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2013 Toyota RAV4 electrical complaints

Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 75, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2013 Toyota RAV4 electrical problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed Nov 21, 2024 · Electrical · 130,000 miles · GA · fire · 1 injury

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.

Filed Nov 14, 2024 · Electrical · CA

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota RAV4. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Filed Nov 14, 2024 · Electrical · GU · fire

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.

Filed Oct 22, 2024 · Electrical · 191,264 miles · CA

The contact owned a 2013 Toyota Rav4. 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 attempted to start the vehicle; and noticed that the vehicle would completely shut off with no warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the 12-volt battery was inoperable. The contact noticed that the battery was loose. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 191,264. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Sep 20, 2024 · Electrical · 166,744 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Rav4. 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, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle failed to restart and was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that a thermal event had occurred, causing the battery to overheat and engine components to fail. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 166,744. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Sep 19, 2024 · Electrical · SC

Vehicle suffered electrical shortage after a deer impact, battery is under warranty and recall. Progressive insurance and Jim Hudson Toyota Sumter SC refusing to honor

Filed Sep 16, 2024 · Electrical · CO

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Sep 9, 2024 · Electrical · IL

Toyota USA failed to start recall campaign and fix Manufacturer Recall Number23TB13 & the federal safety agency Recall Number23V734 It was promised to start fixing recall in the middle of 2024, it is 3rd quarter of 2024 and not remedy available, Toyota USA fails to provide timeframes.

Filed Aug 26, 2024 · Electrical · GA

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Rav4. 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Jul 15, 2024 · Electrical · CA

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Jun 4, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · AL · fire

I had a 2013 Rav4, while i was driving the car the car started a fire under the hood and burn completely up. Im trying to file a complaint or talk to someone discussing this matter. Toyota says I need to file a bad faith complaint.

Filed May 20, 2023 · Electrical · TX · fire

After driving vehicle, noticed smoke coming from under hood. Upon further inspection battery was on fire.

Filed Jan 1, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · PR · 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.

Filed Dec 1, 2022 · Electrical · OH · fire

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.

Filed Nov 25, 2022 · Electrical · 45,000 miles · CA · fire

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated when she attempted to start the vehicle, it hesitated to start, once the vehicle started the contact noticed smoking was coming from under the hood. The contact was able to shut down the vehicle. The contact stated that more smoke was coming from under the hood of the vehicle turning into flames causing the vehicle to burn. The fire department was contacted, and they were able to extinguish the fire. No police report was filed. No one was injured. The vehicle was not towed. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 45,000.

Filed Apr 28, 2022 · Body, Electrical · VA · fire

I turned the key and started the RAV4 parked in my driveway. It immediately made unusual noices (gurgling, spitting, etc.). Within a minute, there was a loud "BOOM" under the hood and fire began coming out from underneath the car. I got out of the car and got a safe distance from it. My neighbors came running over as they heard subsequent explosions and saw black smoke billowing from my direction. Within a matter of a few minutes, the entire car was engulfed in flames. The fire department came and extinguished it. There is nothing left! BTW, I am 91 years old. This could have had a very different and sad outcome!

Filed Feb 11, 2022 · Electrical · CT · fire

The battery on my 2013 Toyota Rav4 burst into flames while the engine was going and I was at a traffic stop/intersection. The electrical system failed, car died in place, luckily while at a stop and smoke from the engine compartment filled the car. I had just pulled off the highway and had come to an intersection in a residential neighborhood of a densely populated city center. Residents came from the street to help put the engine compartment fire out. Driver and passenger (a dog) were able to get out safely, police and fire department came to the scene and asked people to move away from the vehicle in case of explosion. Fire was extinguished. Car was towed to local Toyota dealership, Car insurance agent has done preliminary inspection as well as dealership service manager. Both state that the battery did catch on fire. Battery installed was correct size as per service technician's initial report. At this time, total damage to the car is unclear, as a full inspection of the vehicle and electrical system has not been done. two or three times sporadically over the two days prior, the lights on the dashboard flickered on momentarily as though there was some kind of electrical short circuit happening somewhere. At present the vehicle remains at the dealership awaiting full Toyota inspection, since as a result of this office's investigation of numerous battery fires, Toyota has issued a Consumer safety recall.

