2023 Toyota RAV4
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 157 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 21st highest complaint count among 26 RAV4 model years with reports.
Of the 2023 reports, 19 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 15 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Back over prevention, display functionOct 30, 2025
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2022-2026 Toyota, Lexus, and Subaru Solterra vehicles equipped with a Panoramic View Monitor (PVM) system. Please see the recall report for a complete list of models. A software error may cause the rearview camera to freeze or display a blank screen when the vehicle is in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
A rearview camera that fails to display an image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will update the parking assist software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB13 and 25LB06. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE25.
Campaign 25V744000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, instrument cluster/panelSep 11, 2025
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Toyota Venza, 2023-2025 RAV4 Prime, RAV4, Highlander, GR Corolla, Crown, 2024-2025 Lexus TX, LS, Toyota Tacoma, Grand Highlander, and 2025 Lexus RX, Toyota Crown Signia, Camry, RAV 4 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and 4 Runner vehicles. Due to an error in the instrument panel software at vehicle startup, the instrument panel may fail to display vehicle speed, brake system, and tire pressure warning lights.
An instrument panel display that does not show critical information can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Dealers will update the instrument panel software over-the-air (OTA) for non-PHEV vehicles, free of charge. For PHEV vehicles, dealers will inspect the instrument panel assembly, and either replace it, or update the software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 5, 2025. Additional letters will be sent, anticipated in May 2026. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 25TB08 and 25TA08. Lexus' numbers for this recall are 25LB05 and 25LA05.
Campaign 25V595000 on NHTSA.gov
Tires, valveJul 11, 2023
Gulf States Toyota, Inc. (GST) is recalling certain 2023 Toyota RAV4 vehicles equipped with 17" black alloy accessory wheels. During installation of the alloy wheels, the tire valve stem may have been improperly installed or damaged. In addition, the load carrying capacity label may state the incorrect weight. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
A damaged or improperly installed valve stem may allow air to leak and/or the tires to be underinflated, increasing the risk of tire failure and a crash.
Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the wheel valve stems and replace the load carrying capacity modification labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 18, 2023. Owners may contact GST customer service at 1-800-444-1074. GST's number for this recall is 23R1.
Campaign 23V485000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
157 reports, newest first.
Steering, Engine, May 5, 2025
UNKNOWN: It happened during a heavy storm on my 40 miles to work and all the symbols lights suddenly lit up on the dashboard. The car died and the steering wheel got heavy when I tried to pull to the emergency lane. Luckily I was able to pull over, but it almost caused an accident as I was in the middle lane. I tried to start up the car again, but it would crank up, but died instantly and the dash would show "Ignition on" on the top left and "Engine Stopped: Power Steering Low". I called the dealership and talked to the service department and the service advisor think it was the battery, but he told me to try starting it after 5-10 minutes, if not, to call the tow company and tow the car to dealership for further inspection. I let it sit for 10 minutes and was able to start it back up and drove it straight to the nearest Toyota Dealership. While driving to the dealership, the car kept choking/stalling when pressing on the gas after braking. They examined with their scanners and the battery was in good condition and my car has gas (about 3/4 tank full) and they said the scans reported no issues. This is a concerning issue as I could had lost my life or possibly cause major accident and involve other people life.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, May 5, 2025
While raining, noticed smoke coming from under the hood, engine seemed as if it didn’t have any power. Car shut off. While attempting to restart I seen a message in dashboard that said Engine stopped: steering power low. Took a while to get car cranked again after multiple attempts. Message in dashboard disappeared after multiple attempts to restart nor is there a message in remote application health status section.
Steering, Engine, May 2, 2025
It’s pouring rain and my engine stopped and a message popped up saying “engine stopped power steering low”
Vehicle speed control, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 30, 2025
On 2 occasions while driving on a flat straight Interstate Highway using the adaptive cruise control, with no vehicle in front of me, the vehicle has suddenly tried to stop. Pressing the Cancel button for the adaptive cruise control would not shut the system Off. When the accelerator was depressed to attempt to get the car moving forward, it continued to try to stop the vehicle even harder. Pressing the brake pedal also did not disengage the adaptive cruise control. I had to allow the vehicle to creep off the highway, then Shutdown the vehicle and then Restart to resume driving.
Steering, Apr 28, 2025
My engine shut off (would not turn back on!) and displayed message: “Engine Stopped. Steering Power Low”. I brought it to the dealership the next morning. I was told that the power steering was electric, they could not duplicate the message, and to bring it back if it does it again. I’m concerned because what happens if it occurs again while I’m driving on the interstate?
