The 2018 Toyota RAV4 has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,855,542 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 435 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. …
EQUIPMENT19V5030002019-06-281,325 affected
Defect
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…
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.
EQUIPMENT17V8310002017-12-20649 affected
Defect
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…
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.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
125
5crashes22fires3injuries
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
68
3crashes8fires3injuries
ENGINE
32
3crashes10fires1injuries
SERVICE BRAKES
28
10crashes2fires2injuries
POWER TRAIN
26
2crashes2injuries
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
21
1crashes1fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
19
8crashes4injuries
VISIBILITY/WIPER
17
2crashes
AIR BAGS
15
12crashes11injuries
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
12
1fires
Total complaints435
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“We were part of a 4 car collision on the freeway. A ford expedition that was slammed into then slammed into our rav. The airbags never deployed and an error code came up saying fail for airbags.”
“Severe, chronic rainwater intrusion through the vehicle's front cowl and body seams, resulting in catastrophic flooding of the passenger-side cabin floorboards. This issue occurs even when all sunroof drains are completely clear and functional. Toyota has issued technical service bulletin 0055-24…”
“Severe, chronic rainwater intrusion through the vehicle's front cowl and body seams, resulting in catastrophic flooding of the passenger-side cabin floorboards. This issue occurs even when all sunroof drains are completely clear and functional. Toyota has issued technical service bulletin 0055-24…”
“Malfunction: mechanical failure of the torque converter clutch. The vehicle exhibits a persistent transmission shudder during acceleration between 25–50 mph. Warning signs: none. There were no dashboard warning lights or error messages prior to or during the failure. The only indicator was the…”
“3/4/2026 5:10 pm vehicle (2018 rav4) was sitting in backed up traffic waiting to exist highway and was hit from behind by a sedan travelling at 65+ mph, pushed into a pickup truck in front, then deflected left into a guardrail. So, three separate impacts with extensive damage to the entire rear of…”
“See attached document for complaint.”
“See attached document for complaint.”
“Both headlights and taillights are stained on the inside of the lens with a white residue. My headlights are very streaky and it makes it difficult to see out of. Not the outside of the headlight, because when I rub my hands along the outsides, I do not feel any grabbing, scratches, film, etc.”
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 2018 Toyota RAV4 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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