A leaked Queensland police memo reveals general-duty RAV4s may not be able to handle extreme driving conditions, as their battery packs could overheat.
A leaked internal report from Queensland Police has identified a potential flaw that could leave as many as 400 new Toyota RAV4 Hybrids unfit for duty in some situations.
The Toyota RAV4 was announced for general duty use by Queensland Police in January 2025, with an order for 400 vehicles to replace the then-current Toyota Camry general duty fleet.
Around 200 vehicles have so far entered service, but an internal memo has surfaced revealing that in extreme conditions, the RAV4’s hybrid battery pack may overheat and enter ‘limp mode’, reducing outputs to protect the hybrid system.
Each Australian state and territory has its own assessment criteria for vehicle fleets, depending on the use case, with Queensland police identifying the RAV4 issue when subjected to cycles of hard braking combined with heavy acceleration.
The document, as seen by 9News, reports that “during police driver training, it was identified that the RAV4 AWD Hybrid’s high voltage battery may overheat under extreme conditions of hard braking combined with high acceleration and high RPMs”.
The report goes on to say that Toyota Australia has confirmed with Queensland Police that the issues experienced are “a normal safeguard, built into the hybrid control system”.
The message from Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner, Craig Watherley, instructs officers that if the problem presents itself in active duty, police are to “cease urgent duty driving and pull over to let the system cool”.
The report also indicates that since the RAV4’s introduction to Queensland’s police fleet, no incidents of the issue have been reported in normal operations.
9News reports that in testing cycles, the issue has appeared after as little as five minutes of driving.
A Toyota Australia spokesperson told Drive: “Toyota Australia technical teams have inspected the vehicles in question and determined they are functioning as designed.”
“In extreme scenarios such as police driver training, the vehicle may intervene to protect the hybrid system.
“As noted by the QLD Police, there have been no incidents of this nature during normal duties.”
A statement issued by the Queensland Police Union (QPU) has labelled the RAV4 Hybrid as “a vehicle that is not fit for purpose”.
Shane Prior, the QPU president, has urged officers to “never to engage in urgent duty driving with one” as “it’s not worth the risk”.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
