Electrical complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | 17% | 6,000 miles |
| 2024 | 32 | 18% | 48,000 miles |
| 2023 | 42 | 26% | 21,000 miles |
| 2022 | 40 | 27% | 54,000 miles |
| 2021 | 47 | 12% | 30,000 miles |
| 2020 | 119 | 19% | 3,000 miles |
| 2019 | 103 | 12% | 25,000 miles |
| 2018 | 130 | 39% | 17,000 miles |
| 2017 | 108 | 35% | 37,000 miles |
| 2016 | 59 | 25% | 52,000 miles |
| 2015 | 85 | 28% | 47,000 miles |
| 2014 | 69 | 35% | 60,000 miles |
| 2013 | 75 | 29% | 8,000 miles |
| 2012 | 30 | 12% | 33,000 miles |
| 2011 | 19 | 7% | 80,000 miles |
| 2010 | 15 | 4% | 119,000 miles |
| 2009 | 19 | 6% | 34,000 miles |
| 2008 | 27 | 5% | 69,000 miles |
| 2007 | 76 | 8% | 80,000 miles |
| 2006 | 42 | 6% | 65,000 miles |
| 2005 | 6 | 4% | 96,000 miles |
| 2004 | 10 | 6% | 91,000 miles |
| 2003 | 42 | 13% | 98,000 miles |
| 2002 | 92 | 17% | 94,000 miles |
| 2001 | 60 | 19% | 105,000 miles |
| 2000 | 1 | 3% | 172,000 miles |
| 1999 | 6 | 10% | 64,000 miles |
| 1998 | 3 | 4% | — |
| 1997 | 3 | 6% | — |
| 1996 | 2 | 4% | 150,000 miles |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that upon leaving the keys in the ignition overnight, the battery was drained. The contact stated that the jumper cables were in a compartment located inside the trunk. The contact stated that due to the battery failure, the contact was unable to unlock the vehicle. In addition, there was no keyhole for the trunk of the vehicle. The contact entered the trunk through the inside of the vehicle; however, the compartment where the jumper cables were located had failed to open due to the battery failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 5,500.
The contact's sister owns a 2025 Toyota Rav4. The owner received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V595000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The instrument panel intermittently went black. The failure became persistent over time. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part was not yet available for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the part was not yet available. The manufacturer referred the owner to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that on several occasions while attempting to start the vehicle, the message to "Place Key fob Next to Start Button" was displayed. The contact placed the key fob on the start button, and the vehicle started. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. The contact pressed the start button, but the vehicle failed to restart. The contact stated that the message was displayed again, and the key fob was placed next to the start button, and the vehicle restarted. The dealer was contacted and advised to change the battery in the key fob. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,000.
The contact owns a 2024 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH in a neighborhood, an advertisement unexpectedly appeared on the center display and obstructed the navigation screen. The contact stated that on the most recent failure, the navigation screen returned after a short while; however, on a previous occasion, the navigation screen could not be restored without restarting the vehicle. The contact expressed concern that the condition prevented access to the navigation system while driving. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, no response was received. The failure mileage was approximately 17,500.
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at 46 MPH in heavy rain, a warning message indicating that the pre-collision sensor was blocked and needed to be cleared, was displayed temporarily, and the contact continued driving. The contact stated that the vehicle suddenly lost motive power shortly after, and the message "Steering power is low; please contact dealer" was displayed. The vehicle stalled and failed to restart.The following day, the contact's husband successfully restarted the vehicle, but the vehicle immediately stalled again, displaying a "Pre-collision malfunction; please call dealer" message. A local dealer was contacted, and the contact spoke with a receptionist regarding the battery, but the vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,829.
The contact owns a 2023 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger's side blind spot warning system located on the exterior side mirror failed to function as intended. The light flashed on the side mirror; however, the beeping sound was inaudible. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that the failure had occurred the same month the vehicle was purchased. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20.
