2019 Toyota Rav4 Steering Problems
29 owner-reported steering complaints from NHTSA data
Data sourced from NHTSA public database. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified mechanic.
Steering Recalls (1)
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2019-2020 RAV4 and 2020 RAV4 Hybrid vehicles equipped with electric power steering (EPS). Water may enter through the steering gear box cover and cause a loss of electric power steering assist.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the power steering gear box, free of charge. The recall began August 17, 2020. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is 20TB11 / 20TA11.
Owner Complaints (29)
Your steering wheel makes a buzzing noise when you turn it left or right, both while driving and in park. You're concerned this could indicate a power steering failure. The issue likely involves the power steering system and may require inspection or replacement of steering components.
Parts you may need:
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Stopped for gas on 11/6/2025 immediately after getting gas the truck shook twice, the power steering light and engine shut down light came on and the truck turned off. Waited for a few minutes to turn the engine again it wouldn’t start. Got it towed to my nearest dealership who kept it for a day. Said there was nothing wrong with the truck, there was no code showing and they couldn’t determine the cause of the problem.
I stopped for gas; my car would not start. The power steering fluid light came on. I went inside to purchase some but when I returned to the car, there was no place to pour it. After a few minutes the car started. About a month later, my husband stopped for gas and the car killed right after he left the gas station, about 10 minutes later, it started. Took it to a mechanic, they couldn't find anything wrong with it because the check engine light wasn't on and the car wasn't giving any problem codes. About two weeks ago, I stopped for gas, the car wouldn't start. Finally got it started, and the check engine light came on. However, it's still not reading any codes.
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the steering wheel seized, and the contact had to use force to maneuver the steering wheel. A yellow light was illuminated, followed by a red light. The message "Power Steering Malfunction" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the power steering unit sensor had failed. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact retrieved DTCs: C05D604 (Electronic Power Steering (EPS) System Internal Failure); C151287 (Malfunction in the Electric Power Steering (EPS) System Torque Sensor); and C15D11C (Electric Parking Brake Failure). The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V373000 (STEERING); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,500.
My car steering wheel is not responding correctly when I drive". Last week a warning light of faulty steering angle sensor keeps showing on and off. I am afraid that I may crash. I called Toyota to let them know and after verifying my VIN # they want to charge me $185.00 because according to them my car is not on their recall all the information can also be found on the website.
Started normally, but had a message on the screen saying “Check Fuel Cap.” I needed gas anyways, drove about 3 minutes to the gas station, turned engine off, put gas. Turned engine back on and within 3 seconds it shut off. The screen displayed “engine stopped- Power steering low.” I tried a handful of times to start, it did not. After 20 minutes and some rest, it started. With no more messages. Battery and alternator were tested, both were good.
The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and several unknown messages were displayed. The contact stated that the transmission and steering wheel seized during the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that unknown parts were replaced. The contact stated that the failure persisted and worsened during the cold months. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
The electronic power steering light intermittently illuminates, particularly when the start-stop system is engaged. I recently brought my vehicle to the Toyota dealership where a diagnostic test was performed. However, no fault codes or issues were identified at that time. Despite this, the warning light continues to appear.
sounds caused by the steering wheel when traveling at 40 to 60 mph. It gets louder as you turn the steering wheel.
Steering wheel is blistering/ peeling in the areas that heat up. I have asked Toyota to address the issue and the refuse to do so.
In line at a restaurant drive through around 2pm, raining, wipers on. engine cut off and power steering low message displayed. Car would not restart for several (30 minutes) Cause unknown. All battery, starter, alternator test came back fine.
I have 2019 Toyota RAV4. 69,000 miles. I had issue this week when I was driving and park. The gas given by it self after I park the vehicle. and today all of the sudden stop on the road. The dash board shows me EPS light, Battery sign.
My power steering fails due to low voltage, even while I'm traveling at high rates of speed.
