Car started cutting on and off then battery caught fire while driving. The battery is still in the vehicle. Car was inspected by Victory Toyota of Brook Park. There were no warning lamps or messages before the incident occurred.
2013 Toyota RAV4: fire, smoke or burning smell
25 of the 257 complaints about the 2013 Toyota RAV4 describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 25
- of this car's complaints
- 10%
- typical mileage
- 63,000
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 65 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
The contact's husband owns a 2013 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while the husband was driving at approximately 35 MPH, smoke was coming from under the hood. The contact's husband managed to pull into a parking lot to inspect the vehicle where it was noticed that the battery compartment caught on fire. The contact's husband managed to extinguish the fire by hand. The contact's husband had sustained slight burns however, no medical attention was sought. No police report was filed. The vehicle was left at a Home Depot parking lot which was the initial destination. The local dealer was contacted and advised that the vehicle would have to be towed out of pocket for diagnoses to decide if it was recall-related however if it was determined to be recall-related the parts were not available. The contact was concerned that the vehicle could not be towed since it failed to shift into neutral. The contact received a notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Rav 4. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and turned on there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the 12-volt battery located in the engine compartment had caught on fire. The fire was extinguished by the contact. A fire report was not filed, and a police report was not filed. The 12-volt battery had been replaced by the contact. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I was traveling south on [XXX] when the vehicle stalled. I started the engine and proceeded. I noticed my Rav4 smoking from the engine so I turned off into a Extra Space Storage parking at 1415 Bergen Boulevard, Fort Lee N.J. 07024 were it stalled again. I then exited the vehicle and opened the hood and observed a burst flames coming from the engine/battery area. I ran to a Wendy's and asked for a fire extinguisher, but the fire escalated rapidly, burning the entire interior and exterior of the vehicle. It was towed to Sanos Towing Company 344 Bergen Blvd. Palisades Park. N.J. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While driving the car, it stalled on the expressway and then started to smoke and seconds later started on fire.
Had to make a quick right hand turn, when I did, my vehicle lost power and I thought I had been hit. No power steering or power brakes. Got out, inspected my car, no damages or anything, vehicle restarted and so I continued on my way. Getting back on the road had to make another right, and vehicle sputtered and dash blinked, but seemed to recover. Started to look for a safe place to get off the road, when the dash was blinking and I lost power steering again. Turned into a place of business. As I stopped, smoke was showing from the drivers side, I tried to get out, but my door handle didn't unlock,. I realized I had to manually flip the lock to get out. Dialed 911 from cell phone and went into the business to tell them to keep people away. I could see flames coming down from the engine compartment to the ground. Luckily fire department arrived and extinguished fire. Initially Toyota dealership quoted $12,550 to fix, my insurance company declared it a total loss.
Pulled into driveway, turned off car. Entered house within a couple of minutes front end of car burst into flames. Fire Dept. was called to put out fire. Car was towed to Newburgh NY for insurance adjustor inspection. I was on my way to store and stopped at in-laws. Had I not made this stop, I would have been on thruway. If car had been a few feet closer to garage, it would have set the garage, with car inside, on fire, and house. Car in garage could have exploded (gas tank). The recall was received days prior to incident, and indicated remedy would be ready in June 2024. Police and Fire Dept were called, insurance reps, I believe have inspected the car. It was towed and I did not meet with insurance rep. There were no warning lights or problems, passed inspection in August 2023. Police Incident Rep #[XXX], 12/20/23, 12:05 p.m. Yonkers PD INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The car stalled on the expressway. Then started smoking and was on fire seconds later.
After driving vehicle, noticed smoke coming from under hood. Upon further inspection battery was on fire.
I was driving back home with my kids on 12/31/22 as usual, car suddenly turned off. The engine then caught fire within 2 min of turning off, the whole car was on fire within 8 min.
The battery caught on fire while driving causing a loss of power. I could pull over and a driver passing by jumped out and extinguished the fire.
Engine started smoking and a few minutes later the vehicle completely engulfed in flames.
Service bulletins that may apply
- 21TG01
- Campaign Expired
- The air conditioning dye injection tool kit has been developed to aid in identifying the location of air...
- During a recent investigation of reported battery fires in 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles with gasoline engines...
- On April 9, 2024, a settlement of claims for certain 2013-2018 model year Rav4 vehicles was preliminarily...
- Technical instructions for consumer advisory 24TE03
- The Immobilizer and Smart Key Reset is a feature that allows the registration of new keys when all master...
- DL: During a recent investigation of reported battery fires in 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles with gasoline...
Related recalls
Electrical system: 12v/24v/48v battery
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- 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.
Recall number 23V734000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2013 Toyota RAV4 fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 2013 Toyota RAV4?
25 of 257 owner complaints about the 2013 Toyota RAV4 (10%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 2015.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2013 Toyota RAV4?
There is 1 recall and 65 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2013 Toyota RAV4
Stalling 16Sunroof shattered 9Hesitation 8Jerking 8Shudder 8Sudden acceleration 8No deployment 7Loss of power 7Headlights 6Transmission failure 6
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