Toyota RAV4 2021

I am reporting a serious safety concern involving the sunroof glass on my 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited AWD. On July 3, 2026, at approximately 37,350 miles, I was driving the vehicle when the entire sunroof glass suddenly and catastrophically shattered. There was no traffic around me, there was no debris in the roadway, I was not traveling under an overpass, and I am not aware of any impact or other event that could have caused the glass to break. The failure was completely unexpected. I heard a very, very loud sound, similar to a gunshot. Immediately afterward, the entire sunroof glass had shattered into small granules. A very small piece of shattered glass also flew off the vehicle. I was able to quickly close the interior sunroof visor, which fortunately prevented the majority of the shattered glass from falling into the passenger compartment and prevented injury. There was nevertheless some glass that fell into the roof liner. I immediately contacted my insurance company and the car was towed to my Toyota dealership. The sunroof was replaced with a Toyota original part and the replacement was paid by my insurance company. This incident created a significant safety hazard because the sunroof glass failed suddenly and violently while the vehicle was being driven. The extremely loud explosion-like sound and the sudden loss of the sunroof glass could cause a driver to lose control of the vehicle or could result in glass striking occupants. In this instance, I was fortunate that the visor was closed quickly and that there was no surrounding traffic. I believe NHTSA should investigate whether there is a defect or other safety-related problem with the sunroof glass or its installation in this vehicle, particularly if similar spontaneous breakage incidents have occurred in other Toyota RAV4 vehicles. I am reporting this incident because the glass appeared to fail spontaneously, without an apparent collision, road debris, overpass, or other external impact.

I had three incidents since I purchased the car in January 2022. The first incident was in October 2022. I tried to park in the parking lot of McGovern Stella Link Library 7405 Stella Link Rd Houston Texas but the brake did not work and kept going and jumped over the parking block and in the pedestrian way and still kept going and about to hit the building. I was in a complete shock and disbelief but I had to get off the pedestrian way as fast as I could to avoid a major disaster. Fortunately there were no people in the pedestrian way, so I was able to do what I had to do. But my car was seriously damaged from hitting the parking blocks and poles. At that moment I thought I did something wrong but now I believe that the incident was caused by brake problem as I had two more incidents related to brake issues after. The second incident was in January 2023. I was driving in Highway 249 feeder road and tried to stop at the traffic light. I was going about 10-12 miles. Car would not stop even after the brake was pushed all the way down to the floor and kept rolling and hit the other car in front . I took to Don McGill Toyota Service Dept and requested to fix the problem. They kept it for over a week and told me that my car is safe to drive. Evidently they did not correct the brake problem. The same brake problem occurred again for the 3th time on August 26, 2023. It happened on Highway 6 near Memorial Drive traffic light. To stop the car at the traffic light I pushed the brake but the car failed to stop and came very close to hitting the other car in front. I used emergency parking to stop. Thankfully the other car made a right turn to a street (I was in right lane) so this time I escaped from hitting the car. 2021RAV4 has serious brake issues. The scary thing is I do not know when and where the brake might fail again. What if it happens on freeway !? Driving with good brakes is utmost safety issue. TOYOTA SHOULD FIX OR REPLACE THE BRAKES.

I had 2 sudden acceleration incidents. The first occurred 10/6/21.My car lurched forward & hit a pole. I was with my mom who saw me press the brake, which did not engage. My car has an auto-braking system which did not function as designed. I took it to Toyota.They determined there were no issues w/the vehicle. I insisted there was something wrong & warned this will happen again & could be much worse. I felt defeated but hoped it was an isolated glitch & hoped for the best. Fast forward 2 months to 12/13/21 I was in a drive-thru using the hold button, which is a feature that holds the brake in place, so my foot was not on any pedal. All of a sudden, my car began to accelerate & the brakes would not engage. An error message on the dash said “BRAKE MALFUNCTION”. I could not stop the car. I put in park, but it did not stop the car. The car jumped the curb & drove into oncoming traffic & hit two cars. They were traveling north, I was traveling west. It’s a miracle another car did not hit & kill me. The most frightening experience of my life. I had the car towed to Toyota as the front wheel blew out & could not be driven. Another inspection was done & once again Toyota came back with “they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle.” And added that the brakes were never engaged, which is an outright lie & utterly insane. I spoke to an attorney & what he told me was quite eye opening. He has been practicing product liability law for 30 years. He told me the letter received from Toyota was a standard letter that all car companies respond with. They never admit a problem unless forced to, usually by the govt, to do a recall after enough people file a complaint. I really believed Toyota would tell the truth. I never imagined they would lie & participate in a cover-up. They would rather fight you in court. As mentioned earlier, my car has an auto braking system, so why didn't it work? Clearly it malfunctioned. My hope is that this deceit by car manufacturers ends.