UNKNOWN
LTA NOT WORKING EVEN IF IT SHOWS ITS ON. IF ITS ON IT WILL NOT STAY IN LANE IF NO MARKERS ON ROAD ARE SHOWN WILL PULL TO RIGHT OR LEFT TO FIND CENTER OF LANE. WHICH IS A HAZARD. FROM LOOKING FOR ANSWERS ON WEB IT SHOWS TOYOTA HAS NO FIX FOR NONE WORKING OF LTA. FROM LOOKING AT FOURM OF THIS PROBLEM IT SEEMS THAT IF THEY DO TAKE INTERST THERE'S A LOT OF CAR AND SUV AND TRUCKS WITH THIS PROBLEM ON ROAD TODAY. SO TOYOTA WILL HAVE FORK OVER BIG CASH TO FIX PROBLEM OF THE NONE WORK LTA ON THIS VEHICLES.
Steering suddenly locked up. Car steered to the right went off the road. Turned over several times and landed upside down. Causing serious injuries to myself and the driver. I was in hospital 3 weeks total with broken ribs , broken vertabrae and dislocated shoulder. Cuts on feet from the glass. Driver had cuts on head and dislocated shoulder. Prior to accident, I had reported (twice) to dealer that steering wheel felt loose. The second time, I had him write it down on report when I came in for oil change. So I have proof that I reported it. They checked steering and said they couldn't find anything wrong; but the problem was it didn't do it all the time. Sometimes it would take quite a few seconds before it would react if I would turn it a little left or right. Eventually, it did lock up and caused the horrible accident. The accident occured on November 26, 2020. I typed that date, but somehow this report changed it to Aug 6 and I can't seem to change it.
ACCIDENTALLY TURNED ON LKA. AT FREEWAY SPEEDS UP TO 70MPH STEERING PULLED TO RIGHT. HAD TO KEEP TENSION ON STEERING WHEEL TO KEEP VEHICLE CENTERED IN LANE. THEN STEERING WOULD QUIT PULLING AND VEHICLE WOULD GO TO LEFT. HAD TO KEEP FIGHTING STEERING TO KEEP VEHICLE CENTERED IN LANE. LKA WARNING KEPT BEEPING. RESEARCHED PROBLEM ON LINE. LOOKED IN OWNERS MANUAL AND MADE SURE LKA WAS TURNED OFF. THIS WAS A BIG ANNOYANCE FOR ME BUT I WAS ABLE TO KEEP CONTROL OF VEHICLE. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR SOMEONE ELSE, THOUGH.
I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE MONTHS AGO AND THE RECALL HAS YET TO BE SATISFIED ALL THE WHILE MY TODDLER GRANDCHILD IS IN THIS VEHICLE REGULARLY. MY BIGGEST ISSUE IS THE SAFETY OF A VEHICLE THAT MAY STILL AT HWY SPEEDS AND RESULT IN A CRASH
MAKE A STRETCH NOISE WHEN I MAKE TURN SHARP ,AND STEERING BECOME STIFF
THE TIRES SLEEPS TO THE FRONT WHEN YOU TRY STEERING TO THE SIDES ETHER RIGHT OR LEFT AND THE TIRES MAKE HORRIBLE NOICE AND THE SLIP TO THE FRONT AND IF YOU DON'T BRAKE WHEN THE CAR SLIP TO THE FRONT YOU CAN HIT THE VEHICLE INFRONT OF YOU, LOOKS LIKE THEY MAKE THE STEERING ANGLE TO WIDE OR THE TIRES TURN TOO MUCH THAT INSTEAD OF MAKING A TURN THEY SLEEP TO THE FRONT AND THATS TOO DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT
MY BOUGHT MY VEHICLE BRAND NEW ON DECEMBER 10, 2019. ON OCTOBER 29, 2020 THE BATTERY STOPPED WORKING WITH ONLY 10K MILES. I CALLED TOYOTA AND TOLD THEM MY BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. TOYOTA TOLD ME TO JUMP START THE CAR AND DRIVE THERE TO REPLACE THE BATTERY. I ADVISED MY CAR WAS STUCK IN THE GARAGE AND WE WOULD NEED SOMEONE TO TOW THE CAR. WHEN THE 'TOW' ARRIVED IT WAS ONLY A MAINTENANCE WORKER THAT JUMP STARTED THE VEHICLE AND SAID I WOULD NEED TO DRIVE IT MYSELF THERE. THE WORKER ADVISED ME OF THE DEFECTIVE BATTERIES FOR RAV4 AND OTHER MODELS. ONCE MY CAR WAS TURNED ON AND OUT OF THE GARAGE, I WAS PULLING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY WHEN MY POWER STEERING LOCK WARNING SIGNAL FLASHED. I CALLED AND EXPLAINED I WAS AN HOUR FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND NEEDED MY CAR TOWED TO THEM AND THE WARRANTY I PAID FOR SHOULD COVER IT. SUBSEQUENT TO GETTING MY VEHICLE BACK, I RECEIVED PAPERWORK IN THE MAIL WITH A RECALL NOTICE ON 12/9/2020 EXPLAINING THE POSSIBILITY OF MY VEHICLE STALLING WHILE DRIVING, WHICH COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. I PULLED OUT MY PAPERWORK FROM THE TECH AND ON THE BOTTOM NOTES I NOTICED THE TECH WROTE 'INTERIM STATUS' EXPLAINING THAT I WAS ADVISED THERE IS CURRENTLY AN INTERIM RECALL NOTICE FOR THE VEHICLE, BUT CURRENTLY NO REMEDY. THIS INFORMATION WAS NEVER EXPLAINED OR GIVEN TO ME UNTIL THE RECALL NOTICE VIA MAIL ON 12/9/2020 EVEN THOUGH THE RECALL WAS DEFECT INFO REPORT WAS ISSUED ON MAY 20TH.
