Complaint 2261745

Complaint Summary

SEAT BELTS

Owner Narrative

I am writing to report a safety concern involving the rear seatbelts in the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) updated moderate overlap front crash test (conducted at 40 mph with 40% overlap), the rear lap belt on the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid slid upward from the pelvis onto the lower abdomen of the rear dummy during the crash. This is known as submarining. IIHS rated the rear restraints and dummy kinematics as Poor for this reason, resulting in an overall Marginal rating for the vehicle in that test. In the same test, the non-plug-in hybrid version of the 2026 RAV4 kept the lap belt properly positioned on the pelvis and received an Acceptable rating. The only significant difference noted between the two vehicles is the additional battery weight in the plug-in hybrid, which appears to alter the motion of the rear of the cabin and the performance of the belt system. Submarining can increase the risk of serious abdominal injury by allowing crash forces to act on soft tissue and organs rather than the stronger pelvic bones. As an owner of a 2026 RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid, I am concerned that this design or calibration issue may pose a higher injury risk to rear-seat passengers, including children, in a real-world frontal crash.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.