2018 Toyota RAV4: adaptive cruise control problems

Filed Aug 3, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · CA

Before o had taken my RAV4 into Toyota for the recall a AAA tech. had replaced the battery after jump starting it. There was nothing wrong with the sensors or anything else but after the battery was replaced all the electric sensors that are for lane change warnings and cruise control etc. stopped working. I took vehicle into Toyota of Santa Maria and was told that I needed to pay for the sensors that had failed. They told me that I was responsible and I do not believe I am when AAA had just replaced my battery and only after that did the sensors have an issue. I do not feel safe driving my car now because all the sensors aren’t working anymore.

Filed May 17, 2023 · Driver assistance · FL

Front miliwave sensor malfunction (Radar senor) required replacement immediately due to safety concerns by dealer. Because it could cause unintentional braking. Also because this system is connected to other safety features. I only purchased this car recently from a third party car dealer less than a year ago and this problem only went on for less than a week before service. And the only warning was that the adaptive cruise control stopped working.

Filed Feb 19, 2022 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · FL

While driving on a 50 mph Highway with the cruise control on and no vehicles or anything in front of the car for more than a half a mile the vehicle braked suddenly as if the system sensed it was going to hit something. I pulled off the road shut the car off and restarted the car and it operated normally after that. I would be concerned of a rear Collision due to this occurring for no reason

Filed May 5, 2021 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 25,000 miles · MN

Car was on cruise control, due to a car in front, it was driving 10 mile below the cruise control speed. A new car came in between my car and the previous car in front, my car started speeding up suddenly. I hit the break and canceled cruise control immediately to prevent crash. This has happened at least 6 times do far. Only seem to happen rarely when some new object comes in between.

Filed Sep 8, 2020 · Acceleration, Engine · 66,000 miles · TX

Car is failing to speed up past 60 unless using cruise control then the car used a lot more gas then normal. I also tried to pass a car to get up to highway speed and was unable to, very dangerous on the highway. Then the car would not go past 40 I tried to switch from eco to sport to normal thinking that maybe the computer was confused but that did nothing. So after trying to speed up multiple times I got a hybrid malfunction light and told to pull over. This has happened to me in the past as well. Toyota dealer was unable to diagnose any issues with it and just reset the computer.

Filed Apr 14, 2020 · 17,300 miles · CA · crash

I had been using the adaptive cruise control at highway speed on the westbound ca 134 in glendale/burbank, ca. I had to merge into traffic from the hov lane disengaging the cruise control. I then used the auto transmission to shift to a lower gear to gain more torque in changing lanes when the car went into a stall and lost all power. Consequently we were rear-ended by another car. Our car went into a lockout and had to be pushed to the shoulder by the california highway patrol. I don't know if this was a random event or a glitch in the on-board computer.or something else totally unrelated.

Filed Feb 15, 2020 · Brakes · 18,000 miles · NJ

I have had this vehicle for 18,000 miles now and I have noticed serious issues with the braking system. When I apply the brakes, I have to (almost) completely floor the brake pedal in order for the car to stop. I had a 2015 honda cr-v for three years and it never had any issues like that. In other words, the brake pedal is too soft compared to similar vehicles. This is especially problematic for shorter drivers (like my mother) because she has small feet and she needs to lift her entire foot to transition between the gas/brake pedals, putting her at a slight disadvantage. I contacted the toyota dealership regarding this issue, but they told me that it was normal and couldn't do anything major about it. This is a major safety hazard. I almost ran into a deer one night on a local road because I couldn't stop the car on time. Highway braking is also difficult, so I have to maintain extra distance. However, when using dynamic cruise control, the car is able to successfully brake in accordance to the vehicle travelling ahead of me.

Filed Dec 12, 2019 · Acceleration · 20,000 miles · MI

In three separate occasions since purchase january 16th, 2018, the adaptive cruise control has lost track of an SUV in front of me and continued to accelerate. Driver had to intervene. First instance was a brown pontiac aztec in clear weather daytime. Second occurrence was a blue chevy encore in clear weather daytime. Third occurrence was a black escalade in clear weather at night. Vehicle cruise control was set to 70-80 MPH with the closest distance setting.

Filed Feb 21, 2019 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · 25,000 miles · CT

If you drift away from another vehicle or obstacle (pedestrian, bicycle, etc) that is also drifting into your lane, the lda system (lane departure assist, which is touted as a safety feature) will pull you back towards the obstacle you are trying to avoid. Clearly this is a safety hazard and should be removed as a "feature" from the vehicle. Toyota should also stop calling this a safety feature. Secondly, the radar assisted cruise control will start braking if it sees the vehicle in front is slowing down. However, if the system then thinks an accident is imminent, the crash warning shows up and the cruise controlled braking is then disabled causing the vehicle to stop the braking process, and thereby causing a safety hazard since the car will now coast into the obstacle. Again, this is a surprising and terrible implementation of this system that should be removed or fixed.

Filed Sep 28, 2018 · Lights · 2,000 miles · OR

My 2018 rav4 is equipped with dynamic radar cruise control, a feature which I like very much like when traveling on interstate highways. This feature automatically decelerates my vehicle to match the speed of the vehicle ahead and keeps you following at a safe distance. However, the safety issue I have discovered is that when the vehicle automatically decelerates, it apparently does not activate the brake lights and the vehicle behind you is not warned that you are slowing down. Twice in the first couple months of owning this vehicle, while traveling on relatively straight, flat, interstate highways, I had the dynamic radar cruise control engaged and the vehicle in front of me reduced speed fairly quickly (from approximately 65 to 45mph) due to road construction. My vehicle automatically slowed accordingly, but the vehicle behind me did not realize I was slowing down because my brake lights did not activate and I was very nearly rear ended. Fortunately, serious accidents were narrowly avoided in both these incidents. I believe the dynamic radar cruise control feature is very good, very useful feature; however, the system must be modified to activate the brake lights when the vehicle automatically decelerates. One of the incidents occurred in july, 2018, and the other in august, 2018. I have discussed the issue with our local toyota dealer and also with the toyota customer experience center (800 331-4331). The latter established a case number (1809280901). I wish to ensure appropriate follow-up occurs to correct this safety issue.