Complaint volume
324 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Toyota RAV4 Complaints
324 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Toyota RAV4, grouped by component category.
324 Total complaints
30 Crash reports
32 Fire reports
13 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are electrical system, unknown or other, exterior lighting. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 30 crash reports, 32 fire reports, 13 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 143 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 25,416 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to electrical system, unknown or other, exterior lighting?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Toyota RAV4?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Toyota RAV4
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Toyota RAV4 complaints?
30 Crash
32 Fire
13 Injury
0 Fatality
31 Towed
10 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Toyota RAV4 complaint categories?
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 84
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 47
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 17
SERVICE BRAKES 13
VISIBILITY/WIPER 13
POWER TRAIN 12
AIR BAGS 11
ENGINE 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8
STRUCTURE 8
324 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Toyota etunes systems are apparently fatally flawed or are exquisitely attuned to planned obsolescence. My bluetooth began initializing 6 weeks ago and has not stopped since. This is a safety concern because, as a 67 year old driver, it is important to have my hands free to drive. I purchased this vehicle because of this feature. Toyota maintains the only solution to my problem is to purchase a new $1,500 radio. Because this is not just my problem but one experienced by a majority of Toyota owners, Toyota should bear the cost for replacement | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My car is everything is good condition. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My car is everything is good condition | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | AIR BAGS | little red blinking light | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | AIR BAGS | We had a car accident on I-84 in Oregon, westbound, was hit on the driver side rear area which caused us to spin around. We were hit by a semi truck on the driver side rear. We ended up perpendicular to the concrete median (this is a highway with two lanes on either side) which is what stopped us. The semi truck also sustained damage to their passenger side front wheel and had to be towed. Our car had to be towed. None of the airbags went off. The back window of the RAV4 hybrid was gone. There was damage to the front passenger side, front, rear driver side, rear of car. Sheriff and Oregon state patrol came, both vehicles towed. Contacted Toyota who says they are going to retrieve event data recorder box to investigate. We have a police crash report case #. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Sunroof just shattered/exploded while driving on highway. (Entering route I95N from Philadelphia). I did not see or was near any foreign object that could've caused this incident. Sunroof was closed, however the interior cover was open. When glass shattered, multiple fragments entered the car and fell on my body. Thankfully I was the only person in the vehicle. I was not injured by fragments. I was able to close the interior lining and continue driving to my house. Once home I was able to assess damage and vacuumed car. I took the vehicle to Thompson Toyota in Doylestown, PA yesterday 8/12/22 where it is being inspected and repaired. I am convinced this requires further investigation since I think this may be safety issue with this type of vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Wiring harness in many vehicles defective. Letter sent, but not a recall. I drove from NY to VA unaware that a headlight was out- I had to change bulbs several times, and ended up having to pay $500 for a new lighting system because I put the bulb in (apparently) wrong the 5th time. Accident could have happened due to bad lighting, but fortunately did not. Toyota did not make this issue easily known, or easily fixed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I received a consumer advisory notice from Toyota. Notice number appears to be 21TG01 and is related to battery fires. Apparently the wrong size battery was installed and Toyota issued the notice to have the battery size checked. It should be a Group 35 battery. However, a Toyota Group 35 measures 6 7/8 inches wide across and after market batteries to the best of my research are 6 3/8 inches wide. The top battery hold down that fits over the top of the battery does not fit a 6 3/8 wide battery which appears to be the standard with the exception of Toyota. The top hold down bracket is too big and does not fit properly over the top of the battery. If that makes sense. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I am told by the Dealer, Dolan Toyota in Reno NV, that my car has TPMS sensors and an idiot light that indicates when there is a problem with these sensors. I bought a second set of wheels to facilitate winter/spring tire changes and the wheels were not equipped with TPMS sensors. The idiot light never activated to tell me there is a problem, so I went to the dealer and asked about this issue. The service department at Dolan told me there are aware of the problem of not indicating when there is an issue but there is nothing they can do about it. It's my understanding that federal regulations require TPMS to be installed AND operating on this car. I filed a complaint with Toyota corporate and all they said was there is no recall on this problem and they have noted it. The reference number for my complaint with Toyota corporate is 220531001527. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | FIRERELATED | The contact's mother owned a 2018 Toyota RAV-4. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over and noticed that there was smoke coming from the driver's side of the hood. The contact was able to exit the vehicle safely before it caught fire. No medical attention was received. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire, and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE21005O. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The contact stated that while traveling at speeds of approximately 35-40 mph the electrical system started flashing and stopped working. Smoke and fire emerged from the left front hood and the contact was unable to turn the vehicle off. The manufacturer has since been made aware of this incident. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. | Crash: No Fire: Yes Towed | 35,000 |
| May 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | The brakes needed complete redo at 28.000 miles. The pads and rotors. The front passenger brakes were through to rotors. Was not expecting to do a complete brake job at this mileage and the only indication we had a problem was the sudden grinding on the front passenger side and we were glad we were not on a long trip. We took it to an independent mechanic who saved the parts for us. There was no indication we needed a complete brake job until that sudden grinding on the one wheel which was worn way more than the other three. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | My husband and I were driving down the road when we had warning lights and signals going off in the car and the electric was trying to reset in the car. The car was sputtering and stalled out. we managed to pull the car over as white smoke came from under the hood of the car and we jumped out and grabbed our dog as flames started to shoot from under the hood. We have never had any incident happen prior to this to indicate there would be any problems. The car is available for inspection if requested. The insurance company has not inspected the vehicle yet and is transporting it to a salvage yard for inspection. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | AIR BAGS | Had an accident and the air bags did not deploy on April 08, 2022. Me and my son got injured. The impact was strong, and my vehicle was dragged about 300' feet on the street and the other vehicles air bags deployed. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH, there was a squishy sound while depressing the brake pedal. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was made aware of a vacuum leak underneath the pedal. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign 18V211000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated while driving at 30 MPH, the brake warning light and an unknown triangle warning light illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that rodents had been chewing through the soy-based wiring. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred seven months later. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that rodents had been chewing through the soy-based wiring again. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000. The VIN was not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,000 |
