit properly in the battery tray, allowing the battery to move and contact the hold-down bracket, possibly causing a short circuit.
A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
Dealers will replace the battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 27, 2024, to 2013-2014 RAV4 owners. Additional owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, phase 2 will begin on May 14, 2025, and phase 3 in late July 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 23TB13 and 23TA13.
Campaign 23V734000 on NHTSA.gov
Equipment, other, labelsJun 28, 2019
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
SET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.
Campaign 19V503000 on NHTSA.gov
Tires, temporary/emergency spare tireMay 2, 2017
Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (Gulf States) is recalling certain 2017 4Runner , 86, Avalon, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Corolla iM, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, Prius, Prius C, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Sienna and Yaris vehicles. The spare tire air pressure was not adjusted to the proper pressure as stated on the Tire Pressure Label.
A spare tire that is not inflated to the proper value may not perform as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Gulf States will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the spare tires, adjusting their pressure as necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 15, 2017. Owners may contact Gulf States customer service at 1-800-444-1074. Toyota's number for this recall is 17R2.
Campaign 17V295000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: electrical system
108 reports, newest first. Show all
Electrical system, Jun 21, 2018
ON OCCASION, WHILE GOING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE, THE VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN AND I GET A MESSAGE THAT SAYS "CHARGING MALFUNCTION". IT DOES NOT HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. IT HAS HAPPENED WHEN I PULL OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY ONTO THE BUSY STREET I LIVE ON. IT HAS ALSO HAPPENED ONCE WHEN I PARALLELL PARKED. I HAVE TO SHUT THE CAR OFF AND THEN RESTART FOR IT TO WORK AGAIN. I TRIED TO RECREATE THE SITUATION BUT CANNOT. I BROUGHT IT TO TOYOTA AND THEY CANNOT FIND THE PROBLEM EITHER. MOST RECENTLY IT HAPPENED TO ME LAST NIGHT WHILE PULLING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY. (6-20-18) TIME. I PURCHASED THE CAR AUGUST OF 2017 AND IT STILL IS UNDER WARRANTY HOWEVER I HAVE HAD NO LUCK WITH TOYOTA. THEIR RESPONSE WAS WE WILL NOTE IT IN THE FILE.
Electrical system, Jun 1, 2018
I WAS DRIVING HOME AND AT A RED LIGHT WHEN MY RAV4 STARTED TO SHAKE AND FEEL AS THOUGH IT WAS GOING TO STALL OUT. EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN AND I WAS UNABLE TO MOVE. I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING ERROR ON OUR DISPLAY, "CHARGING SYSTEM MALFUNCTION". AFTER A FEW SECONDS I WAS ABLE TO TURN MY VEHICLE ON AND PROCEED THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. APPROXIMATELY ONE MINUTE LATER IT STARTED TO STUTTER AGAIN. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT TO MY DRIVEWAY BEFORE IT TURNED OFF AND LOST POWER. I INFORMED MY HUSBAND WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND HE TOOK THE VEHICLE OUT TO SEE IF THE SAME ERROR WOULD OCCUR. WITHIN FIVE MINUTES INTO HIS DRIVE THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. WE HAD IT TOWED TO OUR TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, AS WE JUST PURCHASED THIS RAV4 BRAND NEW NINE MONTHS AGO. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT CONDUCTED MULTIPLE TESTS AND INFORMED US THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE. IT IS A LITTLE UNNERVING TO KNOW THAT THE VEHICLE I DRIVE COULD COMPLETELY TURN OFF, POTENTIALLY ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. THE RISK FOR SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH, TO ME OR MY FAMILY, IS HIGH IF THIS OCCURS. AGAIN, TO RECAP, THE VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT AND ALSO WHEN IT WAS IN MOTION.
Electrical system, Apr 15, 2018
INTERMITTENTLY THE DASH BOARD SCREEN GOES DARK WHILE DRIVING. PER TOYOTA TECH REP THE ENTIRE COMPONENT WAS REPLACED APRIL 13,2018. ONE DAY LATER THE SAME THING OCCURRED. THE REP STATED THERE WAS A DEFECTIVE PART . I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR,WONDERING IF ALL WILL STOP WHILE IN MOTION.
