2013 Toyota RAV4 Engine Problems

Over the course of the past two days, 2013 Toyota RAV4 has engine cut-off while moving on surface streets, tollroads, and Interstate Highways. Thus far, this has occurred 9 times without any warning whatsoever. Car is in otherwise fine mechanical condition, with all four new tires, new brake rotors & ceramic brake pads, new battery & cables inspection, professional throttle body cleaning, 5,000 mile full-synthetic oil change & oil filter, new engine air filter, and all features and functions in what was known as 100% condition with no Engine Fault indicator on or subsequent OBD II codes. Yet it stalls at all speeds, including street traffic speeds and cruise at 70mpg. No indication whatsoever.

NHTSA ID

11693382

Incident

Oct 14, 2025

I was traveling south on [XXX] when the vehicle stalled. I started the engine and proceeded. I noticed my Rav4 smoking from the engine so I turned off into a Extra Space Storage parking at 1415 Bergen Boulevard, Fort Lee N.J. 07024 were it stalled again. I then exited the vehicle and opened the hood and observed a burst flames coming from the engine/battery area. I ran to a Wendy's and asked for a fire extinguisher, but the fire escalated rapidly, burning the entire interior and exterior of the vehicle. It was towed to Sanos Towing Company 344 Bergen Blvd. Palisades Park. N.J. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11622497

Incident

Jun 8, 2020

I had a 2013 Rav4, while i was driving the car the car started a fire under the hood and burn completely up. Im trying to file a complaint or talk to someone discussing this matter. Toyota says I need to file a bad faith complaint.

NHTSA ID

11592405

Incident

Feb 9, 2024

Pulled into driveway, turned off car. Entered house within a couple of minutes front end of car burst into flames. Fire Dept. was called to put out fire. Car was towed to Newburgh NY for insurance adjustor inspection. I was on my way to store and stopped at in-laws. Had I not made this stop, I would have been on thruway. If car had been a few feet closer to garage, it would have set the garage, with car inside, on fire, and house. Car in garage could have exploded (gas tank). The recall was received days prior to incident, and indicated remedy would be ready in June 2024. Police and Fire Dept were called, insurance reps, I believe have inspected the car. It was towed and I did not meet with insurance rep. There were no warning lights or problems, passed inspection in August 2023. Police Incident Rep #[XXX], 12/20/23, 12:05 p.m. Yonkers PD INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11562628

Incident

Dec 20, 2023

Car jerks when shifts gears and the problem just appeared one day with no warning. I went to 4 different mechanics and none can confirm if there is metal in transmission but to solely tell the transmission needs to be replaced. Either defective transmission or another problem not related causing jerking in driving.

NHTSA ID

11530146

Incident

May 14, 2023

I was driving back home with my kids on 12/31/22 as usual, car suddenly turned off. The engine then caught fire within 2 min of turning off, the whole car was on fire within 8 min.

NHTSA ID

11499684

Incident

Dec 31, 2022

I turned the key and started the RAV4 parked in my driveway. It immediately made unusual noices (gurgling, spitting, etc.). Within a minute, there was a loud "BOOM" under the hood and fire began coming out from underneath the car. I got out of the car and got a safe distance from it. My neighbors came running over as they heard subsequent explosions and saw black smoke billowing from my direction. Within a matter of a few minutes, the entire car was engulfed in flames. The fire department came and extinguished it. There is nothing left! BTW, I am 91 years old. This could have had a very different and sad outcome!

NHTSA ID

11462559

Incident

Apr 20, 2022

While driving , the dashboard lights start flicker off first as a warning before the entire car shuts completely down. The car was start having those issues back in 2014 and delaer told us it was the battery negative wire that causing the issue. Suddenly, it start doing the same thing and in my opinion very dangerous to drive on street and highways. No one wnats to have a car that just suddenly stalled on highway.

NHTSA ID

11457691

Incident

Mar 21, 2022

car is consuming 2 Quarts of oil in a very short time.

