2019 Toyota RAV4 Seat belts Problems

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the rear hatch door failed to remain securely closed. The contact stated that the failure intermittently occurred and became more frequent over time. Additionally, the front driver’s side seat belt buckle and rear passenger’s side seat belt buckle failed to buckle and lock securely. They also stated that the front driver's side electronic reclining seat made grinding sounds while operating. The contact also stated that water was leaking into the vehicle from the rear passenger’s side quarter panel. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failures, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 32,000.

NHTSA ID

11704726

Incident

Dec 12, 2024

Mileage

32,000 mi

Complaint Summary: Seatbelt failure on 2019 Toyota RAV4. Complaint Description: I own a 2019 Toyota RAV4, and the driver-side seatbelt has begun failing. The retractor and locking mechanism are not working reliably. Sometimes the belt won’t retract, sometimes it locks up randomly, and other times it doesn’t lock at all. This is a major safety hazard. I’ve owned many vehicles over my lifetime—older cars, newer cars, even vehicles over 50 years old—and I’ve never had a seatbelt go bad. This is the first time I’ve experienced a critical safety component failing like this. Toyota has issued seatbelt-related recalls on other RAV4 model years, but not on the 2019, even though the symptoms match what others have reported. This failure puts me at risk in the event of a crash, and it needs to be investigated. I am reporting this because I believe this is a safety defect, not normal wear, and it may affect more 2019 RAV4s than just mine.

NHTSA ID

11704715

Incident

Jun 1, 2025

At times it is difficult to connect seat belt into the lock I have to press release multiple times and try to lock in and click seat belt several times. It sometimes connect on first try and has taken 20 minutes to connect seat belt. As of 8/12/25 in for repairs at a cost $430 Driver and left set set belt lock replaced

NHTSA ID

11680269

Incident

Jul 1, 2025

After driving for 5-10 minutes, the center console screen stated: “A malfunction in the SRS Airbag System has been detected. Contact your dealer in order to have your vehicle inspected immediately” This continues to happen on subsequent trips. It only happens when somebody is actually sitting in the front passenger seat. There were no warning signs or symptoms prior to this message appearing. It makes me very concerned about passenger and driver safety and that the airbags may not deploy when needed.

NHTSA ID

11650014

Incident

Mar 22, 2025

First the problem was the seat belt malfunction and I check it everything was ok do accident or damage and two week later passager side air bag malfunction I took it to toyota the see the problem they said there are no recall and i have pay out of my pocket to fix manufacture malfunction problem.. after there months later my suv would not drive faster is move very slow and now it not even 5 years now and my transmission went out I have replace it

NHTSA ID

11631815

Incident

Dec 9, 2024

The vehicle was totaled due to a front end collision. The air bags did not deploy, the seat belt did not lock and the emergency alert when in an accident did not work. The driver was trapped in vehicle and unable to get door open, the vehicle was going about 40-45 mph at the time of the collision and the driver was flung forward causing whiplash and a concussion.

NHTSA ID

11571200

Incident

Feb 6, 2024

Vehicle take to dealer to diagnose seatbelt warning buzzer and SRS inoperative light illuminated. The dealer diagnosed the problem as a defective coolant bypass valve. This seems to be a rather common diagnosis. With the air bag system inoperative, I feel insecure driving the car without this important safety system.

NHTSA ID

11537483

Incident

Aug 4, 2023

The driver side seat belt has stopped functioning correctly. It engages just fine, but is very dificult to get it to release. I have to jerk on the belt to get it off. I am concerned that if I needed to exit the vehicle for an emergency, I wouldn't be able to get it to disengage. It started doing this around October 14, 2022. I will be making an appointment with a Toyota dealership to have it checked.

NHTSA ID

11491467

Incident

Oct 14, 2022

The seat belt for the driver's seat often wedges itself between one or another of the levers of the seat-adjustment mechanisms and the side of driver's seat. I am concerned that this may cause the belt to operate less than optimally.

NHTSA ID

11445153

Incident

Dec 27, 2021

RENTAL VEHICLE AFTER 10/15/MINUTES OF DRIVING -YOU HAD TO USE BOTH HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL VEHICLE WANTED TO DRIFT IN AND OUT OF LANE OF TRAVEL-VERY HARD TO STEER OFTEN REFERD TO AS WHITE KNUCKLE DRIVING INTERSTATE SPEEDS 70MPH-PASSENGER SEAT WAS NOT LOCKING -SEAT WAS TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH.WE WERE HIT FROM THE REAR.ALL TRAFFIC HAD STOPPED- IT WAS THEN DISCOVERED THAT PASSENGER AND DRIVERS SEAT BELTS WERE NOT WORKING THEY WERE NOT ENGAGING LOCKING DEVICE

NHTSA ID

11270194

Incident

Jul 3, 2019