2011 Toyota RAV4 steering problems

Filed Oct 3, 2025 · Steering · NH

Electric power steering problem, steering wheel is very stiff and wont return to center ,car is very difficult to drive, I have read that the federal safety agency issued some safety recalls on 2011 toyota rav4 related to this mfg. defect in the circut board -ecu -electronic control unit in the electric power steering , I purchased this used car on 9/17/2025 .I am taking it to Toyota dealer 10/9/2025

Filed Sep 24, 2023 · Brakes, Fuel system · PA · crash

To begin with, the 2011 Toyota Rav4 in question was a loaner provided to me by Fiore VW AUDI (1000 S. Logan Blvd in Hollidaysburg, PA 16648) at @ 10:45 AM on 9/16/23. My 2018 Toyota Sienna was being serviced at this location on 9/18/23 and they provided me the 2011 Rav4 in the meantime. The brakes failing, the steering wheel locking up, and the sudden acceleration of this 2011 Rav4 occurred later that afternoon @ 4 PM in a Sheetz parking lot at 3261 W. College Ave. State College, PA 16801. As I was turning left into an open parking space at the rear entrance of this Sheetz, I began to turn the steering wheel to the right, straighten out, and park properly in the parking space; I also began to press down on brake to stop the car. As I pressed down on the brake pedal, the brakes quickly locked up and became unresponsive. Simultaneously, the steering wheel locked up becoming unresponsive with the front wheels still slightly turned to the left. I was still coming out of my turn when this vehicle failure began. I quickly took my foot off the brake, then the car suddenly burst forward with an intense acceleration. I immediately put my foot back down on the brake, but the car still proceeded forward towards the building; moving slightly to the left due to the steering wheel still locked in place and unresponsive. I slowly rolled into a metal obstruction at the end of the parking space, hitting it at an angle. I had my seat belt on and no air bags were deployed. No injuries to me, but some cosmetic damage to the front of the Rav4. There were no warning lights or audible warnings prior to this vehicle failure. I didn't notice any warning lights or alarms during the failure. Prior to this incident everything seemed fine. After the incident, I drove the car home, drove it to my insurance agent on 9/18/23, and I drove it back to the dealer on 9/20/23. That was it. I would believe Sheetz has this complete incident recorded w/security cameras at that back entrance way.

Filed Aug 30, 2023 · Steering · MO

In hot weather the steering wheel sticks and is hard to turn and will not allow car to straighten up after the turn.

Filed Jun 6, 2023 · Steering · TX

There has not been an incident yet. The problem is that the steering is slightly stiff and what I would call jerky. It kind of sticks as you turn and you have to exert a little more pressure on the steering wheel and it lets go and moves on to where you wanted. It is not intermittent and it is getting worse all the time. The car has 74,000 miles on it. Is there a danger of this locking up some day to where a person would loose control of the car, or is it just an aggravating nuisance ? The exact date this started is not known but it has probably been at least 18 months. It is the worst at slow speeds.

Filed Jul 31, 2022 · Steering · GA

Steering : Steering is tight to a point where it takes effort to get the steering wheel to turn . I tried adjusting the column up and down . It may ease the problem temporally , but it returns .

Filed Jul 11, 2022 · Steering, Suspension · TX

I have discovered that my 2011 rav4 is part of the federal safety agency Recall No. : 16V‑596 even thought my vin doesn't list it as being part of the recall. As I recently tried to get a rear wheel alignment done due to misaligned rear tires (bowing out). The 3rd party mechanic stated that doing a rear wheel alignment was impossible due to the federal safety agency Recall No. : 13V‑383 repair/fix done by a Toyota dealer where epoxy resin was used to seal the right and left Rear Suspension Lower Arm No. 1 (“arm”) for looseness. The only way to complete the alignment safely would be to completely replace the right and left Rear Suspension Lower Arms. Which perfectly matches the required fixed from the newer the federal safety agency Recall No. : 16V‑596 which remedies the improper temporary repair/fix done by the Toyota dealer to fix the earlier the federal safety agency Recall No. : 13V‑383. As such the VIN range and manufacture date for the federal safety agency Recall No. : 16V‑596 likely need to be extended to cover all rav4 2011 models.

Filed Jul 30, 2019 · Steering, Transmission · 79,000 miles · ND

At 79,000 miles both rear output shaft seals went out due to a design flaw. An air regulator on the top of the output shaft case can get clogged easily and if not caught in time can cause serious damage to not only the seals but the transmission case. Also, at 80,000 miles the entire steering gear needs to be replaced. If this issue is not taken care of it could cause a serious accident or worse if the vehicle is moving..

Filed May 27, 2018 · Steering · 86,000 miles · MN

There is a dash board alarm indicating lost of power steering. Just recently happened today at 4pm. 5/27/18. I read articles online about recalls on lost power steering on certain toyota model, why this car has not received the recall. I will not drive this car for safety reason.

Filed Sep 12, 2017 · Steering, Suspension · CT

I noticed that the steering wheel felt a bit "loose" at any rate of speed. I also observed that my r back seat shakes when driving at high rates of speed(50 MPH +). My vehicle has just over 66k miles on it. I maintain it according to the user manual. I brought my car in a for four wheel alignment. The rear tires could not be aligned because the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment were frozen and could not be removed. In order for the car to be aligned, the rear tire rod needs to be replaced. There was a recall on this back in august 2013 ( for 2006-2011 rav4), however, my particular VIN number does not qualify for the recall thus I have to pay out of pocket in order to for my car to be aligned correctly (replaced the rear rod). This is the 2nd report I've seen on this site for the same issue(frozen toe) - same model vehicle. Is there anything to be done to get this covered under warranty? Thank you.

Filed Aug 9, 2017 · Steering · 47,050 miles · MN

Today when I was parking my car in parking lot, I realized that it is very difficult to move my steering wheel to left and right. It was really difficult or required a lot of force to move my steering wheel while parking. The vehicle was in stationary or moving very slowly and I was not able to move steering wheel in either direction easily. This is the first time I have faced this steering wheel issue I had never faced this issue before while driving my vehicle.