2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime Complaints

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM — Filed 05/04/2026

Observed arcing noises and strong electrical fire smell upon plugging in L2 EVSE charging cable. MIL lit, Hybrid Vehicle Charging System codes active; vehicle refused to charge afterwards. Self-diagnosed and repaired defective 6.6 kW onboard charger. See pics of clear arcing damage withing charging unit - possible fire risk.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 05/01/2026

Something needs to be done because Toyota is stalling on sending out a critical safety component that has been recalled in thousands of vehicles. It is the HV floor wire connector, when the corrosion is beyond repair, the parts have been back ordered for months. Toyota and dealerships are not approving loaner vehicles. This is a serious safety issue because: If the wire corrodes or shorts out, the vehicle can experience unexpected power loss, stalling, or complete hybrid system failure. this could happen in the middle of driving in fast, traffic, leading to serious injury or loss of life. I have been waiting since February for this part and it is still on backorder. Toyota is not taking this seriously because it’s a $10,000 part and they don’t want to pay for the thousands of people who are affected by this. My life is more important than that, as is the life of my child. I exhort you to put pressure on Toyota. Thank you.

VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 04/29/2026

Random windshield crack that appeared out of no where when leaving work. 4 hour time span of video shows no foul play, nobody was mowing the yard. No way anything hit it - I confirmed. Crack started to expand up and out both ways. Can run my finger along the entire crack without any surface impacts or bumps felt. First noted crack 4/29 and has expanded since.

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES — Filed 05/02/2026

Front Driver side and front passenger side door actuator has failed. Locks are non responsive to key fob or interior master switch. The door locks have to be manually unlocked with the key or by the individual in the vehicle. It is a complete safety hazard. My local Toyota dealer has quoted me $1,767 to fix the two faulty actuators. The car is 5 years old with 89,000 miles.

VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 04/30/2026

Sunroof exploded while driving down the freeway. Covering the occupants in glass, including the driver, this caused cuts from glass shards. This is a known issue to Toyota. They decided not to do a recall. They are lucky that the sunroof exploding did not cause a fatal accident.

POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 04/28/2026

The vehicle generated an error message "Plug In Charging System Malfunction" warning on the dash. The remedy is a Toyota T-SB-0021-21 which requires a software upgrade to fix the air fan sensor reading to the charging unit. This is only considered part of the 60 month/60,000 mile power train warranty despite it being part of the battery charging system which has a 150,000 mile warranty. It is also presumably caused by a software error Toyota has made. They should fix this at no cost to the customer, instead I was charged $215 plus tax.

VISIBILITY/WIPER — Filed 02/23/2026

Close the door and the rear view window shattered.

AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 12/02/2025

During snowy but manageable conditions, the brake system on my 2021 RAV4 Prime SE failed to respond, and the vehicle did not decelerate when I pressed the brake pedal. A “Pre-Collision System Malfunction” warning appeared shortly before impact. I was unable to steer away despite attempting an evasive turn. The vehicle collided with the car in front of me, and the airbags did not deploy. I was driving at a reduced speed due to snow. The vehicle ahead (a BMW SUV) began slowing. When I applied the brakes, my RAV4 Prime did not slow down at all—there was no deceleration, no ABS pulsing, and no traction control intervention. The vehicle continued moving forward as if the brakes were not engaging. At the same time, I saw a dashboard warning indicating a Pre-Collision System (PCS) malfunction. I attempted to turn the wheel to avoid the collision, but the vehicle did not respond to steering input quickly enough to prevent impact. Despite the collision, no airbags deployed. The vehicle has been regularly maintained (oil changes every 5,000 miles, new tires last year, all service intervals followed), and there were no warning lights or issues beforehand. Safety Concerns: •Complete or partial brake failure •Electronic braking or stability control malfunction •Pre-Collision System malfunction •Airbag non-deployment in a front impact •Potential systemic issue affecting Toyota hybrid/Prime models This incident caused significant fear and distress for both me and my child who was in the vehicle, and raises serious concerns about whether similar failures could occur for other owners.

SERVICE BRAKES — Filed 09/08/2025

The car has a grinding sound and a brake slipping feeling that occurs while traveling and braking over rough pavement. It does not happen consistently, but it does happen fairly regularly (every 2-4 weeks). Note, the grinding sound can range from subtle to quite loud, depending on bump/timing of braking. This has been happening since I purchased the car and continues to happen, which is why I put today's date as the incident date, and I have been bringing it up with the Toyota maintenance department at most maintenance appointments. Their shop manager has driven it and thought I was mistaking it for the ABS activating. I have driven it with him, ABS has activated, and when he pointed it out to me, I have let him know that what is happening is definitely something different than the ABS activating. I have tried to find a location to show them to replicate it with the service center, but it happens randomly on rough patches. For example, it happened on a spot near the dealership that I thought I could use to show them, but when I drove over the same area again and braked, nothing happened. So, I have not been able to replicate this with the service center, but it is most certainly happening. I have notified Toyota through their consumer contact system that this issue is going on and they said Toyota tracks issues like this. However, no resolution has been offered. Other Toyota Rav4 Prime owners of the same year have experienced this (see [XXX] and [XXX] ). Although the maintenance manager was stumped, he said at a recent visit that another Prime owner voiced the same type of thing happening. Toyota needs to investigate to determine what the issue is and remedy the issue. I am concerned this could lead to a larger issue and is a safety recall issue that warrants immediate attention. It does not seem that Toyota is taking this seriously. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 07/24/2025

On July 24th, I experienced sudden unexpected acceleration with my 2021 Toyota Rav4 Prime XSE (41,600 miles) while driving in the electric mode. I was lining myself up to reverse into my garage and as I paused to switch gears to reverse, the car suddenly accelerated full-speed towards my neighbor's house. I slammed the brakes but that had little effect. The car slammed into the house, through the garage door and my car was only stopped when hitting an SUV parked in the garage, pushing it forward about 2 feet. No air bags were deployed, the collision detection system on the vehicle did not seem to work and tire marks from my braking were visible from the middle of the road. I have found a number of very similar incidents with Toyota cars described online. Cars were often turning into parking spaces at slow speeds and ended up accelerating into lamp posts or buildings. If there hadn't been a car parked in the garage, I can't imagine what might have happened as the car was probably going 35 mph+ upon impact. There were no warning lights and the collision shop informed me that there were no diagnostic codes when they downloaded the computer.