NHTSA ID

11452123

Incident

Jan 24, 2022

The contact owned a 2013 Toyota RAV-4. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an unknown speed, she detected a burning odor inside the vehicle as smoke was coming through the vents. As well as flames from under the hood. The contact's daughter pulled and stopped upon exiting the vehicle the front was engulfed in flames. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A fire department report was not filed nor a police department was not filed as they were on the scene. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer was notified and a case was opened. The contact stated researched failure online and found an investigation by NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.

NHTSA ID

11449223

Incident

Jan 23, 2022

Mileage

63,000 mi

Note: This is a fully electric vehicle. It was made by Toyota, but the drive train (electric motor, battery, etc.) is made by Tesla. Earlier this summer (Around June 2021) while starting the vehicle from a stop, the vehicle either shifted to neutral (halfway through an intersection) or stalled. The vehicle displays a message saying "Check EV System". We have since taken it to two Toyota dealerships. The first (Toyota of Tacoma in Tacoma WA) said the 12V battery needed to be replaced, but the issue happened again almost immediately after we took the vehicle off the lot and completely stalled in the middle of a busy intersection. We brought it back to the same dealership who then said nothing was wrong with the vehicle. We also took the vehicle to a local auto repair shop that specializes in electric vehicles where they were able to recreate the issue but unfortunately were unable to work on the car as Tesla had locked the codes needed to diagnose the issues. The second dealership (Titus Will Toyota in Tacoma WA) was able to reproduce the issue, but they didn't have the equipment to work on the vehicle. They said that they spoke to the Toyota engineering team who told them that the speed sensor had moisture on it, and the coolant on the right side was low which indicates that coolant was leaking into the electric motor and the vehicle needed a new drive train. Toyota said that since the drive train was made by Tesla, they are unable to work on the vehicle and we would need to figure out how to get the vehicle from Washington to California to find a shop that could service the vehicle and completely replace the entire drive train - a diagnosis made and given over the phone. We purchased the vehicle just over a year ago in Washington and now it has a dangerous safety issue that neither Toyota nor Tesla is wanting anything to do with and that local repair shops cannot address.

NHTSA ID

11432802

Incident

Jun 1, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TOYOTA RAV-4. THE CONTACT STATED THE WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE CONTACT STATED THEY NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE HOOD FROM THE ENGINE. THE CONTACT GOT OUT THE VEHICLE AND CALLED 911. THE VEHICLE ENGULFED IN FLAMES AND NO ONE WAS INJURED DURING THE FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS NOTIFIED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TOW YARD. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED OR DIAGNOSED BY INSURANCE COMPANY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75,000.

NHTSA ID

11406921

Incident

Apr 6, 2021

Mileage

75,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 TOYOTA RAV-4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN A PARKING SPACE WHEN SHE SHIFTED THE GEAR SHIFTER INTO REVERSE AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED ITSELF. THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE AROUND THE CORNER AND THE VEHICLE STALLED ONCE MORE. THE CONTACT LOOKED UP AND SAW GRAY SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD AND ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT EXITED THE VEHICLE WHEN SHE SAW GRAY SMOKE BILLOWING AND WITHIN SECONDS OF EXITING THE VEHICLE, IT WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE POLICE AND FIRE RESCUE WERE ON THE SCENE AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOT AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY DEEMED IT TOTALED, BUT COULDN'T DIAGNOSE WHAT THE FAILURE WAS SINCE THE VEHICLE'S EXTERIOR FRAMES WERE ONLY LEFT. THE CONTACT INFORMED CHARLES MAUND TOYOTA (8400 RESEARCH BLVD, AUSTIN, TX 78758) OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE AND OPENED A CLAIM, HOWEVER THEY LATER INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE CLAIM WAS DENIED SINCE THERE WAS NO INDICATION THAT A DEFECT CAUSED THE FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT UPON INSPECTION, THE J HOOK WAS MISSING AND THE POSITIVE BATTERY CABLE WAS WELDED TO THE BATTERY HOLD DOWN BRACKET AS THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE SAW A NEWS ARTICLE THAT NHTSA WAS PROBING ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE FOR 2013-2018 TOYOTA RAV4, AND BELIEVED THE FAILURE WAS RELATED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 39,187. *BF*LN

