2016 Toyota RAV4 problems
Owners have filed 300 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Toyota RAV4. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 20% of complaints. After that come brakes (15%) and lighting (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 300 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 43 and 22
- Injuries and deaths
- 34 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 20,000 miles 186 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 | 93 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 29 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 30 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 186 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 20,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 52,000 miles (25 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 43 complaints mention a crash; 22 complaints mention a fire; 34 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 89% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2016 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 30 model years of the Toyota RAV4 with enough data (200 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
The contact owned a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph when they noticed smoke and flames were coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that when they attempted to move to the passenger side of the road they realized there was not enough room to do so causing them to roll over several times downhill eventually crashing into two trees. The contact stated that a civilian came and assisted them out of the vehicle once they noticed the crash.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle did not stop when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. In turn, the second vehicle crashed into a third vehicle. The contact's air bags did not deploy. The driver and the two occupants in the second vehicle sustained minor neck injuries. Medical attention was received. Police report number: 197537 was filed and the vehicle was towed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 toyota rav4. The contact stated that while her husband was stopped at a traffic light, he started smelling an abnormal burning odor before flames started coming up from under the dashboard and out of the driver's and passenger's side vents. The driver pulled over and started pouring water from a cooler onto the fire to try to extinguish the flames however, the flames reignited. Another motorist pulled over to assist and disconnected the battery.
Sometimes my brakes work normally. Other times, the brake pedal will be hard to push, and the brake pedal will not come back up when I release it. If I don't pull the pedal back up with my foot, brakes will continue to be applied even when I'm accelerating. I can't tell why they work sometimes and not others. I could spend 4 hours driving around with sticky brakes, and then suddenly, they're fine.
The contact owns a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated, and the battery was replaced at the local independent mechanic. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V734000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available.