RecallRadar

Home → Toyota → Rav4 → 2013

2013 Toyota Rav4 Recalls & Complaints

2

open safety recalls on record

Critical

332 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.72 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical23V734000

Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery

battery short circuit raises the risk of a fire.

Remedy & full details

Dealers will replace the battery clamp sub-assembly, battery tray, and positive terminal cover, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed December 27, 2024, to 2013-2014 RAV4 owners. Additional owner notification letters will be mailed in phases, phase 2 will begin on May 14, 2025, and phase 3 in late July 2025. Owners may contact Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are 23TB13 and 23TA13.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013-2018 RAV4 vehicles. Certain replacement 12-volt batteries may not fit properly in the battery tray, allowing the battery to move and contact the hold-down bracket, possibly causing a short circuit.

Serious15V011000

Trailer Hitches

If the system incorrectly detects an electrical short and turns off the trailer lights while the trailer is being towed at night, there is an increased risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

SET will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trailer light module with a new unit with corrected software, free of charge. The recall began on March 17, 2015. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET-15A.

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Toyota Rav4 vehicles manufactured June 1, 2013, to December 29, 2014, and equipped with an accessory trailer light module. The software within the module may incorrectly detect an electrical short and preventively turn off the electrical current and the trailer lights.

Complaint volume

332 this model-year 9 median, same year

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

What owners reported happened

29Crashes
34Fires
17Injuries
1Deaths

Across 332 complaints. Severity Index 0.72.

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

Electrical System65 · 20%Unknown Or Other40 · 12%Engine29 · 9%Power Train28 · 8%Service Brakes21 · 6%Structure · Body18 · 5%Vehicle Speed Control17 · 5%Air Bags13 · 4%
  1. Electrical System — 65 reports
  2. Unknown Or Other — 40 reports
  3. Engine — 29 reports
  4. Power Train — 28 reports
  5. Service Brakes — 21 reports
  6. Structure:Body — 18 reports
  7. Vehicle Speed Control — 17 reports
  8. Air Bags — 13 reports
  9. Equipment:Electrical:Navigational System(Global Positioning System) — 12 reports
  10. Steering — 10 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. 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 (5) · 2013 · 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.

From the same data desk

Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.

TireFit
Is that tyre actually right for your car?
2,808 fitment guides
FuelFacts
What that trip really costs in fuel
Live consumption data
CostCompare
What things cost, city by city
2,123 comparisons