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2018 Toyota Rav4 Recalls & Complaints

3

open safety recalls on record

Critical

443 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.83 · 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.

Serious19V503000

Equipment:Other:Labels

incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

SET will notify owners and provide a corrected label for placement over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. SET's number for this recall is SET19A.

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Toyota Camry, Corolla, Rav4, Sienna, and Yaris iA vehicles equipped with factory-installed floor mats. The load carrying capacity modification label may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Serious17V831000

Equipment:Other:Labels

incorrect load information label can result in the operator overloading the vehicle and raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Toyota will notify owners and provide them with corrected labels, free of charge. The recall began on January 23, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are H0Z for Toyota vehicles, and HLF for Lexus vehicles.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Toyota 4Runner and Tundra, 2018 Toyota Highlander, RAV4 and Lexus GX460 and 2017 Toyota Sienna and Tacoma vehicles. These vehicles may have incorrect load carrying capacity modification labels. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."

Complaint volume

443 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

53Crashes
49Fires
29Injuries
0Deaths

Across 443 complaints. Severity Index 0.83.

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 System127 · 29%Unknown Or Other69 · 16%Engine32 · 7%Service Brakes28 · 6%Power Train26 · 6%Exterior Lighting22 · 5%Vehicle Speed Control19 · 4%Visibility/Wiper17 · 4%
  1. Electrical System — 127 reports
  2. Unknown Or Other — 69 reports
  3. Engine — 32 reports
  4. Service Brakes — 28 reports
  5. Power Train — 26 reports
  6. Exterior Lighting — 22 reports
  7. Vehicle Speed Control — 19 reports
  8. Visibility/Wiper — 17 reports
  9. Air Bags — 16 reports
  10. Fuel/Propulsion System — 12 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 (3) · 2017 (3) · 2018 · 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.