| Mar 2022 | ENGINE | The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving approximately at 35 MPH, the vehicle suddenly shut down completely. Prior to the shutdown, the instrument panel continuously was flashing. The contact drove safely to the side of the highway. The contact noticed smoke and fire being exhausted from under the driver side of the engine. The contact notified 911, and the fire department arrived on the scene. The fire department extinguished the fire with water and a fire extinguisher. There was a fire department report filed. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The fire department and towing company informed the contact the vehicle was completely lost. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000 | Crash: No Fire: Yes Towed | 68,000 |
| Feb 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on a 50 mph Highway with the cruise control on and no vehicles or anything in front of the car for more than a half a mile the vehicle braked suddenly as if the system sensed it was going to hit something. I pulled off the road shut the car off and restarted the car and it operated normally after that. I would be concerned of a rear Collision due to this occurring for no reason | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owned a 2018 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while idling in the pharmacy drive-through line, smoke was suddenly present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was quickly parked before flames were seen coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the incident, the vehicle was destroyed. No injuries were reported. A fire report was taken at the scene. The cause of the fire was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 49,000 | Crash: No Fire: Yes Towed | 49,000 |
| Feb 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | I was told by the Toyota dealer that my vehicle was subject to a safety recall regarding the wrong size battery having been installed and the battery must be replaced with the correct size. I was also told that I must pay for the cost of the new battery and installation. I told the service rep that I should not have to pay for any safety recall repair. Despite my objection, I was charged and had to pay for the required safety recall repair. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | I the vehicle used with 20000 miles the brakes were mushy And made noise like that old school bus with no brake pads at all I checked for any recalls the Run none and I contacted Toyota with no result I researched on the internet and found that it was a bad batch of brake pads on several years including my particular year of 2018 the brake pedal becomes mushy the brakes make a lot of bought noise and it's possible for the brake pedal to go all the way to the floor however there is no recall as of yet on this problem can you please help Thank you Bruce Long | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2018 Toyota RAV4. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH and attempting to pass another vehicle, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal all the way to the floorboard and the vehicle responded after approximately 5 seconds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an unnamed dealer three times to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic found no issues with the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The contact stated that while he was driving 60 MPH on the interstate, the failure reoccurred. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal all the way to the floorboard, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact veered to the side of the road for a moment, then he continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was next taken to Northshore Toyota Sales (68500 Hwy 190 Service Rd, Covington, LA 70433) who diagnosed that no issues were found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 11,489. | Crash: No Fire: No | 11,489 |
| Jan 2022 | EQUIPMENT | The contact owns a 2018 Toyota Rav4 equipped with an aftermarket Pacific Restyling heated seat kit, part #SH-R-05 which was installed on both the front driver and passenger seats by the dealer upon purchasing the vehicle as new. The contact indicated while operating the vehicle with the driver side seat heater turned on the driver noticed the seat became extremely hot to the touch and turned the heater off. Moments later an electrical burning odor was present inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who discovered the aftermarket part had malfunctioned and overheated charring the driver side seat cushion. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,000. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | 18,000 |
| Dec 2021 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving I have noticed that the car slow down the speed near other cars, I understand that is the accident prevention feature, but when I was stopped at red light, I press the accelerator lightly, the car sped off, I have my daughter in the car and she told me Why are you accelerating mom? I told her I wasn't, my foot was off the accelerator and the car still speeding off. I pressed the breaks and it slow down. I do not feel safe with this car, but I have to use it, as I still have to finish paying it. My battery was replaced today, I had to pay for it, 3 years and gone! They told me it is because I do not drive much daily. My front tires are on yellow tread, not sure how driving 4-8 miles per day can cause all of this damage. I am so tired of car companies sell crappie cars. I had a Subaru before that almost burned (head gasket), of course, when I was finishing paying that happened. By the way I see by the time I finish paying Toyota, many things will need to be replaced, if I do not get into an accident because of weirdness of the car slowing down or speeding. For sure my next car won't be Toyota for safety reasons! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | TIRES | I bought this car in 2018, I drive 4 miles per day more or less , I have only 25,486 miles and today during a regular inspection I found that my tires tread are on yellow 6/32", just the front (where I have Front Wheel Drive). Not sure how driving only in town can quickly wear a tire, by the time I pay off this car I will be with an expensive bill for change the tires. I had an used Subaru for 5 years and I never had to change the tires during 5 years, and I drove way more than Toyota, had 89,000 when the gaskets blew off. Not sure why car/tires companies make crap products to make us pay often. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2021 | AIR BAGS | Car moved onto gravel shoulder and side curtain airbags deployed. Was no accident or damage done to car, was also driving under 5 mph. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |