2009 Toyota RAV4 problems
Owners have filed 397 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Toyota RAV4. Cruise control is the most reported problem area, at 25% of complaints. After that come suspension (14%) and engine (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 397 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Cruise control 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 69 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 24 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 30,000 miles 294 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 | 122 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 50 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 26 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 35 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 15 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 23 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 5 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 294 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 30,000 miles. For cruise control specifically, the median reported mileage is about 11,000 miles (93 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 69 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 24 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 12th most-complained-about out of 30 model years of the Toyota RAV4 with enough data (260 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 15 safety recall campaigns.
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.
On may 26, 2016, my mother was traveling north on I-69 near eddyville, kentucky in her 2009 toyota rav4 with my son in the front passenger seat. A driver traveling south on I-69 crossed the median into the northbound lane, and collided with my mother's vehicle head-on. At the time of the collision, both my mother and son were wearing their seat belts, however, the seat belts did not work properly and contributed to my mother and son's serious injuries.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav 4 .the contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH when pulling into a parking space and while having her foot on the brake, the vehicle accelerated on its own. It went over a parking block and a curb and then hit a building wall. The vehicle was towed to a body shop, then it was picked up by her insurance company.the whole front end and the passenger side door were damaged due to the crash. There were minor injuries, the contact was transported to the hospital.
Our rav4 was apparently not included in the last recalls but I now believe this is incorrect. On 2/27 I rear-ended a truck going about 30-35 MPH. I originally thought I had missed the brake pedal and by the time I realized the car was not stopping I had to slam my brakes and tried to turn to miss the car in front of me. After checking further I'm not sure how I would have even been able to entirely miss the pedal.
Th- the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav4. The contact had the vehicle speed control accelerator pedal recall repair done on the vehicle one month ago. The repairs done for campaign number 10v017000 did not repair the vehicle. While traveling 35 MPH the caller tried to come to a stop and the vehicle accelerated. The caller was able to bring the vehicle to a stop by placing the vehicle in neutral. The vehicle is currently at the dealer being inspected again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota rav4. While driving on a bumpy road or making a left or right turn, the steering wheel made a knocking noise. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the steering rack was leaking fluid and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 108,192.