2021 Toyota RAV4

Typical pattern

10.5% of complaints about the 2021 Toyota RAV4 came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2021 vehicle — around the middle of the 159 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 3.4 yr in service. The most-reported system is air bags (125 complaints), typically at 3.7 yr or about 30,000 miles.

Complaints: 522
Median age at failure: 3.4 yr
Median mileage: 15,900 n=89
Crash / fire / tow: 16.5% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Air bags

125 reports · 30,000 mi

3.7 yr

22.4%

Other

74 reports · 502 mi

2.9 yr

8.1%

Electrical system

46 reports · 30,000 mi

3.8 yr

19.6%

Engine

41 reports · 53,000 mi

3.9 yr

7.3%

Steering

22 reports · 7,500 mi

3.8 yr

13.6%

Fuel / propulsion

21 reports · 502 mi

2.2 yr

4.8%

Power train

21 reports · 2,935 mi

4.6 yr

9.5%

Structure

21 reports · 56,000 mi

3.4 yr

14.3%

Service brakes

20 reports · 33,047 mi

2.3 yr

35%

Collision avoidance

20 reports

2.9 yr

40%

Visibility / wipers

19 reports · 2,241 mi

1.8 yr

10.5%

Seats

18 reports

4.9 yr

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

23V865000 2023-12-20

Air bags:sensor:occupant classification

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.

An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.

In owners’ own words

Fuel / propulsion 400 mi 4 mo in service

WHEN THE LOW FUEL LIGHT COMES ON IT ONLY TAKES 10 GALLONS TO REFILL. THIS GIVES ME A RANGE OF 400 MILES ON A TANK OF FUEL. I WAS EXPECTING A RESERVE AMOUNT OF FUEL AFTER THE LOW FUEL LIGHT COMES ON TO DRIVE TO A FUEL STATION BUT ONLY USING 10 GALLONS OUT OF A 14 GALLON TANK SEEMS WRONG.

Fuel / propulsion 485 mi 4 mo in service

HAVE A 2019 AMS 2021 RAV4 HYBRID XSE THAT WILL NOT FILL TO ITS 14.5 GAL CAPACITY. TOYOTA NEEDS TO MAKE A FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE AND A TIMELINE ON A FIX. WITH NOTING, THE DEALERSHIP SAID IT TOOK 14 GAL ON INITIAL FILL WHEN PURCHASED, SO NOT SURE WHAT TO THINK HERE - CAN PROVIDE PHOTOS AS WELL

Fuel / propulsion 8,000 mi 4 mo in service

CANNOT FILL FUEL TANK COMPLETELY FULL. HAD SOME TESTS RUN BY TOYOTA AND THEY FOUND THAT THERE WERE ONLY 12.5 GALLONS IN THE 14.5 GALLON TANK WHEN THE PUMP SHUTS OFF. I WAS TOLD THIS WAS "WITHIN THE SPEC" AND OFFERED NO FURTHER HELP.

Other 1,800 mi 5 mo in service

PASSENGER HEATED SIDE MIRROR CRACKED FROM COLD WEATHER. NOT IMPACTED BY ACCIDENT OR NEGLIGENCE FROM I OR SOMEONE. WHEN HEATED MIRROR WAS ON I NOTICED A CRACK APPEARING.

Other RAV4 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.