I AM HEARING CLICKING NOISE FROM STEERING WHEEL WHEN I MAKE TURNS AT LOW SPEED, SPECIALLY WHILE I AM APPLYING BRAKE (AND TURNING STEERING WHEEL). THE NOISE SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING IS TOUCHING INSIDE THE STEERING! BUT IT IS NOT CONSTANT. MAYBE ELECTRIC MOTOR OR A COMPONENT IN STEERING WHEEL. *TR
WHEN BRAKING THE VEHICLE TAKES LONG TO STOP AND THIS IS A BRAND NEW 2019 RAV4 ? IT ONLY HAS 5K MILES ON IT. I NOTICED A CLINKING SOUND WHEN TURNING RIGHT AND LEFT OR GOING OVER BUMPS. I RESEARCHED THIS AND THERE ARE SEVERAL RECALLS AND COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME ISSUE REGARDING THE LOWER CONTROL ARM REPLACEMENT DUE TO IT DETACHING FROM THE WHEEL HUB AND IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE! THERE IS ALSO A RECALL FOR A SAFETY ISSUE ON THE MOTOR TO BE REPLACED DUE TO CRACKS ON THE ENGINE BLOCK DUE TO MANUFACTURE OVERSIGHT! MY CAR WAS MANUFACTURED IN THE TIME FRAME OF THE RECALL MONTH OF MANUFACTURE??? THERE IS ALSO AN ISSUE ON THE REVERSE CAMERA SYSTEM GOING BLANK WHEN REVERSING? I RESEARCHED THIS AND THERE IS ALSO A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE? *TR
WHEN TURNING RIGHT THE CAR HAS A KNOCKING NOISE. *TR
VEHICLE ACCELERATED SUDDENLY WHEN I WAS TRYING TO GET INTO A PARKING SPOT ON MY LEFT SIDE. SAVED FROM CRASHING INTO THE ADJACENT CAR WHEN I QUICKLY PUSHED THE BRAKES, VERY SCARY. IT WAS RAINING AT THE TIME, AND THE PARKING SPOT I WAS AIMING FOR IS AT AN INCLINE.
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
DRIVING AT A SPEED OF 60MPH I HEARD A STRANGE NOISE ARISE FROM THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE AND SMELLED A BURNING (ELECTRICAL) SMELL. I CUT OFF THE HEATER AND SEAT WARMERS AS A PRECAUTION, SLOWING THE CAR TO A SPEED OF 30-40MPH. APPROX. 2 MINUTES LATER, MY DASHBOARD LIT UP WITH ABOUT 4 CONSECUTIVE WARNINGS 1. ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTIONED. 2. LANE TRACING ASSIST HAS MALFUNCTIONED. 3. REAR CAMERAS HAVE MALFUNCTIONED. 4. PARKING ASSIST WITH AUTOMATED BRAKING (PA W/AB) HAS MALFUNCTIONED. BRAKES CONTINUED TO ENGAGE, BUT FELT STIFF AS THOUGH THEY MAY STOP WORKING. WAS ABLE TO SAFELY TAKE BACK-ROADS TO MY LOCAL DEALER (VANCOUVER MCCORDS TOYOTA) WHERE IT IS STILL UNDERGOING INVESTIGATION.
