Toyota · RAV4 · 2016
2016 Toyota RAV4: problems & reliability
NHTSA has logged 239 owner complaints and 3 safety recalls for the 2016 Toyota RAV4. The most-reported problem area is the electrical system (24% of complaints), followed by brakes and exterior lighting. Make sure every open recall has been fixed by a dealer before you buy.
Common 2016 Toyota RAV4 problems
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Electrical system problems
58 owner complaints to NHTSA (24% of all complaints for this model year) involve the electrical system, including 3 crashes, 7 fires, 2 injuries. One owner reported: “I had a significant car accident in 2020 and luckily only broke my thumb. I was rear ended. The car I had at the time was a brand new Toyota Rav4, which luckily did have side airbags and they deployed appropriately. However, I have since…”
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Brakes problems
46 owner complaints to NHTSA (19% of all complaints for this model year) involve the brakes, including 14 crashes, 11 injuries. One owner reported: “The contact owns a 2016 toyota rav4. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle did not stop when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into the rear of a second vehicle. In turn, the second vehicle…”
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Exterior lighting problems
28 owner complaints to NHTSA (12% of all complaints for this model year) involve the exterior lighting. One owner reported: “Headlights and taillights are fogging/hazing up to where they dimmed out the lights when turned on making is somewhat difficult to see or others behind me to see me.”
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Engine problems
24 owner complaints to NHTSA (10% of all complaints for this model year) involve the engine, including 3 crashes, 8 fires, 1 injury. One owner reported: “The contact owned a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph when they noticed smoke and flames were coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that when they attempted to move to…”
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Airbags problems
19 owner complaints to NHTSA (8% of all complaints for this model year) involve the airbags, including 15 crashes, 17 injuries. One owner reported: “I was driving on the entrance road to a major highway, and as I approached the curve in the road and pressed on the brakes to decelerate, the vehicle began to shake, and as I pressed the brakes harder to slow down, they did not engage, the…”
Owner complaints by area
| Area | Complaints | Share | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 58 | 24% | |
| Brakes | 46 | 19% | |
| Exterior lighting | 28 | 12% | |
| Engine | 24 | 10% | |
| Airbags | 19 | 8% | |
| Visibility & wipers | 16 | 7% | |
| Body & structure | 15 | 6% | |
| Speed control & acceleration | 12 | 5% |
239 complaints filed with NHTSA in total, reporting 33 crashes, 12 fires, 27 injuries. A complaint can involve more than one area.
2016 Toyota RAV4 recalls
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Electrical system › 12v/24v/48v battery
Risk: 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.
Full recall summary
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.
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Tires
Risk: An incorrect label may result in the vehicle being overloaded, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: SET will notify owners, and provide them a corrected label to be installed over the inaccurate label, free of charge. The recall began on June 3, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET's number for this recall is SET16A.
Full recall summary
Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota Yaris, Rav4, Land Cruiser and 4Runner vehicles, and Scion FR-S, iM, and TC vehicles manufactured January 28, 2016, to March 14, 2016. The Load Carrying Capacity Modification Label may not reflect the correct added weight of the installed accessories. As a result, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims for Passenger Cars."
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Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Risk: Insufficient brake fluid pressure may cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 4, 2016, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0I, GLC.
Full recall summary
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 30, 2015, to February 3, 2016, 2016 Lexus RX350 vehicles manufactured October 26, 2015, to February 8, 2016, and 2016 Lexus ES350 vehicles manufactured September 1, 2015, to February 29, 2016. These vehicles are equipped with an ABS actuator that may have a damaged O-ring which could result in improper brake fluid pressure control during ABS, Traction Control, or Stability Control activation. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. To check whether a specific car’s recalls have been repaired, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
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Specifications
- Drivetrains
- AWD, FWD
- Body styles
- SUV
Other Toyota RAV4 years
About this data
Problems, complaint counts, recalls and crash-test ratings come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public databases, last checked 2026-11-03. Complaints are reports from owners and have not all been verified by NHTSA.
How we score reliability: every model year starts at 100. Points come off for the number of owner complaints (on a log scale, up to 40 points), for each safety recall (2 points each, up to 15) and for complaints involving crashes, fires, injuries or deaths (up to 15). Popular vehicles get more complaints simply because more are on the road, so compare scores between similar vehicles. More about our method.
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