2016 TOYOTA RAV4 — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 250 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (39 complaints · 15.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 37
  • Fires 11
  • Injuries 27
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2015 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 39 of 250 owner complaints (15.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 39 complaints, 15.6% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 39 · 15.6% · 16 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 38 complaints, 15.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38 · 15.2% · 4 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 26 complaints, 10.4% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 26 · 10.4% ENGINE: 19 complaints, 7.6% of reports ENGINE 19 · 7.6% · 3 crash reports 4 fire reports VISIBILITY: 18 complaints, 7.2% of reports VISIBILITY 18 · 7.2% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports AIR BAGS: 15 complaints, 6.0% of reports AIR BAGS 15 · 6.0% · 12 crash reports STRUCTURE: 15 complaints, 6.0% of reports STRUCTURE 15 · 6.0% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 10 complaints, 4.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 10 · 4.0% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 9 complaints, 3.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 · 3.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 66 complaints, 26.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 66 · 26.4% · 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 39 15.6% 16 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38 15.2% 0 crashes · 4 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 26 10.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 19 7.6% 3 crashes · 4 fires
VISIBILITY 18 7.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
AIR BAGS 15 6.0% 12 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 15 6.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 10 4.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 66 26.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2016. 2016-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2016-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2016-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 2017-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2017-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2017-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2017-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2018-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2018-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2019-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2020-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2021-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2021-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2022-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2024-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2024-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2024-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2025-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2025-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2025-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Jan 2016 Jul 2026 Investigation PE21005 ● Investigation PE21005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2016-Q1 Owner reports 3
2016-Q2 Owner reports 12
2016-Q3 Owner reports 14
2016-Q4 Owner reports 17
2017-Q1 Owner reports 5
2017-Q2 Owner reports 14
2017-Q3 Owner reports 7
2017-Q4 Owner reports 7
2018-Q1 Owner reports 9
2018-Q2 Owner reports 5
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 8
2019-Q1 Owner reports 4
2019-Q2 Owner reports 3
2019-Q3 Owner reports 7
2019-Q4 Owner reports 10
2020-Q1 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 6
2020-Q4 Owner reports 7
2021-Q1 Owner reports 10
2021-Q2 Owner reports 5
2021-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 3
2022-Q1 Owner reports 6
2022-Q2 Owner reports 4
2022-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q4 Owner reports 5
2023-Q1 Owner reports 4
2023-Q2 Owner reports 3
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2023-Q4 Owner reports 6
2024-Q1 Owner reports 5
2024-Q2 Owner reports 8
2024-Q3 Owner reports 9
2024-Q4 Owner reports 4
2025-Q1 Owner reports 8
2025-Q2 Owner reports 6
2025-Q3 Owner reports 3
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 2
2026-Q2 Owner reports 2
2026-Q3 Owner reports 2
Defect investigation 1 PE21005
Defect investigation 1 DP22005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 250 complaints · page 1 of 10

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources