2018 Toyota RAV4: What to check before buying

Fires are the dominant pattern, and many start near the battery. The car often shuts off while moving, the screen and gauges go dark, and steering locks before smoke appears from under the hood. Several reports blame a battery that shifts under hard braking. Other fires begin while parked, including in garages. Many owners cite recall 23V734 and say the fix or its parts were not available for months. Smaller complaints describe headlight bulbs burning out over and over and melting their sockets.

Transmission trouble shows up as loud bangs and jerks when shifting out of park, delayed takeoff, hunting for gears, and torque converter shudder under light throttle. Some cars lose drive completely on the highway and need a new transmission. Hybrids buck and jerk at highway speed as EV mode tries to engage, and dealers usually cannot reproduce it. Stalling with a charging system warning is also reported. Crash reports involve sudden surges while parking and a car rolling away after being switched off in Drive.

The pedal goes soft, sinks toward the floor, or needs heavy force, and several cars fail to stop and hit something. Owners describe mushy brakes and loud scraping or screeching as early as 18,000 miles, and dealers often say they cannot find a fault. Pads and rotors wear out early, sometimes unevenly on one wheel, and front rotors overheat and warp repeatedly. Some reports pair an ABS failure message with shaking, lost power, or smoke. One dealer found a vacuum leak under the pedal.

Night visibility is the main complaint. The projector low beams cut off sharply, leaving the road ahead, hill crests, and roadside signs dark, and dealers say the lights work as designed. Automatic high beams switch themselves off or refuse to engage, and in some cars the high beams do not work at all. Auto headlights can shut off for seconds while driving. Other reports cite bulbs that keep failing, condensation inside new headlights, and brake lights that stay off while radar cruise slows the car.

Sunroof glass shatters at highway speed with a loud bang and no sign of impact, sometimes showering occupants. Windshields crack with no impact point, often while parked, and one crack starts at the camera mount. Replacement windshields are back-ordered for weeks. Owners also describe dashboard glare reflecting into the windshield in bright sun, a large blind spot at the right front pillar and mirror, and wiper blades that ice over in freezing weather.

The car accelerates on its own, at times with the driver's foot on the brake, and some of these events end in crashes. Adaptive cruise control misbehaves in both directions: it brakes hard or stops for nothing ahead, or speeds up when another car cuts in or it loses track of the car ahead. Other reports describe hesitation pulling away from a stop and hybrids losing power with overheating or malfunction warnings. Dealers frequently find no fault.

Nondeployment in serious collisions is the main pattern, including head-on impacts, a highway deer strike, and a hit from a semi truck. Most complaints here involve a crash, and several report injuries. Some drivers see an SRS or safety system malfunction message after the impact. Less often, side or curtain bags deploy when they should not, including once at under 5 mph with no collision. Several of these crashes also involve reported braking or acceleration failures.

Sudden shutdown while driving, followed by fire, is the most serious pattern, sometimes after flickering gauges or lost power steering. One fire starts in a parked car in a garage. Other cars lose power on the freeway and stall, sometimes showing an AWD malfunction message and dropping into 2WD mode. One car speeds up at a stop with the brake pressed and hits another car. Smaller reports describe engine heat and a foul odor entering the cabin, and a crankshaft sprocket problem causing harsh starts around 60k miles.