The contact is an attorney concerned about a crash involving a 2022 Toyota Rav4. The attorney stated that the vehicle had a comma.ai device installed on the vehicle. The attorney stated that while 2 couples were occupying the vehicle and driving at night on an expressway, there was a police vehicle on the side of the road responding to a separate vehicle crash. The driver of the vehicle may have been asleep, along with the front passenger, while relying on the comma.ai device to operate the vehicle. The vehicle failed to engage the brakes in order to avoid crashing into the police vehicle, and as a result, the Toyota Rav4 crashed into the rear of the police vehicle. The vehicle speed was unknown at the time of the crash. The owner of the vehicle rear-ended a Louisiana state trooper. Air bags deployed in the front and on both sides of the vehicle. …
The contact owns a 2022 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal odor outside the vehicle. The contact inspected the vehicle and became aware that there was smoke coming from the battery, and there was battery fluid leaking from the battery. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with battery failure. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The contact stated that in May 2026, the vehicle was serviced for electrical issues with the Start/Stop feature, parking brake error message, and the AC display unit was replaced. The contact stated that other electrical issues occurred intermittently. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 71,800.
Related recalls (3)
Electrical system › Instrument cluster/panel
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Toyota Venza, 2023-2025 RAV4 Prime, RAV4, Highlander, GR Corolla, Crown, 2024-2025 Lexus TX, LS, Toyota Tacoma, Grand Highlander, and 2025 Lexus RX, Toyota Crown Signia, Camry, RAV 4 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and 4 Runner vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will update the instrument panel software over-the-air (OTA) for non-PHEV vehicles, free of charge. For PHEV vehicles, dealers will inspect the instrument panel assembly, and either replace it, or update the…
Electrical system › 12V/24V/48V battery
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.
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.
Electrical system › Ignition › Anti-theft › Control module
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles, Mini vans and passenger vehicles equipped with a theft deterrent systems (tds) supplied by audiovox corporation and distributed by southeast Toyota distributors, inc. In the states of alabama, florida, georgia, north and south carolina.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the date code label on the security system harness and any displaying the manufacturing/final date code will be replaced with newly produced harnesses.
NHTSA investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles.
Unintended and Uncontrolled Acceleration
On February 16, 2010, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened RQ10-003 to determine whether the scope of prior Toyota recalls relating to potential unintended acceleration were sufficiently broad, including, among others, Toyota recalls 07E-082, 09V-388, 10V-017, and 10V-023.NHTSA also requested information regarding potential electronic causes of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.I.
Power Window Master Switch Fire
ODI has identified certain Toyota vehicles experiencing a higher rate of fire and thermal event incidents among all Toyota vehicles that use the same power window master switch design.They include a total of approximately 1.4 million model year (MY) 2007 through 2009 Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4 and Yaris vehicles built from approximately September 2006 through August 2008, as well as all MY 2008 Highlander Hybrid…
Power Window Master Switch Fire
On October 10, 2012, Toyota initiated a safety recall of approximately 2.5 million U.S. vehicles involving the following models and model years:2007-2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2009 Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2008 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2007-2009 RAV4, 2008-2009 Scion xB and xD, 2008-2009 Sequoia, 2007-2008 Tundra, 2007-2008 Yaris, and 2009 Pontiac Vibe.See NHTSA recall number 12V-491 for more details,…
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 attributed eleven allegations and additional EWR events to this PE.
Frequently asked questions
Which Toyota RAV4 years have electrical problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2018 (130), 2020 (119), 2017 (108), 2019 (103) and 2002 (92) model years. Electrical complaints make up 39% of all complaints for the 2018.
Is there a recall for Toyota RAV4 electrical problems?
Yes — 3 recalls, including 25V-595 (instrument cluster/panel, Sep 11, 2025); 23V-734 (12v/24v/48v battery, Nov 1, 2023); 98V-278 (control module, Oct 19, 1998). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Toyota RAV4 electrical problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 58,000 miles; 43% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the instrument cluster/panel (14 mentions), followed by the 12v/24v/48v battery (13).
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.