What Owners Report NHTSA ODI · 2,175,102 complaints · MY1998–2026

2011 Toyota RAV4

Typical pattern

6% of complaints about the 2011 Toyota RAV4 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2011 vehicle — around the middle of the 203 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 5.4 yr in service. The most-reported system is speed control (70 complaints), typically at 3.6 yr or about 28,559 miles.

Complaints
402
Median age at failure
5.4 yr
Median mileage
46,000 n=272
Crash / fire / tow
19.4% of reports
Safety recalls
10

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System
0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y
Speed control
70 reports · 28,559 mi
3.6 yr
34.3%
Visibility / wipers
48 reports · 49,000 mi
5.5 yr
0%
Service brakes
43 reports · 36,000 mi
4.3 yr
34.9%
Engine
33 reports · 70,000 mi
7.0 yr
24.2%
Seat belts
30 reports · 72,000 mi
5.8 yr
0%
Power train
25 reports · 50,000 mi
5.8 yr
20%
Air bags
23 reports · 50,000 mi
7.2 yr
47.8%
Electrical system
19 reports · 80,000 mi
7.3 yr
15.8%
Structure
16 reports · 50,000 mi
7.8 yr
25%
Suspension
16 reports · 74,500 mi
6.7 yr
0%
Steering
15 reports · 61,077 mi
7.7 yr
13.3%

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

16V596000 2016-08-12
Suspension:rear

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2006-2011 Toyota RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 31, 2005, to September 7, 2010, and 2010 Lexus HS250h vehicles manufactured July 6, 2009, to August 26, 2010. The affected vehicles have rear suspension arms (rear tie rods) with adjusting lock nuts that may have been improperly tightened after servicing. As a result of being loose, the arm may have thread damage and may rust, possibly leading to the failure of the arm and an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment.

Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

16V396000 2016-06-02
Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.

If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

16V096000 2016-02-19
Seat belts:rear/other

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.

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

15V689000 2015-10-22
Visibility:power window devices and controls

Toyota Motor Company (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Corolla Matrix and Scion xB, 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2006-2011 RAV4, 2006-2010 Yaris, and 2009-2010 Scion xD and Pontiac Vibe vehicles. During the manufacturing of the Power Window Master Switch (PWMS), grease lubricant may have been inconsistently applied to the sliding electrical contacts.

If the sliding electrical contacts are not protected by lubricant, debris and moisture that get into the switch may cause a short circuit and the switch assembly may overheat and melt, increasing the risk of a fire.

15V577000 2015-09-18
Visibility / wipers

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.

Over time, the dripping water may cause corrosion and wear at the joint, potentially resulting in the separation of the wiper linkage. Once this occurs, the wipers would not function, reducing driver visibility and increasing the risk of a crash.

14V743000 2014-11-19
Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler

Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 Prius and Corolla, 2009-2011 Venza, 2006-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2005-2011 Sienna and Sequoia, 2006-2011 Tacoma 4x2 and 4x4, Camry, Highlander, Tundra 4x2 and 4x4, and 2007-2011 Rav4 and 4Runner. The affected vehicles may experience compression of the seat cushion which may damage the seat heater wiring.

Damage to the seat heater wiring could cause the wires to short, increasing the risk of the seat burning and causing personal injury to the occupant.

13V383000 2013-08-28
Suspension:rear

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2011 RAV4 and 2010 Lexus HS250h passenger vehicles manufactured from October 2005 through September 2010. If the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened during service, the rear suspension arm (rear tie rod) may develop unwanted movement and rust leading to thread damage and eventual failure. Failure of the rear tie rod will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment.

Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

13V123000 2013-04-09
Equipment:other:labels

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 ad

An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.

13V014000 2013-01-16
Air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive

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 se

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. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.

12V373000 2012-08-02
Suspension:rear

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006 through 2011 RAV4 and 2010 Lexus HS250h passenger vehicles manufactured from October 2005 through September 2010. If the nuts for adjusting the rear wheel alignment are improperly tightened during service, the rear suspension arm (rear tie rod) may develop unwanted movement and rust, leading to thread damage and eventual failure. Failure of the rear tie rod will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment.

Failure of the rear tie rod could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

In owners’ own words

Speed control 3,500 mi 1 mo in service
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHENEVER HE APPLIED THE BRAKES, HIS FOOT MADE CONTACT WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SURGE FORWARD. THE DEALER REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE MANUFACTURER WHO STATED THAT THE DESIGN COINCIDED WITH NHTSA STANDARDS AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE CONTACT FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,500.
Speed control 2,346 mi 7 mo in service
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO ONLY OFFERED TO FILE A REPORT AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,346 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 2,380. UPDATED 06/13/11 *BF UPDATED 12/23/11
Speed control 700 mi 1.2 yr in service
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 30 MPH, THE CAR SUDDENLY INCREASED SPEED ON ITS OWN, I APPLIED BRAKES, THE BRAKING DID NOT SLOW THE CAR, THE CAR CONTINUED TO INCREASE IN SPEED, I THEN SHIFTED THE GEAR INTO NEUTRAL, THE ENGINE NOISE ROARED LOUDLY, AND I PRESSED THE BRAKE HARD, THE CAR STOPPED, WHILE THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO ROAR LOUDLY FOR ANOTHER 30 SECONDS. *TR
Steering 1,039 mi 4 mo in service
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA RAV4. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE, VIBRATE AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY A STEERING ANGLE SENSOR MALFUNCTION AND THE STEERING ANGLE SENSOR ZERO POINT CALIBRATION. THE CONTACT WAS UNSURE OF WHAT REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,039.

Other RAV4 model years

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