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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2013 Toyota Rav4 — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 256 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

256
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
22
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
29
Involved Fire
owner-reported
15 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Toyota Rav4 — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

400 complaints

287 complaints

266 complaints

256 complaints

197 complaints

305 complaints

239 complaints

307 complaints

333 complaints

880 complaints

635 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Electrical System 74 reports
Unknown Or Other 40 reports
Engine 29 reports
Power Train 29 reports
Structure 28 reports
Service Brakes 23 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 17 reports
Air Bags 13 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Electrical System ODI 10558027 12/31/2013

THE INSTRUMENTS (SPEEDOMETER, TACHOMETER, FUEL GAUGE) OF THE CAR DO NOT LIGHT UP IF THE HEADLIGHTS ARE OFF. THIS CAN BE DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING UNDER UNDERPASSES OR IN THE SHADOW OF TREES, ETC., SINCE ONE UNEXPECTEDLY CANNOT SEE THE SPEEDOMETER OR TACHOMETER UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS. *TR

Engine ODI 11562628 12/29/2023

Pulled into driveway, turned off car. Entered house within a couple of minutes front end of car burst into flames. Fire Dept. was called to put out fire. Car was towed to Newburgh NY for insurance adjustor inspection. I was on my way to store and stopped at in-laws. Had I not made this stop, I would have been on thruway. If car had been a few feet closer to garage, it wou…

Structure ODI 10816715 12/29/2015

"BLIZZARD PEARL BISQUE" PAINT PEELING BETWEEN THE WINDSHIELD AND THE SUNROOF. PAINT IS COMING OFF IN LARGE PIECES THE SIZE OF SILVER DOLLARS. PAINT "BLISTERS" FIRST THEN JUST FALLS OFF THE ROOF OF THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN THERE FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE YEAR AND SEEMS TO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CAR BEING STATIONARY, IN MOTION - OR THE ENVIRONMENT. IT HAS BEEN PARKED…

Service Brakes ODI 11445036 12/27/2021

Brakes failed to stop while parking vehicle with a speed of less than 5 mph hitting landscaping with a young pine tree that made the vehicle stopped. Hit and went over some matured bushes on the landscaped parking lot. The SUV cannot be stopped even brakes were depressed all the way. I needed to have my vehicle towed out of the bushes and the broken young tree in order to g…

Lane Departure ODI 11632330 12/25/2024

MY brakes failed me and then bumped the car in front of me the warning system didn't alert me about hitting the car in front of me. and now that person is sueing me for alot of money. now the date is approximate day the dealerhip told me the brakes were fine how is that when they didn't stop the car and keep me from hitting the car in front of me they needed to be replaced.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2013 Toyota Rav4, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2013 Toyota Rav4 reliable?
Owners have filed 256 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2013 Toyota Rav4, most often about electrical system. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Toyota Rav4 years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.