How many recalls does the 2012 Toyota Rav4 have?

5 open NHTSA safety recalls are on record for the 2012 Toyota Rav4, alongside 357 owner complaints.

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2012 Toyota Rav4 Recalls & Complaints

open safety recalls on record

Serious

357 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.67 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious16V096000

Seat Belts:Rear/Other

cut seat belt may not properly restrain the seat occupant, increasing their risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy & full details

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install a protector over both rear seat cushion frames, free of charge. The recall began on June 24, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0F.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2006-2012 RAV4 vehicles manufactured July 28, 2005, to December 19, 2012, and 2012-2014 RAV4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. In the event of a frontal collision, the rear seat belts for the outboard seats may be cut by the seat cushion frame.

Serious14V054000

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip:Control Unit/Module

If this occurs, these systems could become inoperative, reducing the directional control assistance, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Toyota will notify owners, and Toyota and Lexus dealers will update the software for the Skid Control electronic control unit, free of charge. The recall began on March 28, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2012 and 2013 Toyota Tacoma and Lexus RX350 vehicles and certain model year 2012 Toyota Rav4 vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the brake system contains a brake actuator that adjusts the fluid pressure of each wheel cylinder. An electrical component within the actuator may experience an increased resistance resulting in the illumination of various warning lights, including those for the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system, Antilock Brake System (ABS), and Traction Control system.

Serious15V577000

Visibility/Wiper

Over time, the dripping water may cause corrosion and wear at the joint, potentially resulting in the separation of the wiper linkage.

Remedy & full details

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the water diverter channel. In addition, a new wiper linkage with a wiper motor crank arm will be installed. The wiper linkage will have a protective cover over the wiper linkage joint to minimize water splash and a retainer ring to prevent the wiper arm from separating from the wiper motor. The recall began on November 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service number at 1-800-331-4331.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 27, 2008, to December 19, 2012 and 2012-2014 RAV4 EV vehicles manufactured July 24, 2012, to August 29, 2014. In the affected vehicles, water may drip onto the joint that connects the wiper linkage to the wiper motor.

Serious13V014000

Air Bags:Frontal:Sensor/Control Module-Inactive

If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position.

Remedy & full details

Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.

Serious13V123000

Equipment:Other:Labels

inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires.

Remedy & full details

Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.

Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Complaint volume

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

56Crashes

8Fires

26Injuries

0Deaths

Across 357 complaints. Severity Index 0.67.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Visibility/Wiper — 53 reports
Vehicle Speed Control — 49 reports
Service Brakes — 34 reports
Electrical System — 30 reports
Seat Belts — 30 reports
Unknown Or Other — 26 reports
Engine — 22 reports
Air Bags — 22 reports
Power Train — 19 reports
Structure:Body — 14 reports

What to do

Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1996 (1) · 1997 (1) · 1998 (5) · 1999 (5) · 2000 (3) · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 (2) · 2005 (5) · 2006 (11) · 2007 (14) · 2008 (14) · 2009 (15) · 2010 (14) · 2011 (11) · 2012 · 2013 (2) · 2014 (4) · 2015 (4) · 2016 (3) · 2017 (3) · 2018 (3) · 2019 (7) · 2020 (6) · 2021 (1) · 2022 (1) · 2023 (3) · 2024 (3) · 2025 (3)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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