Vehicle Data Hub

2008 Toyota RAV4 engine problems

161 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2008 Toyota RAV4, which is 23% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
161 23% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
79,000 miles 122 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
2 and 4
Injuries and deaths
3 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2008 Toyota RAV4 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 79,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 2 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 6 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 15 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 39 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 22 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 10 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 11 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 10 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 4 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 3 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 79,000 miles
Based on 122 complaints that include mileage. 19% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles2
20k to 40k miles6
40k to 60k miles15
60k to 80k miles39
80k to 100k miles22
100k to 120k miles10
120k to 140k miles11
140k to 160k miles10
160k to 180k miles4
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles3

What the data shows

Of the 122 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 79,000 miles, and 19% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 2 crashes, 4 fires, 3 injuries.

What owners wrote

The contact's daughter owned a 2008 Toyota RAV 4. The contact stated that his wife was driving with their daughter on the highway at approximately 65 mph. The contact stated that his wife said no warning lights were illuminated. The contact's wife reported that the vehicle began to make a loud buzzing noise from the engine. The contact's wife was able to pull over on the road shoulder when she noticed smoke issuing from under the hood. The vehicle burst into flames from under the hood.

Reported at 150,000 miles, January 2022 FireInjury

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 toyota rav4. The contact stated that the engine was abnormally burning two quarts of oil every 3,000 miles. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer but the vehicle was neither diagnosed for the failure or repaired. The failure mileage was 57,000 and the current mileage was 60,000. Updated 04/10/12 updatyed 04/23/12

Reported at 57,000 miles, November 2011

Other problems reported for the 2008 Toyota RAV4

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Toyota models