Problems · by component

2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid service brakes problems

37 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid cite service brakes, 12% of all 302 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
37
12% of all complaints
Crashes
8
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the service brakes

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Hi, Im reporting a serious safety issue with my 2017 Toyota rav4 The emergencybrake failed to engage, which caused the car to roll down the hill , I took the car to Toyota dealership while it was under the warranty and back down they told me it was nothing wrong with it. It just needed to be adjusted but it never worked the way it should have I do have a family and friends. They do have the same car and all have Same issues with E brake not not engaging l like this to be documented,”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 19, 2025Service brakesODI 11655601
“I have put 45,000 miles on the vehicle and have had complete brakes and rotors replaced 3 times. The caliper hangs up every time. As it gets closer to replacement time, I have experienced times when I did not think my car was going to stop. Brakes are spongy and I feel like pushing the pedal down is not enough to stop the car. I have experienced this three times, and thankfully it has stopped in time to avoid collision.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 8, 2025Service brakesODI 11653409
“My Toyota RAV4 was involved in an accident. My vehicle was rear-ended on [XXX], at the corner of [XXX] and [XXX] in Tucson, AZ. Because it was during rush hour traffic, I moved my vehicle to an adjacent parking lot. It was while I was in this parking lot that I experienced brake failure and I was unable to stop my vehicle. As a result, my car hit a concrete pillar in the parking lot. This automatically stopped my vehicle and resulted in front end damage to my vehicle. 911 was dispatched and a sheriff was called to the accident scene. My car was towed to a tow yard before the Toyota collision center could begin work on estimating the amount of damages to my vehicle for the front-end and rear-end damage. My insurance company totaled my vehicle. I contacted Toyota to notify them of this brake failure. I was notified by a third party to contact you to report this incident.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 9, 2024Service brakesCrash reportedODI 11613612
“Related to a car accident when getting hit in the front my air bags didn’t deploy . Only the driver side was hit pretty bad . Another car accident related to a tree branch no air bag deploy . I was told that you have to be hit in a certain way to deploy the air bags . Hearing that makes me switch from a Toyota to a Kia . I have my toddler .”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 2, 2023Air bags, Service brakesCrash reportedODI 11553312
“Multiple times when coming to a stop the vehicle is stopped and then the brake pedal depresses further on its own while at the same time the engine roars and the vehicle lunges forward about 4 feet. It almost put me in front of oncoming traffic. Also I felt like I had no control over the brakes. It happened 4 times and also did this while I was parallel parking and almost slammed into the parked car ahead of me. It was in the shop last month. The brake calipers were cleaned and the brake lines were bled. This vehicle only has 40000 miles on it. I took it back to Toyota again today to see if they can once again try to figure out what is causing this. When it surges forward it sounds like if your foot was on gas in park, only my foot was on the brake Im afraid to drive it.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 28, 2023Service brakesODI 11541318
“As I drive about 70 MPH, the ABS and the brake lights come on and the car is momentarily out of control. As I grabbed the tearing and reduce the speed dramatically, the system correct itself and I am able to continue driving at a very low speed.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 5, 2023Steering, Vehicle speed control, Service brakesODI 11520601

Showing 6 of 37 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 13, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.