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2001 Toyota RAV4

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2001 Toyota RAV4 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 258.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

236 reports with mileage · 73 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 190 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 60 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports2 fire reports9 injury reports

What owners actually said

309 reports
68,000 miles · Jun 12, 2017
Unknown Or Other

DRIVING CAR AND IT STARTED JERKING AND THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON TESTER SHOWED IT WAS RELATED TO ECM AND TRANSMISSION

NHTSA ODI #10994360

150,000 miles · Apr 28, 2017
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

THE CAR STARTED TO HAVE SHIFTING PROBLEMS.

NHTSA ODI #10981299

115,000 miles · Apr 20, 2017
Power Train

THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTING IRRATICALLY, SOMETIMES IT WILL TAKE OFF SLOWLY UNTIL THE GEAR ENGAGES. SOMETIMES THERE IS A CLUNKING SOUND AS THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS GEARS.

NHTSA ODI #10979670

135,000 miles · Apr 6, 2017
Electrical SystemElectronic Stability Control (esc)Power Train

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING CAR AND IT STARTED DOING STRANGE CHANGES WITH THE TRANSMISSION, SUCH AS SLIPPING BETWEEN GEAR CHANGES AND JERKING MOVEMENTS. AT ONE POINT, SHE TOLD ME GETTING ON FREWAY ON RAMP WAS A HAZARD, BECAUSE OF IRRATIC BEHAVIOR OF TRANSMISSION!!

NHTSA ODI #10970991

63,192 miles · Nov 5, 2016
Power TrainVehicle Speed Control

MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS 63192 MILES ON IT. IT BEGAN EXHIBITING TRANSMISSION/ACCELERATION PROBLEMS YESTERDAY WHILE DRIVING MY GRANDDAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL, ABOUT A 2 MILE ROUND TRIP ON CITY STREET TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 35-40MPH. THE CAR REFUSED TO PICK UP SPEED AND BEGAN TO JERK DUE TO SHIFTING/MISSING GEARS, ALL BY ITS SELF. …

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MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS 63192 MILES ON IT. IT BEGAN EXHIBITING TRANSMISSION/ACCELERATION PROBLEMS YESTERDAY WHILE DRIVING MY GRANDDAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL, ABOUT A 2 MILE ROUND TRIP ON CITY STREET TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 35-40MPH. THE CAR REFUSED TO PICK UP SPEED AND BEGAN TO JERK DUE TO SHIFTING/MISSING GEARS, ALL BY ITS SELF. THE CAR HAS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SO SHOULD NOT EXHIBIT THESE PROBLEMS. I FOUND OUT TODAY THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM TO TOYOTA AND THERE WAS A VOLUNTARY RECALL THAT I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OFF. I CONTACTED TOYOTA AND THEY REFUSE TO ASSIST WITH RECTIFYING THIS PROBLEM SAYING THE DATE FOR THE RECALL HAS PASSED, BUT I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF SAID RECALL TO BEGIN WITH. THE PROBLEM JUST STARTED AND ALTHOUGH THE VEHICLE IS 15 YO, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN IMMACULATELY MAINTAINED AND SERVICED AND ONLY HAS 63K MILES ON IT SO SHOULD NOT BE HAVING ANY TRANSMISSION ISSUES. I WANT TOYOTA TO RECTIFY THIS PROBLEM AS IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THEIR MODULE AND NOT DUE TO THE AGE OR CONDITION OF THE CAR. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY REPORTS OF THIS SAME ISSUE WITH THIS EXACT VEHICLE YEAR AND MODEL AND TOYOTA HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THESE ISSUES. THE CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AND THIS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY TOYOTA AND FIXED IMMEDIATELY. IN AN ARTICLE FOUND ONLINE, TOYOTA ADMITTED TO THIS MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND DESPITE THE DEFECT, TOYOTA DID NOT OFFER ANY SPECIAL WARRANTY COVERAGE. INSTEAD, THE BULLETIN SAID REPAIRS WOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE FEDERAL EMISSIONS WARRANTY OF 80,000 MILES OR EIGHT YEARS FROM THE TIME THE VEHICLE WAS SOLD. BUT THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE WITH THE AGE OF THE VEHICLE AND IT HAS LESS THAN 80K MILES ON IT, AND IT IS DUE TO A MANUFACTURER DEFECT WHICH SHOULD BE COVERED.