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Apr 27, 2025
The multimedia screen powers on and off consistently.
Other or unspecified, Apr 25, 2025
I drive through heavy rain for about 20 miles and I got to my mom’s house, put the car in park for about 5 minutes, when I get back in the car the car shut off when I put it in drive and was smoking. Now it will not crank up.
Electrical system, Engine, Apr 25, 2025
I was sitting in a drive thru with my car in drive , foot on break and all of a sudden it starts to shake and struggle to stay on . Then it stalls out , engine shuts completely off and my check engine light came on! The error messages on the screen read : Engine stopped , power steering low , precollision system malfunction , and parking brake malfunction. As I tried to restart it , It wouldn’t start back up and stay on at all. After a good 20 min or so , and after being pushed out of the drive thru and my order canceled, my car starts back up as if nothing happened. Had my car checked for codes , and guess what ? NOTHING ! It’s happened to me about 6 times in about a year and two month of owning it ! Nobody can figure out what the problem is . I also have issues randomly with my radio screen . When my phone is hooked up to CarPlay , it will sometimes kick me out and reconnect by itself , the screen completely shutting off and turning back on by itself , there’s times I was listening to pandora and it won’t allow me to click my station and show the song playing , and other issues. Had this happen too many times to count and within the first couple months of owning it , I took it back and they couldn’t figure out the issue. It never happened while they had it .
Steering, Apr 24, 2025
Was driving to work, pulled in put the car in gear. The car turns off staying low power steering fluid. Couldn’t get it to start. I go in work my shift have my brother meet me. The car starts after sitting 9 hrs and I took it to Toyota. I have only had this car a month and it does this. Low power steering shouldn’t cut an engine off. If anything it should just be hard to steer. These new cars need to be tweaked. If Toyota can’t fix this they will not get any more business from me.
Steering, Apr 24, 2025
I was sitting in a drive trough getting breakfast, I go to pull off and my car cuts off. Couldn’t get it to restart. Had to push it out of the way. Power steering low. Granted this cat is just 2 years old. It’s done this before last year after having it one full year same thing. Luckily after letting it sit for 20-30 minutes it started and I got it to Toyota. Low power steering shouldn’t cut an engine off. If anything just be hard to drive. These new cars need to be tweaked. If Toyota can’t fix this they will not get any more business from me.
Steering, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Apr 19, 2025
I went to start my car , the engine turned off stating power steering low engine off . Then tried again and got more errors likes brake engaged power off also the lane monitor was not working.
Air bags, Service brakes, Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 15, 2025, crash
Sudden surge and acceleration upon parking. I had brakes depressed pulling into a parking space when the vehicle felt like it jumped and quickly accelerated. It veered left missing the parked van in front of me but crashing into the parked Honda Accord two spots over and one in front. It crashed into the back tire and fender area of the passenger side of the Honda pushing it completely out of its spot and sideways. My vehicle kept going even though pushing the brakes to stop. I had to force it into park to stop. The car’s air bags deployed but my Toyota’s airbags nor crash warning system worked.
Steering, Electrical system, Lane departure, Apr 9, 2025
This vehicle is going to kill someone. Not only does it have this unintentional steering issue, but the electrical system keeps going out. The dash has been replaced and there are still issues. The adaptive cruise control used to hard brake now it pulsates when lane changing which isn’t cool if you’re passing people because then you’re turn in front of them and braking right away. The radio requires the vehicle to be turned completely off, wait, and then turn back on. The unintended steering will take you into incoming traffic, in the opposite lane, or even off-roading even when there is nothing in front of you. The compass randomly disappears. The Tim roof literally exploded while we were doing 80mph down the interstate. The curtain was closed or we would have had glass all over. The window blew out and up. If something hit the window it would have blown in and down. I have reported these safety issues to Toyota and they keep telling me that nothing is wrong. The steering issue has happened at least 7 times since I owned it. I have provided Toyota with pictures and videos showing these things and they’re still telling me that nothing is wrong but they even have a form that talks about the “unintended steering” issue.
