2002 Toyota RAV4 problems
Owners have filed 682 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Toyota RAV4. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 38% of complaints. After that come drivetrain & axles (17%) and electrical system (14%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 682 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 49 and 20
- Injuries and deaths
- 71 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 93,000 miles 613 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 21 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 29 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 49 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 87 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 175 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 110 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 66 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 43 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 23 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 6 |
What the data shows
Among the 613 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 93,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 96,000 miles (247 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 49 complaints mention a crash; 20 complaints mention a fire; 71 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 21st most-complained-about out of 30 model years of the Toyota RAV4 with enough data (97 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was driving my toyota and my wife was a passenger. All of a sudden, a lady ran a stop sign and swerved and hit us head-on. We could not get out of my vehicle, the doors were jammed and the vehicle was on fire. The fire dept. And police came and quickly put the fire out and pried the front doors open. None of the airbags in my vehicle deployed. I incurred severe injuries to my head, chest, neck and left arm. My toyota was totaled and the other driver was cited for the wreck.
I was driving down tennessee street when a lady ran through a stop sign and hit us head-on. My air bags not did deploy which caused me and my wife injuries. The other vehicle that hit my toyota 2002 rav4 SUV. Air bags did deploy on impact, where my airbags did not deploy. If my air bags would have deployed like they were supposed to, then me and my wife would not have sustained injuries.
Re: 2002 rav4 SUV transmission ecm/atm repairs. Dear sir: I am sending you this letter to explain what my situation is. I just found out that toyota motor sales USA is having a recall on 2001, 2002 and 2003 toyota rav4 SUV?s for transmission problems. I have tried for years to get toyota to fix my transmission. However, toyota has totally ignored me. I had to pay for a used transmission out of my pocket because toyota told me that they do not manufacture any defective automobiles.