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2018 Toyota RAV4

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2018 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

144 reports with mileage · 187 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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 129 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. 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.

31 crash reports32 fire reports13 injury reports

What owners actually said

331 reports
72,000 miles · Apr 7, 2022
Service Brakes, Hydraulic

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, there was a squishy sound while depressing the brake pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware of a vacuum leak underneath the pedal. The vehicle…

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The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, there was a squishy sound while depressing the brake pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware of a vacuum leak underneath the pedal. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign 18V211000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

NHTSA ODI #11460002

25,000 miles · Mar 22, 2022
Electrical System

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, the brake warning light and an unknown triangle warning light illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where…

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The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, the brake warning light and an unknown triangle warning light illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that rodents had been chewing through the soy-based wiring. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred seven months later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that rodents had been chewing through the soy-based wiring again. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI #11457861

68,000 miles · Mar 11, 2022
EngineFire

The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately at 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shut down completely. Prior to the shutdown, the instrument panel continuously was flashing. The contact drove safely to the side of the highway. The contact noticed smoke and fire being exhausted from under the d…

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The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately at 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shut down completely. Prior to the shutdown, the instrument panel continuously was flashing. The contact drove safely to the side of the highway. The contact noticed smoke and fire being exhausted from under the driver side of the engine. The contact notified 911, and the fire department arrived on the scene. The fire department extinguished the fire with water and a fire extinguisher. There was a fire department report filed. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The fire department and towing company informed the contact the vehicle was completely lost. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000

NHTSA ODI #11456293

Mileage unknown · Feb 19, 2022
Forward Collision AvoidanceVehicle Speed Control

While driving on a 50 mph Highway with the cruise control on and no vehicles or anything in front of the car for more than a half a mile the vehicle braked suddenly as if the system sensed it was going to hit something. I pulled off the road shut the car off and restarted the car and it operated normally after that. I would be c…

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While driving on a 50 mph Highway with the cruise control on and no vehicles or anything in front of the car for more than a half a mile the vehicle braked suddenly as if the system sensed it was going to hit something. I pulled off the road shut the car off and restarted the car and it operated normally after that. I would be concerned of a rear Collision due to this occurring for no reason

NHTSA ODI #11452976

49,000 miles · Feb 7, 2022
Electrical SystemFire

The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while idling in the pharmacy drive-through line, smoke was suddenly present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was quickly parked before flames were seen coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguish…

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The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while idling in the pharmacy drive-through line, smoke was suddenly present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was quickly parked before flames were seen coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the incident, the vehicle was destroyed. No injuries were reported. A fire report was taken at the scene. The cause of the fire was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 49,000

NHTSA ODI #11450795

Mileage unknown · Feb 6, 2022
Electrical System

I was told by the Toyota dealer that my vehicle was subject to a safety recall regarding the wrong size battery having been installed and the battery must be replaced with the correct size. I was also told that I must pay for the cost of the new battery and installation. I told the service rep that I should not have to pay for a…

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I was told by the Toyota dealer that my vehicle was subject to a safety recall regarding the wrong size battery having been installed and the battery must be replaced with the correct size. I was also told that I must pay for the cost of the new battery and installation. I told the service rep that I should not have to pay for any safety recall repair. Despite my objection, I was charged and had to pay for the required safety recall repair.

NHTSA ODI #11450661

Mileage unknown · Jan 20, 2022
Service Brakes

I the vehicle used with 20000 miles the brakes were mushy And made noise like that old school bus with no brake pads at all I checked for any recalls the Run none and I contacted Toyota with no result I researched on the internet and found that it was a bad batch of brake pads on several years including my particular year of 201…

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I the vehicle used with 20000 miles the brakes were mushy And made noise like that old school bus with no brake pads at all I checked for any recalls the Run none and I contacted Toyota with no result I researched on the internet and found that it was a bad batch of brake pads on several years including my particular year of 2018 the brake pedal becomes mushy the brakes make a lot of bought noise and it's possible for the brake pedal to go all the way to the floor however there is no recall as of yet on this problem can you please help Thank you Bruce Long

NHTSA ODI #11448176

11,489 miles · Jan 10, 2022
Vehicle Speed Control

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH and attempting to pass another vehicle, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal all the way to the floorboard and the vehicle responded after approximately 5 seconds. The…

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The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH and attempting to pass another vehicle, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal all the way to the floorboard and the vehicle responded after approximately 5 seconds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an unnamed dealer three times to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic found no issues with the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The contact stated that while he was driving 60 MPH on the interstate, the failure reoccurred. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal all the way to the floorboard, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact veered to the side of the road for a moment, then he continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was next taken to Northshore Toyota Sales (68500 Hwy 190 Service Rd, Covington, LA 70433) who diagnosed that no issues were found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 11,489.

NHTSA ODI #11446900

18,000 miles · Jan 7, 2022
EquipmentFire

The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4 equipped with an aftermarket Pacific Restyling heated seat kit, part #SH-R-05 which was installed on both the front driver and passenger seats by the dealer upon purchasing the vehicle as new. The contact indicated while operating the vehicle with the driver side seat heater turned on the driv…

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The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4 equipped with an aftermarket Pacific Restyling heated seat kit, part #SH-R-05 which was installed on both the front driver and passenger seats by the dealer upon purchasing the vehicle as new. The contact indicated while operating the vehicle with the driver side seat heater turned on the driver noticed the seat became extremely hot to the touch and turned the heater off. Moments later an electrical burning odor was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who discovered the aftermarket part had malfunctioned and overheated charring the driver side seat cushion. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,000.