Steering, Structure, Service brakes, Apr 7, 2025, crash, fire
I was driving over 120 MPH and my car slid and hit the front car. My car later caught fire and ruptured shortly after. The FD extinguished it and it was a total loss. I have no clue as to where it was taken after the accident. Sorry :(
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Mar 13, 2025
I came to a stop on the highway due to a law enforcement traffic slowage. As I began moving again with the rest of traffic, my car suddenly started shaking and struggling to stay on. My check engine light came on and an alert popped up for “Engine stopped, steering power low” “pre collision system malfunction” and “parking brake malfunction”. I felt fearful for my safety as I was unsure if my car would safely allow me to brake and move over to the shoulder of the road. I was really scared and had so much anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to make it out safely. The dealer was not able to find any record of these codes popping up and could not recreate the check engine. I have pictures showing the codes to support my claim.
Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 7, 2025
My Gas tank does not fill up properly. It seems to trigger the automatic shut off at gas stations when it is only 3/4 full. I then have to keep putting gas it with about 6 more shut offs to get the tank full.
Steering, Feb 23, 2025
Car shut off while driving because warning light for the power steering came on p.451stating check power steering fluid level. Vehicle has either a sealed power steering system or its electric. It was raining at the time that this happened. This is a big risk factor that could have led to a wreck but thank god that it did not was able to get out of traffic and stop. It took an hour of waiting before the vehicle would start back up and run properly. Unable to reproduce the problem at this time.
Fuel/propulsion system, Feb 14, 2025
2023 Toyota Rav4 hybrid (XSE) is said to have fuel tank capacity of 14.5 Gal with range in miles (city/hwy) 594.5/551.0 mi. When I first got my car, I can fuel it up to 520 mile driving distance. After a while, I can only fuel up to 430 mile, with no other accident. The tank cannot be fully fueled. This incidence has been widely observed in owners with the same year model. The actual reason is unknown. Some went to the dealership and replaced the sensor, some just got diagnosed with no issue. None of these has actually fixed the issue. The real answer could be the issue of the sensor or tank, or something else. This malfunction with unknown reason is risky for the use of the vehicle.
Vehicle speed control, Service brakes, Feb 2, 2025, crash
I was pulling into a parking spot and my vehicle suddenly accelerated. I slammed on the brakes and the car did stop, but not before hitting a railing in front of me. There were also trees close to the railing, so the camera should have detected those as a barrier and I believe the veauto-braked, even if I had not hit the brakes. This is a safety concern because the vehicle would have plowed over any person in front of the vehicle.
Steering, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 1, 2025
Car had error on dashboard of Engine stopped power steering low, car is available for inspection. Car would not start in the middle of the night while raining, had smoke coming out the front. Problem not reproduced at dealership. No other warnings were shown beforehand.
Back over prevention, Jan 20, 2025, crash
Rearview camera quit for 3-4 seconds when I was backup. There was a car in my blind spot, aft right quarter, that I couldn't see and I hit his left front panel/headlight causing $2200. damage to his car plus my car.
Visibility, Jan 13, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, there was a loud sound like a gunshot coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's wife slightly opened the sunroof cover and discovered that the sunroof had shattered into pieces. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.
Electrical system, Back over prevention, Forward collision avoidance, Dec 30, 2024
While at stop light notices my 2023 Toyota Rav 4 LE engine was steaming. Pulled into a parking lot when Power steering fluid low warning light came on and said that the engine will stop. After I put in some power steering fluid the dash warning lights lit up, with the following warning lights: Pre-collision brake system failure, Collision brake system failure, Secondary collision system failure and check engine light came on. Had vehicle towed to dealership, they did an test and confirmed several error codes and they are waiting on Toyota engineers to provide information on cause and remedy. While at dealership was told by service adviser that there was sat least one other individual with the same issue. The dealership unfortunately don’t know the cause of the problem
Steering, Electrical system, Engine, Dec 30, 2024
This happened on [XXX] in Oakland CA, it was a rainy day. I drove off the freeway and then parked the vehicle in the parking lot. The car was in idle mode. After about 10 minutes the engine started to stall, and then shut off completely. I tried to restart the engine but it failed. The dashboard showed an error message "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low". I suspected that rainwater entered into the engine from the air intake. After waiting for about 2 hours, I was able to restart the vehicle, and then everything seemed to be normal. Toyota should announce a recall for this problem as this is very dangerous to operate the vehicle on the freeway on rainy days. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Other or unspecified, Dec 17, 2024
As I was driving on the highway, the glass of my sunroof imploded. There were no other cars around nor was there any people. It sounded as if something popped above my head. I researched this incident and apparently there are other RAV4 owners that had the same problem.