NHTSA ODI #10924431

Mileage unknown · Sep 19, 2016
Unknown Or Other

AQUIRED MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO. AND NOW I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE ECM AS THE OTHERS. IN FACT MY TOYOTA IS CURRENTLY IN A AUTOMOBILE REPAIR SHOP. AFTER NEARLY 3 WEEKS THE SHOP FINALLY DETERMINED THE ECM NEEDS REPLACING AND POSSIBLY TRANSMISSION ALSO. THE REPAIR SHOP INFORMED ME THAT TOYOTA ISSUED A RECAL…

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AQUIRED MY 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO. AND NOW I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUES WITH THE ECM AS THE OTHERS. IN FACT MY TOYOTA IS CURRENTLY IN A AUTOMOBILE REPAIR SHOP. AFTER NEARLY 3 WEEKS THE SHOP FINALLY DETERMINED THE ECM NEEDS REPLACING AND POSSIBLY TRANSMISSION ALSO. THE REPAIR SHOP INFORMED ME THAT TOYOTA ISSUED A RECALL FOR THE ECM BUT THE RECALL HAS SINCE EXPIRED. WITH THIS IMFORMATION I CALLED TOYOTA MOTOR CORP AND WAS TOLD THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO ASSIST PEOPLE THAT ARE PURCHASING THESE CARS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. THIS ISSUES I AM DEALING WITH INCLUDE THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPING AND REVVING HIGHER, OR THE LOSS OF POWER WHEN GOING FROM A COMPLETE STOP. TOYOTA HELPED THE OWNERS, WITH AN " EXTENDED WARRANTY" 10 YEARS / 150000 MILES. THAT IS ALL GOOD BUT THE WARRANTY WAS FROM THE FIRST DATE. BASICALLY FROM DAY 1. THAT IS NOT FAIR TO THE PEOPLE WHO PURCHASE THESE CARS SECOND HAND WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE ISSUES. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD CASE AN ACCIDENT CAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. IT IS MY OPINION THAT ANY AND ALL RECALLS SHOULD NOT HAVE LIMITATIONS AND SHOULD NEVER EXPIRE!!! IF A TOYOTA IS "ON THE ROAD" (LICENSING IS UP TO DATE), THEN IT SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY FOR ALL WARRANTED RECALLS!!!

NHTSA ODI #10907657

Mileage unknown · Jun 5, 2016
Air Bags

TAKATA RECALL - I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2001 RAV 4 WITH 224,000 MILES ON IT. THIS CAR IS PRIMARILY USED IN NEVADA IN THE RENO/LAKE TAHOE AREA AND ALSO IN SEATTLE WA. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF AN EXPLODING AIR BAG. PLEASE ADVISE ABOUT THE SAFETY OF CONTINUING TO DRIVE THIS CAR AND HOW SOON THE AIR BAGS …

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TAKATA RECALL - I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2001 RAV 4 WITH 224,000 MILES ON IT. THIS CAR IS PRIMARILY USED IN NEVADA IN THE RENO/LAKE TAHOE AREA AND ALSO IN SEATTLE WA. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF AN EXPLODING AIR BAG. PLEASE ADVISE ABOUT THE SAFETY OF CONTINUING TO DRIVE THIS CAR AND HOW SOON THE AIR BAGS CAN BE REPLACED! FROM ALL I READ THESE CARS SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE ROAD IMMEDIATELY! PLEASE RESPOND SO I CAN PROTECT MY FAMILY.

NHTSA ODI #10872625

Mileage unknown · May 8, 2016
Air Bags

TAKATA RECALL I DRIVE MY 2001 RAV4 THAT I INHERITED FROM MY MOTHER. THE CAR IS 15 YEARS OLD BUT ONLY HAS 56,000 MILES ON IT. I AM FEARFUL ABOUT THE AIRBAG EXPLODING SINCE I PLAN TO DRIVE THIS CAR FOR SEVERAL MORE YEARS. I WANT THE AIRBAG REPLACED.

NHTSA ODI #10863809

114,000 miles · Apr 6, 2016
Air Bags

TAKATA RECALL I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF. 2001 TOYOTA RAV4 . I HAVE LIVED IN THE STATE OF HAWAII FOR THE LAST 9 YEARS. AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE THE HUMIDITY IS HIGH HERE . SINCE TOYOTA DOES NOT APPEAR TO WANT TO REPLACE THE AIRBAG IN MY VEHICLE SHOULD I DISCONNECT THE AIRBAG SO IT DOES NOT INFLATE AND INJURE OR KILL ME??

NHTSA ODI #10853930

135,000 miles · Feb 4, 2016
Electrical SystemEngineVehicle Speed Control

WHEN I CHANGE GEAR OR PRESS ACCELERATOR TO GIVE GAS, MY CAR DOESN'T PICK UP RACE AND DOESN'T SHIFT THE GEAR. IT WILL DO ON ITS OWN. THE ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING TURNED ON, EVEN THOUGH THISNGS HAVE BEEN REPLACED.

NHTSA ODI #10824188

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

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