2018 TOYOTA RAV4 Complaints

The backup camera stopped working when the vehicle is placed in reverse. The screen used to work but now goes black. The screen work fine for everything else. The display works perfect until the xar is put in reverse, then the display goes black.

The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor of smoke detected from the vents. The contact pulled over and the vehicle caught fire. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries or air bag deployments. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

We purchased a 2018 RAV 4 from a DCH Toyota Dealership in Freehold on March 16,2023. In the beginning of June 2023, we saw a message on the dashboard indicating TRAC off and AWD malfunction 2wd mode. the mechanic that we took it too to do a diagnostic to let us know what this message means says there is a transmission problem. In the end, the dealership gave us a junk of a car that was on its last leg and this is misleading your customers. We should not be facing this type of issues 3 months in driving a car.

I was driving during work and my transmission went. I could no longer drive forward. I brought my car to Toyota dealership to see about the problem and got a diagnostic test performed, oil change, 4 point inspection and explained that my car is stalling, it’s jerking when I step on the gas and it won’t take off and then just jerks my head. It’s making these rattling noises when I step on the gas. They stated it’s the massive airflow system and throttle body work: I explained I just changed the massive airflow sensor so it can’t be that but he stated that they need to order the piece and I need to come back Friday which I did so they can fix the problem. Not even a week later my transmission is gone and I missed over a week of work. I did have a mechanic look at the issue and I also explained this to Toyota dealership.

Front miliwave sensor malfunction (Radar senor) required replacement immediately due to safety concerns by dealer. Because it could cause unintentional braking. Also because this system is connected to other safety features. I only purchased this car recently from a third party car dealer less than a year ago and this problem only went on for less than a week before service. And the only warning was that the adaptive cruise control stopped working.

The front rotors 4 times and been placed due to overheating. I only have 49,540 miles when the fourth set was put on May 10, 2023. The problem is the rotors keep getting overheated and then they warp. I have replaced them 4 times in less than owning the car for 5 years. It appears to happen more frequently now about every 6 months. The problem is confirmed both at 2 different locations in Lees Summit, MO. See receipts below for repair shops.

On the morning of November 4, 2021, at 6:15 a.m., driver was driving to her job as a shuttle driver. She made no stops on her way to work. At approximately 6:30 a.m, drive exited South Padre Island Drive off of Nile Road in her silver 2018 Toyota RAV-4. As she exited the freeway, her car’s console screen went blank, all electricity to the car cut out, and the engine shut off. The car restarted once, cut out again, and then restarted again as she pulled into her employer's driveway. The car cut out once more, and coasted into the parking lot in front of employer. Driver smelled electrical burning and shortly thereafter saw black smoke coming out of the hood. She quickly got out of the car and called 911 after moving safely away from the vehicle and inside the building. A police patroller arrived first and was unable to put out the fire, and at about 6:45 a.m. the Fire Department came and put the fire out.

We bought our Rav4 fresh of the lot in 2018, since then e we have replaced the headlight bulbs 43 times. Now our fog lights and license plate light are out. This time the bulb (installed by a professional) melting the actual socket and we have to built the entire thing out and replace it.

My daughter and I were driving a Toyota RAV4 from 2018 just like any normal day, the car was working properly, no warnings lights were turned on. While taking a sharp right turn and passing an unevenness on the road the car lost complete power. My daughter couldn’t control the steering wheel of the car, it was stuck. As the car stopped completely, due to gravity, she tried to turn it back on but it didn’t work. A smoke started coming from the front left side of the car’s hood ( or the side of the driver) it was a white smoke. The car didn’t function in any way possible. We stayed inside the car and called roadside assistance. Meanwhile as the electronical gadgets started to turn back on (e.g. radio)the more smoke started coming out of the hood . We noticed that a red light with a car and lock symbol was flashing on top of the radio display monitor, later we learned it was the anti-theft system of the car. We got out of the car and noticed a the flames coming out of the car’s hood. My daughter tried to open the back doors and trunk of the car to save anything if possible, but they didn’t open. Many truckers tried to help us with using their extinguisher (severals) but unfortunately the front hood didn’t open ( was locked). The car ended up burning completely as we waited for firefighter to arrive. A police report was fill out 2023-6-13-6249.

I only had possession of the vehicle for less than 3 weeks and it seemed to be running without problems. Besides driving the car on the date I picked it up, this was only the fifth time I had driven the car. On April 17, 2023, I was driving the car to an appointment when it stalled while in motion. It did restart without any problem (though I did detect a faint odor that I thought might be a rubbery smell, but now believe was probably an electrical smell), and I drove it the remaining approximately half mile to the appointment. When I got out of the car, I noticed what I thought might be steam (thinking the problem may be the radiator) coming from under the hood. I now know this to have been smoke. I went in the building, signed in, and looked back to the car to see flames coming from under the hood. The fire department was called to put out the fire, and a fire marshal came to investigate the cause. The fire marshal told me that the fire initiated at the battery. I have requested a copy of the investigation report, which he told me will be forwarded to me when it is completed. The car has since been towed to LKQ Pick Your Part salvage yard. Two other cars parked next to me were also damaged by the fire. My safety was at risk as I now know that I was in the car when the incident initiated and the fire began. Others in the area could also have been injured as the fire accelerated. The car was parked in a school parking lot, so had the car exploded, there could have been many injuries. No warnings (lamps or otherwise) appeared. I have since done some research, and have found that spontaneous fires such as these have happened to many other Rav4s year models 2013-2018, most particularly 2018. This was a 2018.