I was driving down the highway alone at speed limit, with no traffic in front of me. My sunroof, which was closed, exploded without warning. It was literally like a gun going off when this occurred. I curled up in a ball in my seat but did not jerk the steering wheel. The interior of the car was covered in small and larger glass shards. I stopped to examine the damage and found that the sunroof had exploded up like it had been under some kind of pressure. Later, when I arrived at my destination, I found many accounts online of the same "explosion" occurring in the 2021 rav 4 hybrid model like mine. In addition to the reported incidents, I found this; "Is There a Problem with the Sunroof in the 2021 Toyota RAV4? There certainly is a problem with the 2021 Toyota RAV4 sunroof. Multiple owners of 2021 Toyota RAV4s, including the Hybrid and Prime, have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They say their sunroofs (or moonroofs) explode spontaneously without any impact. When this happens, the glass shatters, which is a safety issue. However, Toyota appears to be disregarding the issue. There are several reports by owners stating that dealers refuse to help. Instead, they tell them to contact their insurance companies." It seems there was a class action lawsuit filed or being put together in 2023 but I do not know the status or result. I have exhausted talks with Toyota after paying $600 for their defective glass to be replaced. They refuse to accept responsibility. This is incredibly dangerous because of the explosion that occurs and because of the tiny slivers of glass that could blind the occupants. I question how many accidents may have actually occurred because of the blast and/or the flying glass shards. A normal reaction would be to jerk the wheel and its a surprise that I didn't. Now I am $600 out of pocket for replacing defective glass and have zero assurance that this won't occur again in the future. Thanks for your help

I have a 2021 TYTA RAV4 HYBRID XLE PREMIUM AWD, the driver seat is very slow moving forward and backwards twisting and preventing to fully go forward and backwards. I need to get out and in of my vehicle. So I have to move in back and forth to get out and move it forward to see over the dash board. I am concerned it makes a load noise. What if it fails to move. This is a critical danger to me the driver. I have passengers to consider. This is absolutely unsafe. This is allowed? Where is the recall? This is unlike Toyota to do nothing. I have platinum coverage purchased at time of purchase of this brand new vehicle on 12/31/2021. Apparently, it causes it other damage to other components and parts. There is alot of other components and parts under the front driver seat. I went it to have it looked at on March 30, 2026. Service advisor states: They ordered the parts its a seat frame sub assembly with motor. $1785.92 Covered by platinum Coverage, not all the parts are covered that are damaged. it will cost me: $448.87 for components and parts damaged but are not covered plus labor for Shield (71812-0R140-C0) and Holder (7181B-0R010) After further investigation it is a symptom of a failed internal component within this assembly—most commonly a stripped plastic gear or a bent drive shaft. So looking it up many Toyota Brand owners are experiencing the same thing and are having to replace other parts caused by this. This is a dangerous situation for me and others. What if it fails to move forward or reverse or motor stops? A partial repair is unacceptable. Leaving damaged trim and holders creates a risk of wire-chaffing and further mechanical stress on the new assembly. For the safety of the driver and the longevity of the vehicle, the repair must be 100% complete. This would be out of pocket monies families don't have. $2,234.79 total repair cost acts as a "safety tax" that prevents families from fixing this critical defect. I can not afford: $448.