NHTSA ID

11403048

Incident

Aug 16, 2018

Mileage

39,187 mi

I SAW ARTICLE IN USA TODAY. EXACT SAME THING WAS HAPPENING TO MY RAV4 A MONTH AGO. I BROUGHT BACK TO DEALER AND THEY CHANGED THE BATTERY- BUT I PAID FOR IT.

NHTSA ID

11398466

Incident

Feb 1, 2021

Mileage

101,000 mi

DRIVING MY 2013 TOYOTA RAV4EV WHEN THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND WOULD NOT SHIFT BACK TO DRIVE AND LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT 70 MPH. LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. THERE WAS A MESSAGE IN THE DISPLAY OF "CHECK EV SYSTEM. HAVE YOUR VEHICLE CHECKED BY DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY"

NHTSA ID

11361268

Incident

Aug 14, 2020

Mileage

42,000 mi

WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING WITH ALL LIGHTS COMING ON ON THE DASH BOARD. IT CUTS ON WHEN YOU PUT CAR BACK IN PARK THEN TURN THE KEY, BUT STILL TURNS OFF AGAIN WHEN YOU TAKE IT PAST A CERTAIN SPEED OR WHEN STOPPING TO HARD.

NHTSA ID

11339049

Incident

Jul 5, 2020

Mileage

95,000 mi

THE RAV4 2013 IS NOT EVEN 5 YEARS OLD YET. THE CAR DOES NOT SPEED UP WHEN PRESSING GAS AND JERKS SUDDENLY. PER DEALER, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER CONNECTED TO THE TRANSMISSION AND HAD A LOT OF CUSTOMERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11129680

Incident

Feb 1, 2016

Mileage

60,000 mi

WHILE STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING, AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. THE RADIO AND HEADLIGHTS REMAINED ON. THIS THE SECOND OCCURRENCE WITHIN 6 WEEKS.

NHTSA ID

10939782

Incident

Jan 4, 2017

Mileage

30,000 mi

THE ENGINE STARTED ON FIRE UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. THE CAR WAS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY ACCIDENT. THE RAV4 LIMITED WAS TOTALED. IT WAS LESS THAN 3 YEARS OLD AND HAD 17,500 MILES ON IT. THE CAR WAS SERVICED REGULARLY BY TOYOTA. THE LAST SERVICE WAS ABOUT 4 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE FIRE. TOYOTA HAS NOT HONORED THEIR 3YR/36,000 MILE WARRANTY COVERAGE ON THE CAR. TOYOTA HAS NOT OFFERED A REPLACEMENT CAR, RENTAL OR ANYTHING. EVERY TIME WE CALL OUR TOYOTA CASE MANAGER OR LEGAL DEPARTMENT MANAGERS, WE HAVE TO LEAVE A MESSAGE AND THEY NEVER RETURN OUR CALLS.

NHTSA ID

10860544

Incident

Mar 10, 2016

Mileage

17,450 mi

OUR TOYOTA 2013 RAV4 HAD A SUDDEN ACCELERATION. WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE GAS PEDDLE SUDDENLY DROPPED TO THE FLOOR, AND THE RPM'S WENT FROM 3-8 INSTANTLY. UPON BRAKING, THE ACCELERATOR WENT BACK TO NORMAL, BUT AS SOON AS THE BRAKE WAS RELEASED, THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY HAPPENED AGAIN. AT THIS POINT, THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AGAIN, AND THE CAR WAS PULLED OVER. THE CAR WAS SHUT OFF, THEN RESTARTED. AT THIS POINT THE CAR DROVE NORMAL FROM THEN ON.