Filed Sep 13, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · WA

Note: This is a fully electric vehicle. It was made by Toyota, but the drive train (electric motor, battery, etc.) is made by Tesla. Earlier this summer (Around June 2021) while starting the vehicle from a stop, the vehicle either shifted to neutral (halfway through an intersection) or stalled. The vehicle displays a message saying "Check EV System". We have since taken it to two Toyota dealerships. The first (Toyota of Tacoma in Tacoma WA) said the 12V battery needed to be replaced, but the issue happened again almost immediately after we took the vehicle off the lot and completely stalled in the middle of a busy intersection. We brought it back to the same dealership who then said nothing was wrong with the vehicle. We also took the vehicle to a local auto repair shop that specializes in electric vehicles where they were able to recreate the issue but unfortunately were unable to work on the car as Tesla had locked the codes needed to diagnose the issues. The second dealership (Titus Will Toyota in Tacoma WA) was able to reproduce the issue, but they didn't have the equipment to work on the vehicle. They said that they spoke to the Toyota engineering team who told them that the speed sensor had moisture on it, and the coolant on the right side was low which indicates that coolant was leaking into the electric motor and the vehicle needed a new drive train. Toyota said that since the drive train was made by Tesla, they are unable to work on the vehicle and we would need to figure out how to get the vehicle from Washington to California to find a shop that could service the vehicle and completely replace the entire drive train - a diagnosis made and given over the phone. We purchased the vehicle just over a year ago in Washington and now it has a dangerous safety issue that neither Toyota nor Tesla is wanting anything to do with and that local repair shops cannot address.

Filed Mar 23, 2021 · Electrical · 2 miles · TX

Indicates a malfunction in the EV system. High battery temp show malfunction on evsystem while on road and sudden power loss may be create deadly accident. While charging it show malfunction in EV system.

Filed Mar 1, 2021 · Brakes, Electrical · 101,000 miles · NY

I saw article in USA today. Exact same thing was happening to my rav4 a month ago. I brought back to dealer and they changed the battery- but I paid for it.

Filed Nov 29, 2020 · Electrical · 60,352 miles · TX

After not having used the car for a while, I decided to see if things were good. I couldn't turn the car at all, so I decided to jump start it. The car turned on but there was a warning saying "problem with EV system, take to dealership". On my way to the dealership, I felt the acceleration of the car had been reduced significantly. When I arrive at the dealership, they say leave your car here and we take a look at it. I left it there and start to head back home. As I am going back, the dealership contacts me and says "we can't work on this car because we don't have anyone who is experienced with this. Come back and pick it up." so I head back to the dealership. On the phone, I made sure they knew it was a fully electric car and they said we would take a look at it. Anyways, as I am driving back home, the acceleration is still very poor. It takes 30 seconds to go from 0 to 40mph. I get a different warning saying "battery overheated, limiting energy supply". There also is this nasty rotten egg type smell as well. I am kind of scared now because battery powered car have been known to catch on fire. So far no one has been able to help me with this issue.

Filed Oct 3, 2020 · Electrical · 61,000 miles · NE · fire

Drove the car 8 blocks on city street to the filling station, while turning into the filling station from access road the car shut off and the dash went completely black just short of fuel pump. Stopped the car and restarted, drove 50 ft. To fuel pump. Shut car off to fill with gas. Went into station to pre-pay for fuel. Returned to the car, filled with fuel and tried to start. When trying to start the car it was completely black, no electronics at all, called my wife to get a tow truck to have it removed from the gas station, then went in to station to tell attendant the situation. While exiting the store I noticed sparks and glowing embers dropping to the ground from inside the left front wheel area. I turned back and asked the station attendant for a fire extinguisher, returned to car, with 5 lb extinguisher, hood would not release so sprayed extinguisher up under wheel, around hood cracks, and by this time the head light had a hole where the flames were shooting out, so sprayed fire repellent into the hole. After about 10 sec extinguisher was empty. Told gas station attendant to call fire department as the vehicle was going up in flames. Approximately 5 minutes later the fire department arrived to extinguish the flames.