My 2021 Rav 4 Premium I Bought new @ 84 miles from Toyota Town of Stockton,Ca I noticed Once in November 2023 Gas gauge not read gas level properly. December at least twice I noticed issue progress from gas Gauge reading inconsistence to Gas tank failure to fill up or failure to Allow gas. [XXX] I am at Gas station, while trying to fill up Based on my tank level at half a tank My gas tank did not allow gas in I got Push back. I retried 2 more times And gas went in slowly but gas gauge after still read half tank. Local Toyota [XXX] Said they cannot duplicate problem. I cannot rely on accuracy of gauge Or tank I have had same problem gas gauge failure read & tank no accept gas issues In previous Toyota’s bought new. 2008 PRIUS Prius safety issue found by Local Toyota who switched out Gas gauge & possibly gas tank but Issue continued never could be fixed. Reported to Toyota corporation, [XXX] issue started Until I got ride of it 2021. When Prius Deceleration happened for first time On my way to Toyota. I was drove from work I could guide steering but power dropped, deceleration stayed active. So thankful no accident. Toyota Tech said I had gas. They did whatever problem Paused but came back! I HAD TO GET RIDE OF PRIUS SAFETY AT STAKE! [XXX] The Prius decelerated hazards On Prius system on a red Triangle On my computer saying need gas But, it had plenty gas and Technician Found it had gas, that was not cause Of problem. 2020 Hybrid RAV 4 delivered by Roseville Toyota of CA When they delivered SUV on less than full tank to my home. Waited 2 days for insurance Fully ensure car. 3rd day first day I Drove car and I went to gas station Twice to try fill up, but Gas gauge no respond to input of gas In tank. I did a video address issues With Roseville Toyota and Toyota Corporation. I returned car, I did Not know Toyota Corporation Rejected Contract until I spoke to Roseville Toyota in person. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(

On April 29, 2023 I notice that there was a bad chemical smell in my car. I continued to try to find the issue and then I went to the back seat and discovered the floor of my 2021 RAV4 was completely flooded with water. I attempted to call Toyota but the service department was closed. I went to the local car wash to have them suck up the water in the meantime. I scheduled an appointment with Toyota on 5/1/2023 @3:45 to explain the issue that was going on. When I got there they serviced my vehicle and informed me that they weren’t able to find the source of a leak and they would need to keep my car. I asked would I be provided with a rental and the service advisor [XXX] told me no as this would need to be paid out of pocket. I didn’t agree and told them I’d have to bring it back. The following week I still noticed that there was water somewhere in my vehicle so I called to schedule another appointment on 5/10/2023 @3:45. This time I was connected with [XXX] who was very accommodating and set me up with a rental for one day. On 5/11/2023 I was contacted by [XXX] and he informed that they would need to keep my car for 3 weeks. He informed me that there was a lot of damage to the car and it would be fully covered. On 5/27/23 I was called and [XXX] told me I could pick up my vehicle. When I left on 5/27/23 I drove the car and when I put it in reverse my steering wheeled locked up and a message came across the screw saying “low voltage power steering.” I called the service department but they were closed until 5/30/23 for the holiday. I also contacted my service provider [XXX] and left a voicemail. He called me back 5/28/23 and informed me that he was out of town and to drop the car back of 5/30/23. I dropped the car off and they put me in another vehicle. 5/31/23 [XXX] called me back to inform me that the car was ready. I pick it up and it flooded in the inside again. I discovered there was a recall that it was never informed about and now they want me to pay. INFORMATIO

While driving on the freeway with outside temperatures of about 89/90F, at about 67-68 mph, our passenger window randomly exploded and shattered. There was no prior damage to the window or any indication that a rock, projectile or other debris had hit the window. Prior to this incident, we had observed that the passenger window would rattle inside the door pocket/window frame when the car was in motion. When the window shattered, it did so instantly without any warning, as if it had exploded, startling us. As we continued driving, the outside air started pulling apart the shattered window, causing the broken window glass to fall apart into thousands of little pieces that ended up all over the passenger, driver, and back seats, which were also occupied with children [XXX] and [XXX] old). This was a very scary and traumatic experience for us, as things could have taken a turn for the worse and we could have been seriously injured. Luckily, we had nothing more serious than minor cuts in the aftermath. However, our family and especially our children were very affected by this incident and our car suffered damage to the outside body and some more minor damage on the inside from the glass flying off from the shattered window. We believe the rattling of the window caused it to eventually explode and shatter. We believe the rattling is due to some kind of manufacturing error: either improper installation or possibly low quality glass material or incorrect size to match the door frame or a missing part that should hold the window securely. We would like our car inspected for any further damage not visible to the eye (such as glass inside the door pocket and the safety of the door window retainer of the passenger door as well as a check of the integrity of the rest of the car’s windows to check that they are property installed and secured in place to prevent rattling. The driver side window in the car continues to rattle and we fear that this incident may occur again. INFORMA