Owners filed 3,633 complaints about the 2015–2025 Toyota RAV4 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 29th-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2019 model year drew the most (877), and the single most-reported problem area is electrical system, named in 21% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2019, with 877 complaints, led by fuel system (255).
- Spike years: 2019 (2.9× the typical year), 2020 (2.1× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: fuel system complaints came at a median of 1k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 124 complaints mention a fire and 289 mention a crash; owners reported 241 injuries and 5 deaths.
Toyota RAV4 complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 303 | Electrical system (85), Steering (46), Engine (37) | 35k mi | 37 | 41 |
| 2016 | 239 | Electrical system (59), Brakes (44), Exterior lights (28) | 20k mi | 33 | 12 |
| 2017 | 307 | Electrical system (108), Brakes (38), Exterior lights (32) | 23k mi | 33 | 24 |
| 2018 | 331 | Electrical system (129), Engine (32), Brakes (28) | 12k mi | 31 | 32 |
| 2019 | 877 | Fuel system (255), Engine (205), Electrical system (102) | 3k mi | 25 | 2 |
| 2020 | 634 | Engine (180), Electrical system (119), Fuel system (90) | 3k mi | 17 | 5 |
| 2021 | 385 | Air bags (125), Electrical system (47), Engine (41) | 16k mi | 46 | 7 |
| 2022 | 144 | Electrical system (38), Engine (27), Steering (20) | 26k mi | 14 | 0 |
| 2023 | 153 | Electrical system (41), Steering (26), Engine (24) | 57k mi | 18 | 1 |
| 2024 | 174 | Engine (38), Electrical system (32), Steering (27) | 14k mi | 28 | 0 |
| 2025 | 86 | Electrical system (15), Engine (13), Body structure (8) | 6k mi | 7 | 0 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Toyota RAV4 problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 775 | 21% | 21k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Engine | 653 | 18% | 21k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Fuel system | 432 | 12% | 1k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
| Air bags | 326 | 9% | 19k mi | — |
| Body structure | 298 | 8% | 18k mi | — |
| Brakes | 259 | 7% | 10k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Transmission / powertrain | 254 | 7% | 9k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Steering | 237 | 7% | 20k mi | Power steering repair cost |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Toyota models in the index
- Toyota Highlander (2,616)
- Toyota Camry (2,338)
- Toyota Tundra (1,778)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.