NHTSA ID

10837455

Incident

Feb 19, 2016

Mileage

17,000 mi

WHILE BACKING OUT OF MY GARAGE, SATURDAY 12/12/15, MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE, SUDDENLY THE ENGINE SPEEDED UP RADICALLY AND I SPED BACKWARD TO THE END OF MY DRIVE. I BRAKED AND SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL AND SWITCHED OFF THE ENGINE. IT STOPPED AND UPON RESTARTING, WAS OK. THIS COULD BE DEADLY IF IT HAPPENED IN TRAFFIC.

NHTSA ID

10809982

Incident

Dec 12, 2015

Mileage

6,500 mi

ON AT LEAST 5 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS SINCE OWNING THIS TOYOTA RAV4 I HAVE EXPERIENCED A SERIOUS ENGINE CONTROL PROBLEM. IT HAPPENS IN THE ECONOMY MODE OF THE CAR WHICH IS THE DEFAULT MODE YOU START THE CAR UP IN. WHAT HAPPENS IS WHEN PULLING INTO TRAFFIC AND YOU PUSH DOWN ON THE ACCELERATOR TO GET FAST SPEED TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC THE ENGINE STALLS. YOU CAN HAVE THE ACCELERATOR PUSHED ALL THE WAY DOWN AND THE ENGINE GIVES YOU NO POWER. THIS CREATES A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION ON THE ROAD AS MY CAR IS ACTUALLY STALLING WHEN IT SHOULD BE ACCELERATING. I HAVE TESTED AND DONE THE SAME THING IN THE 'SPORT MODE' OF THE VEHICLE AND IT DOES NOT CREATE THE SAME STALL SITUATION. THUS MY CONCLUSION IS THE PROBLEM RESTS IN THE 'ECONOMY MODE'. I HAVE ASKED THE DEALER ABOUT THIS AND THEY SAY THEY DO NOT KNOW WHY. I AM GOING BACK TOMORROW TO AS THEM TO TAKE BACK THIS CAR, AS IT IS DANGEROUS AND IS NOT PREDICTABLE OR DEPENDABLE IN DRIVING.

NHTSA ID

10791578

Incident

Nov 16, 2015

Mileage

23,000 mi

WITHIN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE THE ENGINE OF MY VEHICLE WOULD SOMETIMES HESITATE DURING A TURN. IT FOR A MOMENT WILL LOOSE POWER AND THEN HAVE A BURST OF ACCELERATION. IT SEEMS THAT THIS HAPPENS MOST OFTEN AFTER IT HAS BEEN DRIVEN, THEN PARKED FOR A SHORT TIME AND THEN STARTED AND TURNED BUT IT MAY ALSO HAVE HAPPENED AT OTHER TIMES. IT SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING MORE OFTEN LATELY AND MAKES TURNING DANGEROUS IF THERE IS A VEHICLE APPROACHING ACROSS THE CURVE OF THEE TERM. I KNOW OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH THE 2013 RAV4. I ASKED THE DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT IF THEN COULD FIX THE PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD NO. THIS PROBLEM IS DANGEROUS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10706705

Incident

Dec 16, 2013

Mileage

50 mi

WHILE BACKING UP, VEHICLE ACCELERATED RAPIDLY HITTING A PARKED VEHICLE DOING MUCH DAMAGE. WIFE DRIVING MANY YEARS, NEVER HITTING ACCELERATOR WHEN SHE MEANT TO HIT THE BRAKES. DO NOT KNOW WHY RAPID ACCELERATION OCCURRED. HAS NOT HAPPENED MOVING FORWARD. *JS

NHTSA ID

10669489

Incident

Dec 18, 2014

Mileage

10,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,800. UPDATED 6/8/2015 *JS

NHTSA ID

10663626

Incident

Aug 3, 2013

Mileage

4,800 mi