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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 Toyota Rav4 — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 387 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

387
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
47
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
7
Involved Fire
owner-reported
49
Injuries
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.

197 complaints

305 complaints

239 complaints

307 complaints

333 complaints

880 complaints

635 complaints

387 complaints

149 complaints

159 complaints

176 complaints

90 complaints

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Air Bags 125 reports
Unknown Or Other 75 reports
Electrical System 47 reports
Engine 41 reports
Power Train 22 reports
Steering 21 reports
Structure 21 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 21 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 11632872 12/28/2024

I have had a critical Passenger Airbag recall for over one year impacting my 2021 RAV4 Auto, NHTSA Recall No. 23V-865; Toyota Recall No. 23TA15. It should NOT have taken Toyota over one-year to diagnose and apply the remedy to ensure that I am driving a safe car. I was promised by Toyota that a Remedy would be made available in February 2024, June 2024, and Sept, 2024. The Web…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11632244 12/24/2024

Without any warning and without anyone touching the car my back windshield exploded out. This flung pieces of glass inches from my toddler as we were about to get in the car. I have a remote car starter (for 4 years on this car) and had started it a few minutes before walking to my car to put my stuff down, I opened the passenger door, put my bags on the seat and closed the do…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11561358 12/21/2023

I was driving on the highway there was no cars in front or next to me, it was warm outside about noon the sun was out and I heard a loud bang and a minute later another loud bang, I thought it was a balloon that popped that was in my car and I pulled over and when I saw none of the balloons had popped I thought it was a soda can that exploded in the trunk but I saw they were a…

Air Bags ODI 11631733 12/20/2024

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota Rav4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. Th…

Service Brakes ODI 11498272 12/20/2022

The contact owns a 2021 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while approaching a traffic light, she depressed the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle and rear-ended another vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. No air bags deployed. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. The contact stated a police officer was at the site …

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 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 2021 Toyota Rav4 reliable?
Owners have filed 387 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 Toyota Rav4, most often about air bags. 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.