2014 Toyota RAV4: engine stalls while driving

Filed Sep 19, 2025 · Electrical, Steering · FL

Year: 2014 Make: Toyota Model: RAV4 Approx. mileage: 60K 2. Incident Details Date of most recent incident: [XXX] Problem: Vehicle stalls and loses power steering while turning. Engine shuts off suddenly, causing complete loss of steering control. Consequence: On [XXX], my son lost control of the RAV4, hit a curb, and went through bushes before stopping. Previous stalls also occurred while turning, with loss of steering assist. This is a severe safety hazard. Frequency: Has occurred multiple times, even after dealership inspection and repairs. 3. Dealer/Repair Info Dealer name: Sarasota Toyota Address: 7435 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231 Repair attempts: Dealer inspected in August 2025, charged nearly $900, but problem persists. Car is now back in the shop (not Toyota) for a second opinion at an additional cost of over $200. 4. Description My 2014 Toyota RAV4 repeatedly stalls and loses engine power and power steering without warning, especially while turning. On [XXX], my son lost control of the vehicle, hit a curb, and went through bushes before managing to stop. This is extremely dangerous and could have resulted in a serious accident. Sarasota Toyota has inspected the vehicle and charged nearly $900 for repairs, but the defect was not fixed. The vehicle continues to stall and is unsafe to drive. I am pursuing a second opinion at additional expense. This issue places my family and others on the road in danger. I am filing this complaint so that Toyota and regulators address this defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Dec 11, 2023 · Engine · NY · fire

The contact owned a 2014 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving up a slight grade, the vehicle stalled on the roadway. The contact stated that he saw smoke issuing from under the hood. The contact stated that he exited the vehicle and observed that flames were issuing from under the front end of the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the fire department was called, however by the time the fire truck arrived the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. The contact stated that the fire department extinguished the flames with water. The police department was also on scene and wrote a report. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown and the VIN was not available.

Filed Jul 19, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 135,000 miles · CA · fire

The contact owns a 2014 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while driving 15 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. After multiple attempts, the contact was able to restart the vehicle. Soon after the vehicle was restarted there was smoke coming from the vehicle and the vehicle stalled again. The contact stated that the battery had caught on fire. The battery was destroyed. The fire department was not notified of the fire. There was no injury sustained. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic for repair. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the mechanic. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Apr 16, 2015 · Steering · 200 miles · CA

This is an ongoing intermittent problem. I notice it while moving slowly and turning. The steering has a spot where it is harder to turn. It feels like the power steering momentarily stalls. I told the dealership at the first service appointment and they couldn't find anything.

Filed Nov 5, 2014 · Electrical · 5,000 miles · GA

New rav-4 was slightly more than 1 month old (7/1/14 to 8/11/14). We were driving back to atlanta from vacation in the outer banks, we were using cruise control to maintain speed on the expressway. We came across a slower moving truck and pulled into the passing lane, still using cruise control. While passing slow truck, another truck came up on our tail at a higher rate of speed. I stepped on the gas to get in front of the slow truck, intending to enable the fast truck to pass us once we were in front of the slow truck and back in the normal lane. Instead of speeding up, rav-4 lost power and quickly slowed down, to the point of needing to pull behind the slow truck that we were trying to pass and having to pull to the shoulder of the road. The fast truck on our tail started to (slightly) fishtail and might have crashed into us if the truck driver had lost control of his vehicle. We pulled to the side of the road and tried to rev the engine, but got no response, the engine almost stalling. Since the engine was not responding, we shut the car off, and restarted, and were able to continue with no further problems, but didn't use the cruise control again for the rest of the ride home. We reported the incident to our dealer, and were told that this would be very difficult to trouble-shoot, and to continue to drive and bring it back if it happens again. We no longer trust the cruise control on this vehicle and will not use it again.