MotorYearvehicle reliability by model year · NHTSA data

2018 Toyota RAV4

2018 Toyota RAV4
Photo: Mr.choppers (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Complaints
328
Per 100k sold
77
≈427k sold (est.)
Recall campaigns
3
Crash / fire reports
31 / 32

Complaints by component

A complaint can name multiple components.

electrical system
128 (39%)
unknown or other
69 (21%)
engine
32 (10%)
service brakes
30 (9%)
power train
26 (8%)
exterior lighting
23 (7%)
vehicle speed control
20 (6%)
visibility/wiper
17 (5%)
air bags
16 (5%)
structure
14 (4%)
fuel/propulsion system
12 (4%)
steering
10 (3%)

Complaints by vehicle age

Years between the model year and the reported incident.

50
25
0
5 · 50 complaints · age 5 years
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
View as table
045
148
222
348
424
550
639
741
811

Complaints by odometer reading

Mileage at failure, where the complainant reported it. When this curve rises early, problems show up while the vehicle is still young.

64
32
0
0k · 64 complaints · 0,000–10,000 miles
0k
10k
20k
30k
40k
50k
60k
70k
80k
90k
100k
110k
120k
130k
140k
150k+
View as table
0k64
10k28
20k11
30k6
40k8
50k7
60k6
70k5
80k2
90k0
100k1
110k0
120k1
130k2
140k0
150k+2

Recalls (3)

electrical system · 2023-01-11 · 23V734000

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles. Certain replacement 12-volt batteries may not fit properly in the battery tray, allowing the battery to move and contact the hold-down bracket, possibly causing a short circuit.

Risk: A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 27, 2024, to 2013-2014 RAV4 owners. Additional owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, phase 2 will begin on May 14, 2025, and phase 3 in late July 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 23TB13 and 23TA13.

equipment · 2019-06-28 · 19V503000

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Risk: An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: SET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.

equipment · 2017-12-20 · 17V831000

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Toyota 4Runner and Tundra, 2018 Toyota Highlander, RAV4 and Lexus GX460 and 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles. These vehicles may have incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Risk: An incorrect load information label can result in the operator overloading the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners and provide them with corrected labels, free of charge. The recall began on January 23, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are H0Z for Toyota vehicles, and HLF for Lexus vehicles.

Crash-test ratings (NHTSA NCAP)

2018 Toyota Rav4 SUV AWD
Overall★★★★★5/5
Frontal crash★★★★4/5
Side crash★★★★★5/5
Rollover★★★★4/5
NCAP frontal crash test, 2018 Toyota Rav4 SUV AWD
NCAP frontal test (NHTSA)
NCAP side crash test, 2018 Toyota Rav4 SUV AWD
NCAP side test (NHTSA)
2018 Toyota Rav4 SUV FWD
Overall★★★★★5/5
Frontal crash★★★★4/5
Side crash★★★★★5/5
Rollover★★★★4/5
NCAP frontal crash test, 2018 Toyota Rav4 SUV FWD
NCAP frontal test (NHTSA)
NCAP side crash test, 2018 Toyota Rav4 SUV FWD
NCAP side test (NHTSA)

Recent complaints

2026-07-10 · unknown or other · ODI 11749459

The hands free feature over the cars microphone/stereo is unusable; leaving vehicle owners frustrated, and more likely to operate cellphones outside of standard hands free practices. I have been on numerous phone calls where people have told me that they were unable to hardly hear a thing I was saying. To remedy this problem I have 1. Tried speaking up (even yelling) 2. Turning off HVAC systems 3. Positioning my body closer to the microphone 4. Bringing the car to a slow or stop to reduce road noise. 5. Calling myself to see if I can hear myself. 6. Talked with someone who owns the same car (year/model/spec/trim) and they were hardly audible as they called me over their hands free system.

2026-07-05 · air bags, electrical system, exterior lighting · ODI 11748370

While I am driving my Toyota RAV4, the car will suddenly shut off and I can restart it and keep driving as the month is going on. The incidents are happening more often and now the dashboard is going black. I’ve had a couple of warning signs on the dashboard. I brought the car to Toyota and Pep Boys. Both of them checked the electrical systems and everything looks good according to their testing.

2026-06-27 · structure · ODI 11746910

My lift tailgate is malfunctioning. Continued forced opening can cause the hinges to crack and messes with the alignment and closing of the tail gate making it a safety issue.

2026-06-21 · air bags · ODI 11745520

We were part of a 4 car collision on the freeway. A Ford Expedition that was slammed into then slammed into our RAV. The airbags never deployed and an error code came up saying fail for airbags.

2026-05-28 · electrical system, structure · ODI 11740651

Severe, chronic rainwater intrusion through the vehicle's front cowl and body seams, resulting in catastrophic flooding of the passenger-side cabin floorboards. This issue occurs even when all sunroof drains are completely clear and functional. Toyota has issued Technical Service Bulletin 0055-24 acknowledging body seam and cowl leaks for this vehicle type. The passenger-side floorboard houses critical electrical wire harnesses and sits adjacent to the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS/Airbag) control module. Chronic standing water on the floorboard presents an immediate risk of electrical short-circuits, potentially causing sudden vehicle stalling, electrical component fires, or the uncommanded deployment/failure of the vehicle's airbag safety systems. Furthermore, the thick foam insulation beneath the carpet remains saturated, creating an immediate, toxic mold hazard within an enclosed passenger cabin, severely impacting occupant health and air quality. The manufacturer and dealership have left the vehicle unrepaired for over 30 days, refusing to remediate this safety hazard.