Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Toyota RAV4 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Brakes failed to stop while parking vehicle with a speed of less than 5 mph hitting landscaping with a young pine tree that made the vehicle stopped. Hit and went over some matured bushes on the landscaped parking lot. The SUV cannot be stopped even brakes were depressed all the way. I needed to have my vehicle towed out of the bushes and the broken young tree in order to get out of the rubble. I need to have my brakes inspected by the dealership this week as it happened this Christmas Eve and the service are closed.
In at least 5 or more instances the vehicle has had unintended acceleration and thrust the car forward while I was braking and trying to come to a stop. Once it happened at a 4-way intersection and propelled my car into the middle of the intersection and I had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with another car. I , or the other driver, could have been killed. In all cases the braking failed to stop the car and in fact sped it up even though the brakes were applied.
While driving down a bridge at approximate speed of 36 and before the red light I left my right leg from the gas pedal and pressed on the brake pedal to get ready to stop by the red light . At that moment the brake pedal did not respond to my leg pressing and the total braking system did not respond having cars stopped infront of me by the red light I had to turn the steering wheel to the right and hit a big tree. The damage reached almost to the middle of the front hood; however, no any air bag was deployed or activated due to the crash and I was transferred to the hospital by the ambulance and been hospitalized for seven days and for the first four days I lost any sensation in my both legs with a sever spine pain and until now my both legs hurt me and so does my back ( spine ). Pictures are available. …
Tl* the contact owned a 2013 Toyota RAV4. While attempting to reverse, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. The contact attempted to stop the vehicle, but the brakes ceased. As a result, the vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into three trucks and a tree. The failure occurred without warning. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was not filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard where it was deemed destroyed. The manufacturer and dealer were not contacted. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 379. Consumer stated she started reversing and suddenly the car started acceleration, she pressed the brake it did not stop as a result the car went out of control and hit 3 parked trucks. Updated 8/15/18
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Toyota RAV4. While attempting to park the vehicle in a parking lot, the brakes failed. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle, which then crashed into a third vehicle. There was no warning indicator. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicles had minor damage. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 24,000.
Possible malfunction with the automatic braking system (ABS). Car fails to brake properly and slides when pressure is applied the brake. My wife was driving about 45mph and when she tried to stop, slid into the back of an 18-wheeler.
Hi, we (myself, my wife and daughter) had an accident dated 08/02/2015 due to brakes in our Toyota 2013 rav 4 didn't function. We were traveling at posted speed of 65/hr and there were 3 cars ahead of us that braked suddenly. There was enough time for all cars to stop including our car but inspite of full braking it failed to and happened to crash into the car ahead of us. Our car just could not come to complete stop. We strongly feel its not safe for our family to drive in that car any more. We have opened a case with Toyota as well, but its been 3 days have not heard back from them yet. All they did was email us saying they were unable to reach us when we did not received any calls at our end. We request you to please look into this matter and it might be a serious issue. Thanking you, [redacted] family. '
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Toyota RAV4. While driving 55 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed abruptly to avoid crashing into another vehicle. After the incident, every time the brake pedal was depressed, there was an abnormal noise coming from the rear brakes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brakes seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that both rear pads, rotors, and hardware needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000.....updated 07/05/16
While I was stopping in front of a red light, and my foot was on brake pedal, the car started to move, I pushed the brake down as low as possible, car kept on moving. I then used the hand brake to stop the car. Luckily, there was no car in front of mine, so no accident. This happened on last Saturday, May 21, 2016, early in the morning. After the incident, the car's brake functions as expected. But I always have a fear that it might do the same thing sometime someday, and I might not be lucky enough to be accident free.
Car won't start. Panel turns on but it won't engage the starter. Can hear a buzz noise, like a magnetized coil going off. Shifter is locked. Steering wheel is locked. Brake impossible to push down. Only way I can start the car is with the emergency procedure pushing the start button for 15 seconds. But still the shifter is blocked in parking and to be able to drive the car I need to use the little switch under the button size cover next to the shifter. Toyota has no clue what is going on. Vehicle has 45K miles
Brake complaints in other RAV4 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2013 Toyota RAV4?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the brakes of the 2013 Toyota RAV4, 9% of the model year's 257 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 Toyota RAV4 brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2013 Toyota RAV4, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 Toyota RAV4 brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 24,000 miles, and 56% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.