APPROXIMATELY 30 DAYS AFTER PURCHASING MY 2019 TOYOTA RVA4, WHILE DRIVING TO WORK DURING THE WEEK OF AUGUST 1,2019 ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY MY VEHICLE SWERVED TO THE RIGHT ALMOST HITTING AN 18 WHEELER WITHOUT ME STEERING IN THAT DIRECTION. IT HAPPENED ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER SWERVING AGAIN TOWARDS THE RIGHT ALMOST HITTING A CAR. DURING THE WEEK OF AUGUST 5,2019 THE CAR DID THE SAME THING AGAIN. WHILE DRIVING HOME, THIS TIME THE STEERING WHEEL WARNING LIGHT STARTED FLASHING. I CHECKED THE OWNERS MANUAL AND IT STATED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE NEAREST TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IMMEDIATELY WHICH I DID. ON AUGUST 17TH I BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO BE CHECKED. INITIALLY A YOUNG SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CAR. I WAS PERSISTENT IN HAVING MY CAR CHECKED. AFTER THE YOUNG SERVICE MANAGER SPOKE TO A SENIOR SERVICE MANAGER, HE SUGGESTED TO THE YOUNG MANAGER THAT IF I AM BEING PERSISTENT THEN SHE NEEDS TO DO A CODE DIAGNOSTICS ON THE CAR. I WAS TOLD AN ISSUE WAS FOUND AND THEY HAD TO KEEP MY CAR. ON AUGUST 21,2019 I RECEIVED A CALL STATING MY CAR WAS READY. I ASKED WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THE STEERING ANGLE SENSOR HAD TO BE RECALIBRATED. THE CAR WAS TESTED FOR 14 MILES WITH NO PROBLEMS, BUT I SHOULD KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ANY OTHER STEERING ISSUES. I MUST SAY I AM NOT COMFORTABLE DRIVING A CAR WITH STEERING ISSUES. IT IS STILL SWERVING ON OCCASIONS,BUT NOT AS SEVERE.
I EXPERIENCED SEVERAL NEAR MISSES RELATED TO TWO ADAS FEATURES AS I RENTED THIS NEW RAV4 IN ATLANTA. FIRSTLY, THE LANE-CENTERING FEATURE ACTIVELY TRIED TO GUIDE MY VEHICLE OUT OF ITS LANE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS TYPICALLY OCCURRED WHEN DRIVING ACROSS OVERPASSES WHERE THE PAVEMENT TYPE TRANSITIONED. THE LEFT AND RIGHT LANE MARKINGS WERE PRESENT ON THE PAVEMENT THROUGHOUT THESE EVENTS. THE STEERING WHEEL MOVED WITH FORCE AND SPEED--HAD MY REACTION TIME BEEN HALF A SECOND LONGER, I WOULD HAVE STRUCK VEHICLES NEXT TO ME. SECONDLY, THE VEHICLE'S FULL-RANGE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL BRAKED ABRUPTLY, ESPECIALLY AT LOWER SPEEDS, ON NEARLY EVERY OCCASION WHERE HIGHWAY/CITY TRAFFIC SLOWED OR STOPPED. I WAS NEARLY REAR-ENDED DUE TO THE JERKY ACTIONS OF THE SYSTEM. THE VEHICLES IN FRONT BRAKED SMOOTHLY DURING THESE EVENTS--ONLY MY VEHICLE SLAMMED ON ITS BRAKES WHEN IT COULD HAVE LIGHTLY APPLIED THEM TO SLOW DOWN SAFELY. IT APPEARS THAT TOYOTA MIGHT HAVE MY DATA FROM 3/13/2019, SINCE A STICKER ON THE OVERHEAD CONSOLE STATES: "VEHICLE DATA TRANSMISSION IS ON! YOUR VEHICLE WIRELESSLY TRANSMITS LOCATION, DRIVING AND VEHICLE HEALTH DATA TO DELIVER YOUR SERVICES AND FOR INTERNAL RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS..." I HOPE THAT NHTSA CAN WORK WITH TOYOTA TO EXAMINE THESE RECORDS AND IMPROVE THESE SYSTEMS.