Filed Aug 4, 2020 · Electrical · 59,000 miles · RI

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota rav4. The contact stated that the door locks were inoperable. The contact stated that the locks were unable to be locked or unlocked from inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer and the contact was provided an estimate of $1,800 for the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 59,000.

Filed Jul 13, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 95,000 miles · PA

While driving, the vehicle started to shut off while driving with all lights coming on on the dash board. It cuts on when you put car back in park then turn the key, but still turns off again when you take it past a certain speed or when stopping to hard.

Filed Mar 9, 2020 · Electrical · 62,000 miles · NJ · fire

I was driving on a local road. As I turned into the parking lot of a store, the vehicle shut off and smoke and fumes began to fill the cabin. I pulled to the side,got out of the car, and raised the hood. There was a fire in the area of the battery. A person nearby noticed the fire and came to put it out before the entire vehicle was engulfed. Local police and fire also responded.

Filed Feb 17, 2020 · Electrical · VA

I am entering a safety complaint regarding the headlights on my toyota 2013 rav4. Today, I went to my local car repairman to fix a headlight that blew out. This is the 3rd time in 6 months. In september, we had to completely change both headlights because parts in the headlights were melting. Yet, less than 6 months later, my passenger headlight blew out and needed to be replaced. There is something systematically wrong with my headlights. According to my car mechanic, it looks like they are going to continue to burn out. This creates hazardous driving conditions for me and my passengers.

Filed Oct 2, 2019 · Electrical · NH

2013 rav4 limited w/ 63,000 miles. Vehicle equipment with smart key push button start. For two years this vehicle has had a intermittent ignition failure. Scenario: car is unlocked, key fob is recognized, foot on brake, push start and nothing happens. The anti-theft column lock will not release and the car will not respond to its start command. Then it will. There is no consistent pattern to when it will fail or when it will "fix" itself. Recently it has reached a level of failure that its too risky to take any place and expect to start and get home safely. The car has been in and out of dealer service 12 plus days in the last 30. Dealer has experienced the issue and has done extensive diagnosis, conclusion is, its normal. I purchased the extended warranty in 2013 and what toyota has proven is they are unwilling or unable to repair. I now resort to disconnecting the battery before putting car in park or closing the doors so the anti theft won't lock. Doors and steering wheel won't lock so when I reconnect the battery it will start. It however runs really badly until it recalibrates. A related concern of mine is this intermittent unlock problem may suddenly lock while driving. I have reported this to toyota corporate and have a claim. I have reported to local attorney general claiming violation of service contract. I have read on line other toyota owners have experienced this but I've not read of a solution. I service records, emails and related claims documents. This first occurred in 2017 and has grown from an annoyance to unacceptable. Thank you

Filed Jun 2, 2019 · Electrical · CA

Mechanism that allows doors to lock and unlock started failing one by one. I am the first owner of my car and it was only 3 years old when this began. I can no longer open several doors from the inside. I have taken it to the dealership and apparently this is a known issue.

Filed Jan 26, 2019 · Brakes, Electrical · 45,000 miles · CA

Car won't start. Panel turns on but it won't engage the starter. Can hear a buzz noise, like a magnetized coil going off. Shifter is locked. Steering wheel is locked. Brake impossible to push down. Only way I can start the car is with the emergency procedure pushing the start button for 15 seconds. But still the shifter is blocked in parking and to be able to drive the car I need to use the little switch under the button size cover next to the shifter. Toyota has no clue what is going on. Vehicle has 45k miles

Filed Mar 12, 2018 · Electrical · FL

Both power locks for the driver and passenger side have stopped working. The fuses are fine. It seems it's an actuator issue common with toyotas.

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