2025 Toyota RAV4: What to check before buying

Hybrid system faults cap speed at 60 mph, kill the accelerator, and leave the car stopped on the highway with a locked steering wheel, needing a tow. The 12-volt battery is a recurring complaint. Owners describe chronic undercharging, and in one case a drained battery locked the owner out of the cabin and out of the trunk compartment holding the jumper cables. One owner is still waiting for parts for recall campaign 25V595000. A failing front camera also disables cruise control. One report lists an injury.

Sidewalls separate from the tread, split at the shoulder, or crack without warning, and in one case a tire came off the rim. Most of these failures happen at 60 to 70 mph with no puncture or road hazard found. Two happened between 4,397 and 5,343 miles. The reports name both Dunlop and Michelin tires. A sudden blowout at these speeds carries a real risk of losing control. In one more case, a flat turned out to be caused by a stone inside the tire.

Sunroof glass shatters with a loud bang while the car is moving and the roof is closed. The power liftgate closes with more force than a person can hold back, and it stops only when pressed at one narrow spot near the center of its edge. That poses a clear hazard to children and pets. Owners also report water coming in through all the doors after rain, early rust that the dealer offered only to paint over, and body panels that flex and click under light pressure.

A warped, distorted windshield makes some drivers dizzy and nauseous and gives them headaches, and a replacement windshield can show the same flaw. The problem appears in the first few hundred miles, as early as 271 miles. Toyota has received multiple calls about it. One report describes a stress fracture in the windshield. Another describes the multifunction display failing to dim at night despite the auto setting. The screen glares at the driver, who then has to adjust it by hand while driving.

The accelerator gives no response for a couple of seconds when pulling away from a stop, then the car lurches forward. That can leave a driver stalled or creeping into traffic. Two reports describe the car rolling freely. In one, pressing the power button in Drive or Reverse shifts to Neutral without setting the parking brake. In the other, a remote-started car shuts off while already in gear. Hybrid models also jerk at low speed when the driver lifts off the accelerator, reported around 3,400 miles.

The backup camera screen goes blank or flickers while reversing, and the display also shuts off at random while driving forward. One owner whose VIN was left out of a related recall reports the same screen failure, starting about a month after buying the car new. The digital rearview mirror shows a hazy, foggy image at night but stays clear in daylight. Cleaning the rear window and the camera lens does not fix it, and the dealer called it normal operation.

The headlight beam has a hard cutoff at the top and does not reach far enough down the road. That makes winding rural roads hard to drive safely at night, and drivers slow well below the speed limit. A related report describes a dark band about a third of the way up the windshield at night that hides street signs. The dealer called it normal, but Toyota's head technician could not see the signs in the owner's photos either. A third report notes the backup camera is slow to light up at startup.

After a shift from reverse to drive, the wheel can lock and refuse to return to center, with no warning light beforehand. In one case this caused a collision with another car. The dealer confirmed a steering wheel angle fault, but the car sat at the dealership with no fix. Another report describes the car vibrating and shutting itself off while held at a stop in heavy rain. It showed a "Steering Power Low" message and would not restart until after several attempts.