2018 TOYOTA RAV4 — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 341 complaints · 0 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (92 complaints · 27.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 33
  • Fires 31
  • Injuries 19
  • Deaths 0
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 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 92 of 341 owner complaints (27.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 92 complaints, 27.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 92 · 27.0% · 1 crash reports 13 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 22 complaints, 6.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 22 · 6.5% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 21 complaints, 6.2% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 21 · 6.2% VISIBILITY: 20 complaints, 5.9% of reports VISIBILITY 20 · 5.9% · 2 crash reports ENGINE: 18 complaints, 5.3% of reports ENGINE 18 · 5.3% · 1 crash reports 7 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 18 complaints, 5.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 18 · 5.3% · 5 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 13 complaints, 3.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 · 3.8% · 4 crash reports AIR BAGS: 12 complaints, 3.5% of reports AIR BAGS 12 · 3.5% · 10 crash reports STRUCTURE: 12 complaints, 3.5% of reports STRUCTURE 12 · 3.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 104 complaints, 30.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 104 · 30.5% · 6 crash reports 9 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)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 92 27.0% 1 crashes · 13 fires
POWER TRAIN 22 6.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 21 6.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 20 5.9% 2 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 18 5.3% 1 crashes · 7 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 18 5.3% 5 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 3.8% 4 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 12 3.5% 10 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 12 3.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 104 30.5% 6 crashes · 9 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 Oct 2017. 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2018-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2019-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2019-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2019-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2019-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2020-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2020-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2020-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2021-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2021-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2021-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2022-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2022-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2023-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2023-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2023-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2024-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2024-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2024-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2025-Q1: 23 owner reports 23 2025-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2025-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2025-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2026-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2026-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2026-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 Owner reports Oct 2017 Jul 2026 Investigation PE21005 ● Investigation PE21005 Investigation DP22005 ● Investigation DP22005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 5
2018-Q2 Owner reports 5
2018-Q3 Owner reports 17
2018-Q4 Owner reports 9
2019-Q1 Owner reports 18
2019-Q2 Owner reports 17
2019-Q3 Owner reports 7
2019-Q4 Owner reports 10
2020-Q1 Owner reports 11
2020-Q2 Owner reports 7
2020-Q3 Owner reports 8
2020-Q4 Owner reports 5
2021-Q1 Owner reports 12
2021-Q2 Owner reports 7
2021-Q3 Owner reports 10
2021-Q4 Owner reports 11
2022-Q1 Owner reports 7
2022-Q2 Owner reports 7
2022-Q3 Owner reports 8
2022-Q4 Owner reports 4
2023-Q1 Owner reports 7
2023-Q2 Owner reports 7
2023-Q3 Owner reports 11
2023-Q4 Owner reports 9
2024-Q1 Owner reports 5
2024-Q2 Owner reports 8
2024-Q3 Owner reports 19
2024-Q4 Owner reports 13
2025-Q1 Owner reports 23
2025-Q2 Owner reports 18
2025-Q3 Owner reports 12
2025-Q4 Owner reports 6
2026-Q1 Owner reports 5
2026-Q2 Owner reports 7
2026-Q3 Owner reports 4
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 341 complaints · page 1 of 14

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