2015 Toyota RAV4 · symptom sheet
Brakes grind, pulse or wear early
- 31owner reports
- 24,000median miles
- 12involved a crash
Newest report Mar 2, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
31 of the 303 complaints on this car describe brake wear.
Tick what matches of 31 reports
Brake wear on other RAV4 years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.
What this problem usually is
Brake reports cover a wide spread of symptoms. Grinding or squealing is common, and so is a pulsing pedal or a shake through the car when stopping. Others describe pads and rotors worn out long before they expected, a brake warning light, or a pedal that goes soft or sinks toward the floor. The most serious ones say the car didn't stop in time.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the pads and rotors (3 reports) and the ABS module (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the brakes covers the 2015 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 7,120 and 59,750 miles, from the 24 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 5 service bulletins or notices for the 2015 Toyota RAV4 that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
TT: Some Toyota vehicles installed with Toyota Complete Maintenance Care (TCMC) brake pads may exhibit a groan or squeak noise in various driving conditions.
REVISION NOTICE September 26, 2019 Rev1: ? The Warranty Information, Parts Information, and Repair Procedure sections have been updated. Any previous printed versions of this bulletin should be discarded.
Some 2009 ? 2018 model year RAV4 and 2017 ? 2018 model year iM vehicles may exhibit a grind/groan noise from the front brake pads. An updated pad kit is now available as a service part. Follow the Repair Procedure in this bulletin to address this condition.
Some 2012 - 2016 model year RAV4 vehicles may exhibit a squeak noise which is heard coming from the front brakes with light to moderate braking. To address this squeak noise condition, use the following Repair Procedure.
1 more on the 2015 Toyota RAV4 page.
What owners wrote
“Road conditions were perfect - sunny, dry, nice weather. I was pulling into a parking spot and when I applied the brakes, they FROZE. I.e. the brake pedal DID NOT GO DOWN. (The mats were not an issue). Then the car suddenly accelerated and went over an embankment. I was able to stop the vehicle using the emergency brake.”
Filed Dec 8, 2021
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 12 of 31 reports involved a crash and 9 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found
Other problems on this car
- Vehicle fire 40 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 33 reports
- Battery dies or the car will not start 26 reports