The 2016 Toyota RAV4 has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,870,318 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 291 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
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
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. …
EQUIPMENT16V2360002016-04-2294 affected
Defect
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…
Consequence
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.
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)16V1980002016-04-0716,656 affected
Defect
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,…
Consequence
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.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
55
3crashes6fires2injuries
SERVICE BRAKES
43
14crashes11injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
33
2fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
28
ENGINE
24
3crashes8fires1injuries
AIR BAGS
18
15crashes17injuries
STRUCTURE:BODY
13
2fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12
1crashes
VISIBILITY/WIPER
12
1crashes1fires1injuries
POWER TRAIN
10
2crashes
Total complaints291
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“I am filing a complaint regarding toyota sending out letters to rav4 owners reference factory paint peeling. The letter stated, “customer support program notification paint peeling (vehicles painted with factory-applied blizzard pearl or super white paint). In this letter it stated that it is a…”
“Vehicle: 2016 toyota rav4 color: factory super white / blizzard pearl (whichever applies) I am filing a complaint regarding a well-known latent manufacturing defect involving peeling factory paint on my 2016 toyota rav4. The original factory-applied white paint is peeling and delaminating from the…”
“Odometer fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 toyota rav4. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was purchased from a private seller. At the time of the purchase, the mileage was 98,000. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and a carfax report indicated…”
“The contact owned a 2016 toyota rav4. The contact stated while driving 30-40 mph and attempting to change lanes, the contact looked through the sideview mirrors and then looked forward. The contact noticed that the vehicle in front of the vehicle had stopped. The contact depressed the brake pedal,…”
“Rear seat belt passenger side would not unlatch, trapping the passenger. This was and is the only time we have ever used this seat belt.it took two people to help get her thru the upper part of seat belt,had to exit over the top of back seat passenger. This life saving mechanism was and is unsafe…”
“The contact leased a 2016 toyota rav4. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 23v734000 (electrical system) and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list because the contact no longer had the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were contacted.”
“While shopping at the grocery store, I experienced an incident upon leaving the parking lot. After reaching my first red light, I noticed smoke rapidly billowing from under the hood of my vehicle. My husband, who was driving behind me, immediately saw the smoke and instructed me to pull over. Once…”
“While shopping at the grocery store, I experienced an incident upon leaving the parking lot. After reaching my first red light, I noticed smoke rapidly billowing from under the hood of my vehicle. My husband, who was driving behind me, immediately saw the smoke and instructed me to pull over. Once…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE21005 Opened 2021-02-25 · closed 2024-08-12
Battery Hold Down Bracket Thermal Events
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…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 Toyota RAV4 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.