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2016 Toyota Rav4 Recalls & Complaints

3

open safety recalls on record

Critical

293 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.95 · 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.

Serious16V198000

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

Insufficient brake fluid pressure may cause a loss of vehicle control, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 4, 2016, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0I, GLC.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 30, 2015, to February 3, 2016, 2016 Lexus RX350 vehicles manufactured October 26, 2015, to February 8, 2016, and 2016 Lexus ES350 vehicles manufactured September 1, 2015, to February 29, 2016. These vehicles are equipped with an ABS actuator that may have a damaged O-ring which could result in improper brake fluid pressure control during ABS, Traction Control, or Stability Control activation. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."

Serious16V236000

Tires

incorrect label may result in the vehicle being overloaded, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

SET will notify owners, and provide them a corrected label to be installed over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began on June 3, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET16A.

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota Yaris, Rav4, Land Cruiser and 4Runner vehicles, and Scion FR-S, iM, and TC vehicles manufactured January 28, 2016, to March 14, 2016. The Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label may not reflect the correct added weight of the installed accessories. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars."

Complaint volume

293 this model-year 7 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

43Crashes
19Fires
34Injuries
0Deaths

Across 293 complaints. Severity Index 0.95.

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 System56 · 19%Service Brakes43 · 15%Unknown Or Other33 · 11%Exterior Lighting28 · 10%Engine25 · 9%Air Bags18 · 6%Structure · Body13 · 4%Visibility/Wiper12 · 4%
  1. Electrical System — 56 reports
  2. Service Brakes — 43 reports
  3. Unknown Or Other — 33 reports
  4. Exterior Lighting — 28 reports
  5. Engine — 25 reports
  6. Air Bags — 18 reports
  7. Structure:Body — 13 reports
  8. Visibility/Wiper — 12 reports
  9. Vehicle Speed Control — 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 (2) · 2014 (4) · 2015 (4) · 2016 · 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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