2024 Toyota RAV4 Steering Problems

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2024 Toyota RAV4 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

My 2024 Rav 4 showed a power steering level low message on my dash then powered off, after I was sitting in a parking lot for 10 mins in park, windshield wipers had been going that day. Tried restarting - vehicle did restart but seemed to have issues, was shaking slightly, let me drive for about a minute more in the parking lot then had a message showing to park in safe place and power steering level low and vehicle shut off again. Started vehicle about 15 mins later and everything was fine, did not experience issue again that day or next day so far. I feel I have an unreliable vehicle - what if this happened on the highway and my car just shut off in traffic, how dangerous this issue is. Several other complaints online also regarding use of windshield wipers and electrical power steering issues happening in correlation with one another. …

This is a follow up of an incident reported on 3/30/2025, after the vehicle was driven approximately 30 miles in the rain, then stopped for 5 to 10 minutes idling with windshield wipers on intermittent setting. Engine began to shudder, engine rpms increased/decreased erratically as the engine shook. The vehicle was turned off. After approximately 5 minutes, restarted vehicle and engine again ran erratically and then stalled, displaying "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low" on the message center in the driver's display. After the engine stalled, the vehicle would not restart and had to be towed. After being towed, the vehicle started and ran smooth. A short while later, the vehicle was started but again ran erratically, but did not stall right away and was turned off. The next day, 3/31/2025, the vehicle was taken to the dealership service department. …

When idling with intermittent wipers on, the vehicle began smoking under the hood, engine light came on dash as well as "steering power low" warning, then engine shut off. The vehicle was unable to be started again after waiting a few minutes. The gear shift could not move from parked. The vehicle was purchased new and had only 20,000 miles on it. I ended up having it towed to a Toyota dealership but by that time the battery was drained from leaving the hazards on too long. They could not identify any other problems and sent me on my way with a working vehicle. After talking to a manager at another Toyota dealership, they identified that this is an occasional problem with this vehicle. The manager was able to contact Toyota who suggested they replace the air intake tube and bezel. Hopefully after these new parts are replaced I will not experience a random shutdown again. …

Rav 4 2024 Mileage 44,780 Got off work and started car and drove home no issues was driving in the rain for about 30 mins. I get home and park and my car is sitting for a minute. Then it started to idle strange/ shaking and I see the rpms are jumping between 1k-2k I try to give it gas and nothing happens. I end up turning the car off and back on and the car starts but sputters/shakes and turns right off this happens multiple times. I leave it alone and start it 30 mins later it starts but is shaking very badly. I turn it off and call for a tow to the dealership. I go back and start it an hr later it starts fine and runs fine. I get it towed to the dealership and they keep it for 1 1/2 days they find nothing wrong saying everything is running the way it is designed to run. I go and pick it up and they state they completely inspected and drove multiple times there is nothing going wrong. …

I was in a parking space at the local library, waiting on my children. It was raining, and had been raining most of the day. I had driven about 60 miles in the rain before going to the library. The car was on, but in park. The car started slightly shaking (like a big truck was going by), and it looked like some smoke was coming out of the engine. The car then flashed some lights on the dash and gave the following message: Engine Stopped. Steering Power Low. It then turned off, and I tried to turn it on multiple times to no avail. After researching online while waiting for a tow truck, I saw multiple references on Reddit to this problem. I waited about 20 minutes and was able to turn the car on, though it was hesitant. I was able to cancel the tow and drive the short distance home. It was scary because it came out of nowhere and this is a BRAND NEW CAR with only about 27,000 miles on it. …

I own a 2024 Toyota RAV4. At approximately 38,300 miles, an authorized Toyota dealership diagnosed a failed rack-and-pinion/steering rack assembly that required replacement. Before the repair, I began noticing a squeaking noise when turning the steering wheel. The noise became progressively louder over time. The symptoms continued to worsen until the vehicle was inspected by the Toyota dealership. The vehicle has been regularly maintained, and there was no collision or other known event that would explain this failure. The steering rack required replacement only about 2,200 miles beyond Toyota's 36,000-mile basic warranty. Because the rack-and-pinion assembly is a critical steering component, I am concerned that this may represent a premature failure and potentially a safety issue if similar failures are occurring in other 2024 Toyota RAV4 vehicles. …

While sitting idle in the parking lot at work, I suddenly got a "engine off steering power low" warning on my vehicle. The check engine and power steering warning lights came on. I could no longer operate the vehicle. When trying to restart the vehicle, it started up but the entire vehicle began shaking and the engine shut off again. I have researched this problem on Toyota and Rav4 forums online, and this problem has been happening to a lot of Rav4 owners. I had the vehicle towed. Toyota claims that everything is fine and they cannot find the cause of the problem. Some owners have reported that water is getting into the engine because of a faulty lower area intake tube. One user said that Toyota specifically told them to make a complaint here so that is what I am going to do as well. I no longer feel safe operating the vehicle and I am in a constant state of worry while I am driving. …

On 3/30/2025, I drove my 2024 Toyota RAV 4 Adventure about 30 miles in the rain with the wipers on. I then put the car in park, with the wipers still on intermittent setting and the engine still running. After sitting in park like this for approximately 5 minutes, the engine began to shudder, with engine RPMs decreasing and increasing erratically, and the engine was also shaking as the RPMs increased and decreased. I then turned the car off for approximately 5 minutes. When I restarted the car after 5 minutes, the erratic RPM resumed, and then the engine stopped running, and my display screen showed the following message: "Engine Stopped, Steering Power Low". The check engine, check steering, and check battery lights were also illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle would not restart after several tries and ultimately ended up having the vehicle towed 30 minutes. …

I bought a brand new 2024 Toyota Rav4. It was raining heavy, I drove through some deep puddles. I parked at my jobs parking lot, let my car idle for a few minutes, and I received a message on the dash "Engine Stopped. Steering Power Low." I went out 2 hours later, tried again, same message. Waited all day, even called a Tow truck. Right when tow was about to show up, I started the car again, no message, and car was fine. I told dealership, and they told me it was because the engine got water in it. But looking online it's because of a faulty battery or alternator from the factory. Two days later, it happened AGAIN as I was parking. I saw the warning momentarily as I was turning off the car. I turned it back on again, and no message. Please look into this. I fear for everyone who buys a Rav4 from the factory. …

After driving the vehicle in the rain, pulled into work and the car died. Would not restart, it popped up with power steering low error code. After leaving work car started right up and drove normal. Searching online and a lot of other people are having same issue, causing there cars to die and not restart when they are in traffic. Most people reporting the same issue have had their cars die on them while on the highway in stop and go traffic, which could lead to a wreck. I don't want this to happen to me or anyone else as I travel a lot with my two small children in the vehicle. Other items to note, almost all the people I found online with same issue have said that it was also raining, with their windshield wipers on and the start stop function turned on. Thank you for looking into this for me and other customers.

Steering complaints in other RAV4 years