NHTSA ODI #11446629

Mileage unknown · Dec 24, 2021
Unknown Or OtherVehicle Speed Control

While driving I have noticed that the car slow down the speed near other cars, I understand that is the accident prevention feature, but when I was stopped at red light, I press the accelerator lightly, the car sped off, I have my daughter in the car and she told me Why are you accelerating mom? I told her I wasn't, my foot was…

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While driving I have noticed that the car slow down the speed near other cars, I understand that is the accident prevention feature, but when I was stopped at red light, I press the accelerator lightly, the car sped off, I have my daughter in the car and she told me Why are you accelerating mom? I told her I wasn't, my foot was off the accelerator and the car still speeding off. I pressed the breaks and it slow down. I do not feel safe with this car, but I have to use it, as I still have to finish paying it. My battery was replaced today, I had to pay for it, 3 years and gone! They told me it is because I do not drive much daily. My front tires are on yellow tread, not sure how driving 4-8 miles per day can cause all of this damage. I am so tired of car companies sell crappie cars. I had a Subaru before that almost burned (head gasket), of course, when I was finishing paying that happened. By the way I see by the time I finish paying Toyota, many things will need to be replaced, if I do not get into an accident because of weirdness of the car slowing down or speeding. For sure my next car won't be Toyota for safety reasons!

NHTSA ODI #11444921

Official recalls

3

23V734000 · Electrical SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V Battery

Nov 1, 2023

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A battery short circuit increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy: 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.

19V503000 · Equipment:other:labels

Jun 28, 2019

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."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An incorrect label may lead to unintentionally overloading the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

17V831000 · Equipment:other:labels

Dec 20, 2017

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."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An incorrect load information label can result in the operator overloading the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

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

1

PE21005 · Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events

Opened Feb 25, 2021 · Closed Aug 12, 2024

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V Battery

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to understand the contributing factors and frequency of vehicle fires originating from the battery region of the engine compartment in Model Year (MY) 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 vehicles on 25 February 2021. At the time of opening, ODI attributed eleven allegations and additional EWR events to this PE. PE21005 focused on replacement batteries installed in the subject vehicles. No reported fire event identified in PE21005 involved the originally supplied 12V battery. The reported fires took place in vehicles known to contain aftermarket batteries or whose age exceeded the expected life of the original equipment battery. ODI identified battery dimensioning as it relates to the battery retention system (hold down bracket, radiator support bolt, J-hook, and battery tray) as the main factor set in the contact between the battery hold down bracket contacting the positive terminal of the 12V battery. The subject vehicles carried over the same battery tray and retention system from the prior generation (MY2006 – MY2012) of RAV4 vehicles. However, the subject vehicles were equipped with a dimensionally smaller battery (Group 35) than the prior generation (Group 24F). The smaller- length measurement in the Group 35 battery size in a battery tray originally designed to fit a Group 24F battery contributed to increased potential for battery movement which was exacerbated by the diversity in aftermarket battery configuration and irregularities intrinsic to battery replacement procedures. Battery movement coupled with the proximity of the B+ terminal on the battery and the grounded electrically conductive hold down bracket set the stage for a short to ground leading to an engine stall (if in operation) followed by a vehicle fire. This investigation was not able to classify the installation status, battery size, or cause of every allegation due to the fire event causing damage to the area, inaccessible vehicle, modification to the battery retention system after the event, and/or inconclusive photographic evidence. Toyota's investigation of the issue identified aftermarket battery catalogs that listed an improper battery replacement size (Group 26R) that would nevertheless fit into the subject vehicles whose battery retention system is incapable of reliably restraining a Group 26R battery. On 18 November 2021, Toyota initiated a consumer advisory campaign (21TG01) to the subject vehicle owners, notifying them of the correct size battery and offering a free inspection of the battery and retention hardware, a caution label to affix to the hold down bracket, and a discounted replacement 12V battery. This investigation with Toyota established three broad categories to characterize the battery retention system state of a given vehicle: "correct", "minor mis-installation", and "major mis-installation". - The "correct" terminology references the front bolt, bracket, and J-hook installed in a position not in contact with the positive battery terminal and the front bolt torqued to 17 Nm and the J-hook engaged with the tray hole and torqued to 4.9 Nm. - A "minor mis-installation" would describe the three retention components installed in the prescribed location, however not to the correct torque values. - The "major mis-installation" condition would constitute a retention component missing or disconnected from the system. Toyota's own testing used five exemplar batteries installed on a subject vehicle in each battery categorization resulted in: - Contact between the B+ terminal and hold down bracket in "major mis-installations" - Movement of the battery in "minor mis-installations" - No observable motion in "correct" installations. ODI conducted its own evaluation of the Toyota- specified replacement battery and 5 aftermarket Group 35 batteries. The six batteries tested conformed to the Group 35 Battery Council International (BCI) standard on overall dimensional tolerance and terminal location. That standard does not define the edge shape or material of battery casing. Physical interaction between the hold down bracket and the battery case and the friction between the casing material and the battery tray resulted in a large variability in movement forces required to incite movement when the battery was installed in the "correct" condition. Resulting in movement at an induced lateral load between 0.6 G and 1.91 G equivalent force across each battery. This force is higher than a typical vehicle could exert in a steady state turn and would only experience loads through brief shock or impulses. Multiple shock or impulse loads across time would contribute to a delay between the replacement battery installation and the fire event. Likelihood of a fire event increases as the installation method degraded from the "correct", to "minor mis-installation", and then to "major mis-installation". Protruding vent caps atop some of the batteries tested aided in restricting battery movement relative to the hold down. An absence of vent caps permitted additional movement. Following several discussions and vehicle inspections with ODI during this investigation, on 01 November 2023, Toyota filed a safety recall (NHTSA 23V-734) of 1,853,568 MY 2013 through MY 2018 Toyota RAV4 vehicles to reduce the risk of a vehicle fire with redesigned battery retention components. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

Go deeper into Toyota RAV4 problems