Electrical system, Mar 11, 2018
WHILE DRIVING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH. THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND ALL SCREENS AND GAUGES SHUT OFF FOR ABOUT 3 TO 5 SECONDS THEN THE CAR RESTARTED ON ITS OWN AND BEGAN TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY SO I HAD TO USE THE BRAKES TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN. THIS EVENT HAPPENED THREE TIMES THAT DAY ALL ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL ON.I CALLED THE TOYOTA DEALER TO HAVE THE CAR CHECKED OUT THE CAR WAS CHECKED OUT NO ISSUES FOUND. A FEW WEEKS LATER I GOT THE OIL CHANGED AT THE DEALER AND AFTER I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP THE ROADS WERE ICY SO I WAS DRIVING AROUND 25 MPH WHEN THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING AND THE DASH WENT OUT FOR ABOUT 3 TO 5 SECONDS AND THEN THE CAR STARTED RUNNING AGAIN THIS HAPPENED AGAIN A FEW MINUTES LATER THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS NOT ON AT THIS TIME. I CALLED THE DEALER AND AN APPOINTMENT WAS MADE TO CHECK THE CAR AGAIN I ALSO OPENED A CLAIM WITH TOYOTA FOR THIS ISSUE. THE CAR WAS EVALUATED AGAIN STILL NO ISSUE COULD BE FOUND. THE RESPONSE FROM TOYOTA WAS NO ISSUE WAS FOUND WITH THE CAR AND NO FURTHER ACTION WOULD BE TAKEN BY TOYOTA BECAUSE NOTHING WAS FOUND ON THE DATA RECORDER. THIS CAR IS ON A TOYOTA LEASE AND I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING IT AND I WILL NOT LET MY WIFE DRIVE THIS CAR MY FEELING IS THAT SOMEONE COULD GET HURT OR WORSE AND I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT HAPPEN. I HAVE READ THAT OTHER RAVS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Dec 12, 2017
I STARTED IT AND NOTICED IMMEDIATELY SOMETHING WAS WRONG. VEHICLE STARTED MOVING AND I TRIED TO APPLY BRAKE. BRAKE WAS HARD INITIALLY AND VEHICLE CONTINUED MOVING. THEN I WAS ABLE TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY BUT IT KEPT MOVING. WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR I GOT PANIC. I SWITCHED TO P AND VEHICLE KEPT GOING, THOUGH SLOWLY ON THE STREET. THEN I TURNED POWER OFF AND REMOVED THE KEY. AT THIS POINT ALL DASH BOARDS LIGHTS WERE ON AND IT WAS MAKING A LOUD, WIRED NOISE. IT LASTED SEVERAL SECONDS AND VEHICLE KEPT MOVING DURING THIS TIME. FINALLY IT CAME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. THE VEHICLE HAS ONLY 4200 MILES. THE SCARY THING IS, BRAKE FAILED FOR NO REASON AND ALL DASH BOARD LIGHTS WERE ON EVEN AFTER THE KEY WAS REMOVED.
Electrical system, Sep 7, 2017
THE LANE DEPARTURE WARNING TONE CANNOT BE HEARD WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THERE IS NO WAY TO INCREASE THE VOLUME OF THE WARNING TONE AS THE CONSUMER. TOYOTA KNOWS THIS IS A PROBLEM (SEE PG 258 OF OWNER'S MANUAL) BUT REFUSES TO FIX. THIS IS A RISK TO PERSONAL SAFETY.
Electrical system, Jun 29, 2017
THE CAR IS A 2017 TOYOTA RAV4 XLE AWD. THE CAR WAS A REPLACEMENT VEHICLE FOR A 2015 TOYOTA RAV4 XLE AWD THAT HAD NON REPARABLE ELECTRICAL ISSUES AND WAS REPLACED BY TOYOTA BY AN ARBITRATION DECISION. THE FIRST DAY I DROVE THE CAR THE PASSIVE SAFETY SENSE SYSTEM ACTIVATED WHILE ON THE FREEWAY WHEN A CAR PASSED ME ON THE LEFT SIDE. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME OR THEIR WOULD HAVE BEEN AN SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I TRADED THE CAR OFF 9 DAYS LATER AT A LOSS DUE TO COMPLETE LACK OF TRUST IN ANY TOYOTA PRODUCT. THE MANUFACTURER AND THE DEALER TREATED BE HORRIBLY ON THE PREVIOUS CAR THAT I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER TOYOTA AGAIN EVER.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, May 3, 2017
THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS WITH STRANGE LETTERS AND IMAGERY.